A new study commissioned by TreviPay, a US-based B2B payments and invoicing network, has found that payment and invoicing experience has become a decisive factor in supplier selection among European business buyers, alongside growing but uneven adoption of AI in purchasing processes.
The research surveyed 550 business buyers across Europe. Nearly eight in ten respondents reported always or often using AI technologies in B2B purchasing and payment processes, a significant increase from prior years. AI is valued primarily for improving decision-making through data insights, cited by 20% of respondents, followed by fraud prevention and risk management at 16%, and the reduction of manual tasks. However, adoption patterns vary meaningfully by market.
In Germany, where compliance requirements are particularly demanding, AI adoption is more cautious. In both France and Germany, AI's appeal is most strongly linked to invoice status visibility and automated invoice-to-purchase-order matching, reflecting persistent pain points around invoice accuracy in those markets.
Pay by invoice and persistent friction
Pay by invoice remains the dominant B2B payment method across Europe, with 47% of buyers citing the availability of invoicing as a factor in where they place repeat business. Trade credit is particularly prevalent in the UK and Germany, where 46% of buyers use it, while Spain shows lower trade credit reliance but the highest demand for invoice customisation, at 93% compared with 82% across the study overall.
Despite widespread digitalisation, friction in the B2B buying process remains significant. Buyers cite incorrect invoices, limited ERP integration, inconsistent invoice formats, and delays in approval workflows as persistent challenges. The scale of the problem varies considerably by market: 76% of German buyers reported issues with payment options, compared with 37% in Spain. Company size also shapes priorities, with larger enterprises of 500 or more employees prioritising ERP integration and purchase controls, while mid-sized businesses value speed and flexibility. In the UK, fast onboarding was identified as one of the most significant competitive levers for suppliers.
Commenting on the research, Inez Berkhof-Hollander, Vice President of EMEA at TreviPay, said payment and invoicing experiences now play a decisive role in supplier selection across Europe, and that reducing friction at every stage of the buying journey is key to cementing repeat business and delivering sustainable growth.
