Accounts payable automation with human approval
Accounts payable automation with human approval means software reads, matches and pays routine vendor invoices on its own, and stops for a person whenever something is new or unusual.
Updated
What runs on its own
An invoice from a vendor the business has paid before, to bank details it has verified, within its limits, that two independent checks agree on. That is most invoices, and none of them needs a person.
What stops for a person
A new vendor. New or changed bank details. An amount over the per-payment or daily limit, or unusual against the vendor’s history. Anything a check flags, including bank digits that are hard to read. The person sees why it stopped and approves or declines.
Why the bank-details hold matters most
Changed bank details are the signature of business email compromise, the fraud in which a supplier’s real invoice is paid to a fraudulent account. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported about three billion dollars in losses to it in 2025. A hold on every new or changed account closes the door that fraud walks through, at the cost of one approval per vendor.
Why two checks, from two providers
One model proposing and the same model confirming is one opinion twice. A second check from a different provider, reading the original invoice without the first check’s reasoning, is an independent one. Nothing pays on its own unless both agree.
How OpenMerchant does it
Pay vendors reads the invoices in a connected Gmail inbox and applies exactly these rules: paid on your rules, and everything else waits for you.
Sources
Eligible businesses can use a financial account provided through Stripe to fund supported vendor payments. Availability and account approval are subject to program requirements. Review applicable terms, fees and disclosures before use.