FTNI Blog

These are truly unprecedented times.

Things that were our collective 'normal' only matter of weeks ago, now seem like distant memories.

Businesses, educational systems, entire governments—our routine daily lives—have all been disrupted by an invisible force that virtually none of us could've ever been completely prepared for.

But in the words of Albert Einstein,

"In the middle of every difficulty, lies opportunity."

We are very much in the middle of a time of great difficulty. But there is no doubt that out of this difficulty will come innovation. Innovation bread from times that force us all to look at how we do business, how we educate, how we govern, how we live; and make the improvements that we may not have otherwise made. It is how we evolve. It is how we move forward.

What Charles Darwin had to say about the evolution of species applies to business enterprises as well: adaptability is key to survival.

Consider accounts receivable (A/R) operations. The proliferation of check payments during the 20^th Century led many businesses down the path of automation, in the form of lockboxes (managed in house or outsourced), which helped to reduce costs by compressing collection cycles and eliminating labor-intensive processing steps. By the turn of the 21^st Century, however, the proliferation of new payment methods and channels (ACH, cards, online and mobile), created a new, more complex environment, as companies, acceding to customer demands for more payment options, were forced to implement disparate systems for accepting and processing receivables. What has emerged are corporate A/R operations bogged down by costly, error-prone manual processes spread across numerous legacy systems.

Tankersley Foodservice is committed to doing “Whatever it Takes” for customers. That includes offering an array of payment options and assurances that payments get posted to accounts quickly and efficiently within their back-office system. By implementing an integrated receivables solution, Tankersley has been able to stay true to that mission while driving significant internal efficiencies.

Rural Mutual Insurance Company knows a thing or two about managing a remote workforce accepting payments. Founded in 1934 to serve the needs of Wisconsin farmers, Rural Mutual has grown to become the largest business insurer in the Wisconsin, and one of the Top 50 property and casualty insurance providers in the country with 78,000 policies in force.

 Originally published on SiliconPrairieNews.com on 11/28/2018.

Financial Transmission Network, Inc. (called FTNI) is an integrated receivables company located in West Omaha.  The company shares unassuming space with a bank and insurance agents. Inside their office, however, is a totally different culture and theme.

The old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

This saying may be true for more than just a few things in life—your refrigerator, your car, your coffee maker, etc.—but your company’s accounts receivables operations (and the technology that supports it) isn’t one of them.

If there is one thing we have learned over the history of our business, it is that no two businesses’ accounts receivables (A/R) operations are the same. No matter how similar those businesses may seem on the surface. There is no proverbial “box” that you can fit companies and their associated processes into. 

For a growing number of banks, the accelerating demand for integrated receivables solutions, and the vast operational benefits this technology delivers corporate banking customers, is no longer something that can simply be added to a bank’s road map for future consideration.

Many people want to achieve 'straight-through processing' (STP), but what does that really mean?

As we’ve pointed out in previous posts, STP is considered by some to be the “Holy Grail” or even “manna from heaven” for corporate treasurers, and we believe rightly so. Imagine being able to keep your internal resources focused on the highest value functions and exceptions while automated business rules streamline everything else. Imagine how different your accounts receivables (AR) operations would look when you have the full confidence that your FTE resources are maximizing every interaction they have. It's easy to forget sometimes, but each time one of your team members has to look at a payment, it costs you money!

For many corporations (and banks), integrated receivables isn’t simply a buzz word any longer—it’s become a reality that is tranforming AR operations. As companies across multiple industries have looked to third-party technology providers to deliver a solution to simplify and streamline their accounts receivables processes, it has forced many banking institutions to take a closer look at prospective Fintech partnerships and re-evaluate their own treasury management offerings.