Paymentech Corporate Fleet Cards Do More
Commercial credit-card issuer Paymentech, Dallas, has grown its business by 122 percent over the last year by adding purchasing functions to cards used for corporate travel and entertainment expenses to create an all-purpose corporate fleet card.Many of the functions of the new fleet cards were developed at the request of clients who sought to streamline or automate purchasing and expense reports. One of the cards, the British Airways MasterCard Corporate Card, is the first with air mileage rewards for employee cardholders.
Companies can easily spend $120 in processing for purchase order transactions that involve 15-20 paperwork handoffs between personnel, according to the National Association of Purchasing Managers. Card transactions reduce the number of handoffs and lower the cost per transaction to between $20 and $40.
Paymentech's Internet reporting system, PaymentNet, gives companies the power to access spending data from card transactions processed just one day before, which can be used to automate expense reporting and reduce the filing of false reports. PaymentNet also enables card administrators and cardholders to update card information online, reducing the need for customer service calls.
The travel/expense and purchasing functions are being combined through Paymentech's corporate card marketing alliances with travel vendors like British Airways and Travel One. These vendors recommend Paymentech to their clients as a provider to bundle a purchasing program into a travel services offering.
While Paymentech relies on a field sales force to generate most of its business, a small percentage of leads are reached by outbound telemarketing.
