What makes modernization successful? Q&A with John Rubinetti

Bridging the gap between AP and AR automation with intelligent and modern solutions is key to staying ahead of your competitors. B2B Payments President John Rubinetti recently sat down for a Q&A to explain how banks and businesses can successfully modernize your core processes and transform your entire payment ecosystem. 

Question: How important is speed in the context of AP and AR automation, and what is Deluxe doing to help clients close the “last mile of automation”?  

John: Speed isn’t just about faster transactions. It’s about freeing finance teams to focus on what matters: improving cash flow, reducing risk and driving strategic growth. According to our research, finance teams lose up to 14 hours per month on manual AR tasks. That’s almost a month of lost productivity annually.

When your ERP or bank system isn’t integrated, that speed vanishes. Friction delays cash application which creates processing lags and compounds DSO/DPO challenges. Deluxe is helping clients close this “last mile” by embedding automation across the full AR and AP lifecycle—reducing touchpoints, compressing timelines and accelerating deposits. 

Question: Why is integration key to successful modernization, and what are some common pitfalls businesses face in this area? 

John: Integration is the difference between looking modern and operating in a modern way. Too often, businesses digitize a single step but still depend on email, spreadsheets and staff intervention to close the loop. In fact, 42% of finance teams cite a lack of integration with ERP/accounting systems as a top challenge. At Deluxe, we’ve seen that the absence of orchestration across systems—especially AR/AP and treasury—can stall automation just as it gains momentum.

Legacy behaviors are also a hurdle. For example, 23% of businesses still prefer paper checks. But modern platforms like ours support these formats too, just with intelligent automation, security and real-time visibility layered in.

Question: What steps can businesses take to truly operationalize modern payment rails?

John: Start by identifying where your manual bottlenecks are (e.g. reconciliation, exception handling, remittance capture) and ask how these can be embedded within your payment process. Real-time payments (RTP) and FedNow are game changers, but they add complexity if you’re not ready to reconcile in real time. It’s not enough to move fast, you have to see clearly.

Our role at Deluxe is to standardize and enrich that data across all rails (ACH, RTP, card, check) and feed it directly into AR/AP and ERP workflows. True operationalization means moving from adoption to orchestration. Don’t just enable RTP—integrate it, automate it and make the data actionable.

Question: What can you expect in “the last mile of automation”?

John: The last mile is where the actual value of automation is unlocked or lost. It’s invisible because it’s not a dashboard or a widget. It’s what happens after the payment: automated matching, real-time insights, cash positioning and predictive alerts.

This layer is where Deluxe excels. We connect data across the entire payment lifecycle, enabling our clients to shorten their cash conversion cycle, reduce staff intervention and operate at scale. Whether we’re modernizing a traditional lockbox, adding virtual cards or embedding AP into a banking experience, our goal is to make finance not just faster, but smarter.

Question: Any final thoughts to share?

John: Modern finance isn’t just about automation. It’s about turning payments into insight. At Deluxe, we help businesses get paid faster, protect their payments and unlock strategic value from the systems they already use. The future of finance isn’t coming. It’s already here and we’re helping clients lead the way.