In today’s digitally evolving business landscape, B2B payment infrastructure remains surprisingly outdated and inefficient, causing significant cash flow challenges and operational inefficiencies for service-based companies. Many businesses in the blue-collar and IT sectors continue to struggle with delayed invoice processing, poor invoice deliverability, and reliance on paper-based systems. Alternative Payments provides a fully-integrated B2B payments and checkout infrastructure platform that delivers immediate access to merchant services, including credit card processing, ACH bank transfers, and client-facing financing options. The company’s solution integrates robustly with existing ERP and accounting software, tracks all accounts receivable, reconciles payments, and accelerates time-to-pay, enabling customers to reduce their days sales outstanding by 40-50%. All sensitive financial data remains protected with bank-level encryption and comprehensive security measures.
AlleyWatch sat down with Alternative Payments Founder and CEO Baxter Lanius to learn more about the business, its future plans, and recent funding round.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
$22M Series A round led by MissionOG and Third Prime.
Tell us about the product or service that Alternative Payments offers.
B2B payments and checkout infrastructure offering an end-to-end payment platform that provides immediate access to merchant services, including credit card, ACH bank transfer, and client-facing financing (B2B buy now pay later).
Robust integrations with a company’s ERP and/or accounting software. We track all accounts receivable, reconcile payments, and accelerate a client’s time-to-pay. We’re focused on creating an environment where businesses payments needs are met.
What inspired the start of Alternative Payments?
We started Alternative Payments after seeing how outdated and inefficient B2B payment infrastructure remains, especially for blue-collar and IT industries. There is a clear opportunity to bring modern solutions to a massive, underserved industry.
How is Alternative Payments different?
We offer an end-to-end automated solution that’s built with a deep understanding of B2B workflows.
We do not just understand B2B workflows, we also automate them. The platform manages the complexity around B2B transactions, including risk, compliance, and reconciliation, enabling businesses to focus on growth rather than payments infrastructure.
What market does Alternative Payments target and how big is it?
We’re targeting the massive and often overlooked B2B services ecosystem in the U.S., which represents a $15T market. While e-commerce and software—at $2T and in the billions respectively—have been the focus of most fintech innovation, B2B services remain underserved. That’s where Alternative Payments comes in. We’re bringing modern, flexible payment infrastructure to businesses operating in this space, helping them digitize and optimize how they get paid.
What’s your business model?
We operate on a SaaS model, charging a monthly subscription fee for access to our platform. We collect variable transaction fees based on the type of payment processed, whether through credit card, ACH transfers, or buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financing options.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
We’ve built a lean team and a highly scalable infrastructure from day one. Our focus remains on solving real pain points that persist regardless of the macroeconomic climate. Payment friction doesn’t go away during a downturn—if anything, the need to operate efficiently becomes even more critical.
What was the funding process like?
It was highly targeted—we looked for investors with deep expertise in fintech and infrastructure. MissionOG and Third Prime not only brought capital but also strategic insight and relationships that are already proving invaluable.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Market volatility has certainly posed challenges for investors across the board and navigating that environment hasn’t been easy. That said, we’re incredibly proud to have earned the continued support of our investors throughout this process. Collaborating closely with them gave us a valuable opportunity to highlight what truly sets us apart.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
There’s a clear and growing need to accelerate payments and shorten the time it takes for service-based businesses to get paid. As financial uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on small and mid-sized businesses, these kinds of streamlined, dependable workflows are essential. I think that real, tangible impact is what resonated most with our investors and gave them confidence to back us.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We’re focused on scaling our go-to-market efforts, deepening product capabilities, and expanding integrations with key platforms. We’ll also be growing the team across engineering and client success to support our next phase of growth.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Stay focused on the customer. If you’re solving a real pain point and driving measurable value, the capital will come. Be capital-efficient, iterate quickly, and don’t underestimate the power of persistence.
Where do you see the company going in the near term?
We’re scaling our go-to-market engine, onboarding more enterprise customers, and continuing to refine our platform. The goal is to become the default infrastructure layer for alternative B2B payments.
What’s your favorite spring destination in and around the city?
We love getting outside in Central Park and enjoying the spring / summer weather.
