Aberdeen Group announced today that companies that participated in a recent study of payment card usage were able to achieve significant benefits in three primary areas with their payment card program:
- Reduce Transaction Costs - Utilizing payment cards was shown to collapse the cycle time and overall cost to process invoices and expense reports
- Improve Compliance - The automated transaction reporting and processing that is achieved with payment card usage enables companies to significantly reduce unauthorized purchases by employees and effectively monitor transactions
- Improve Negotiated Savings - Payment cards enabled increased visibility and control over spend, thus companies were able to negotiate greater discounts with suppliers
A recently published report that benchmarks payment card usage within the enterprise found that over 60% of companies still allow personal credit cards to be used for company purchases, in spite of the compelling benefits achieved by best in class users of corporate payment card programs.
Payment cards which include purchase cards ("p-cards"), travel cards, and fleet cards, were shown to reduce transaction costs savings and cycle process time while increasing spend visibility. Payment card users also reported significant savings in supplier negotiations due to increased leverage. Yet check usage is still the most commonly used method for payment of business expenses, followed closely by wire transfers. Companies that allow personal credit cards, checks or other form of payments for company expenses generally fail to maximize the benefits of their payment card programs.