To be attributed to Radi El Haj, CEO at RS2
Imagine walking through a bustling international bazaar. Merchants shout out prices, buyers negotiate deals, and money changes hands in an instant. Now imagine that bazaar exists digitally, connecting businesses across continents, 24/7, where every transaction is instantaneous, every payment seamless, and the stakes are measured in trillions.
This is the reality of the emerging B2B marketplace economy. Our latest research shows that by 2030, nearly half of all global B2B transactions, over $16 trillion annually, will move through these online marketplaces. And this isn’t some distant vision; it’s happening now, driven by technology, globalisation, and the modern business’s demand for speed, transparency, and convenience. This shift is already well underway, supported by a 450% increase in global investment in B2B marketplaces since 2016, alongside rapid adoption across Asia and Latin America and accelerating momentum in Europe and North America.
For banks, this transformation presents a paradox: a massive opportunity paired with the risk of irrelevance. Traditional banking models, built around relationship-driven transactions and batch processing, are ill-suited for a world where marketplaces have become the central hub for commerce, integrating procurement, finance, and payments into a single digital experience. As marketplaces embed payments, credit, and data-driven services directly into their platforms, banks risk being relegated to background processors, losing ownership of both the customer relationship and the data that drives value.
So how can banks thrive in this rapidly shifting landscape? The answer lies in intelligence, agility, and integration. At the center of this transformation is payments orchestration, the ability to dynamically route transactions, manage liquidity in real time, and optimize cost, risk, and performance across multiple payment rails. Modern APIs, cloud-native infrastructures, and AI-driven payments orchestration are no longer optional – they are essential. They allow banks to optimise cross-border transactions, manage liquidity in real-time, and turn payment operations from a cost centre into a strategic growth engine. Using data intelligently, banks can offer predictive insights, risk mitigation, and embedded credit solutions directly within the marketplace experience, transforming the way businesses interact with financial services.
Consider marketplaces themselves: they are evolving beyond procurement platforms into full-fledged financial ecosystems. Businesses can access working capital, credit, and payment services as naturally as they purchase goods. Banks that embed themselves into this workflow capture a slice of activity that might otherwise bypass traditional channels entirely. AI-driven orchestration ensures money flows efficiently across multiple currencies and payment rails, while real-time analytics empowers businesses to make informed, strategic decisions at every stage.
The implications for banks extend far beyond operations. Cross-border payments must become faster and more reliable. Multi-currency transactions require dynamic routing. Compliance with standards such as ISO 20022, and regulations like PSD3 and FedNow, is non-negotiable. Banks that modernise their infrastructure and embrace embedded finance can not only survive this shift – they can redefine their role in commerce, offering value-added services that drive loyalty, increase revenue, and strengthen market positioning.
Strategic partnerships will also define success. Collaboration across card schemes, PSPs, acquirers, and regulators is no longer a back-office function – it’s central to creating marketplaces that deliver real value. Banks that embrace this ecosystem approach will be better equipped to respond to market dynamics, leverage actionable insights, and provide differentiated services that meet modern business expectations.
The next decade of B2B commerce will be platform-driven, data-led, and increasingly automated. The winners will be those who act decisively, embedding AI and orchestration into their payments strategy, and aligning their services with how businesses operate in real life. Drawing on decades of experience supporting banks and enterprises across issuing, acquiring, and payments orchestration, we see the transformation of payments not as a challenge, but as an invitation: an opportunity for banks to reinvent themselves, seize a central role in a new global marketplace, and shape the future of commerce itself.
B2B marketplaces are no longer a passing trend – they are the next frontier. Banks that recognise this, and act boldly, will define what success looks like in the platform economy.
