The research found that while 80% of all business-to-business (B2B) transactions are still being completed with paper cheques, a trend toward greater utilisation of electronic payments by larger enterprises is emerging.

According to the survey, 66% of respondents currently use some form of EIPP system - which enable either electronic data interchange (EDI) and non-EDI electronic invoice receipt or presentment, or the ability to accept or make electronic payments.

Almost two thirds those surveyed (62%) rely on technology to make electronic payments to suppliers, while 35% use the technology to receive payments from customers.

More than half the respondents (51%) cited the reduced processing time and resulting lower costs as the primary benefits of using EIPP.

In addition, 69% of respondents whose companies currently do not have EIPP systems reported plans for a future deployment, with 48% of those implementations expected in the next year and an additional 32% planned for the next one to two years.

But, despite the growing popularity of EIPP, respondents did cite reasons for not deploying EIPP technology - namely costs (25%), complexity (22%) and unwillingness to change current IT systems (19%).

Phil Philliou, VP, e-business and emerging technologies, MasterCard, says purchasing professionals from large companies in virtually every industry recognise how inefficient paper-based and manual processes are.

"The majority have seen first-hand that EIPP saves their companies time and money and has a positive impact on bottom line performance. We believe that's why eight out of 10 respondents from companies that don't currently have EIPP are planning to implement it within the next two years," he adds.