Melio launches autonomous B2B payment network for SMBs

AI agents connect buyer AP workflows directly to supplier AR systems, eliminating manual supplier onboarding

Melio, a leading accounts payable and receivable platform, launched an agent-powered payment network that enables buyers to pay suppliers directly through their accounts receivable systems, without requiring suppliers to onboard to a new portal or payment network.

Melio’s network combines its historical payment intelligence with automation infrastructure. The agents securely log into supplier billing and AR systems, execute payments using suppliers’ preferred payment methods, and automatically return structured remittance data.

Among the earliest scaled commercial deployments of agentic AI in B2B payments, this agentic network has already processed more than 30,000 payments and over $100 million in annualized payment volume.

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“For decades, scaling a B2B payment network meant either building a rail or signing suppliers up one at a time,” said Aharon Levine, VP of Payments Strategy at Melio. “With agents, suppliers no longer have to join a network for the network to reach them. Buyers can execute payments with full auditability and less manual work, while suppliers receive faster payments with remittance data already attached.”

Scaling a B2B payment network has traditionally meant “supplier enablement” by reaching out to suppliers one by one, convincing them to accept a payment method, and onboarding them to a portal. The friction is one reason nearly 40% of U.S. B2B payments still move by paper check.

Melio’s agents change the model by drawing on billions of dollars of historical AP activity across tens of thousands of small businesses. The agents identify suppliers’ preferred digital payment methods and execute payments directly through their AR systems. Suppliers get paid in the format their AR systems already expect, without onboarding to anything new.

Melio processes more than $30 billion in annual payment volume, with a growing share becoming eligible for agent-driven execution.

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