Elan is one of two providers selected to issue cards to departments and agencies of the Canadian government.

"Visa acquisition cards can help provide government agencies with the right combination of payment services and information management tools to increase transparency by helping to manage expenses, improve cash flow, and reduce processing costs," said Kareem Chouli, Head of Commercial Solutions in Canada, Visa Inc. "Visa Canada is very pleased to support Elan Financial Services in its issuance of Visa acquisition cards to our federal government."

Visa acquisition cards offer a variety of features to cardholders. Accepted everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted, Visa acquisition cards can help prevent fraud and misuse as well as streamline the purchase and accounting process by reducing purchase orders, invoices, and cheques; improve management reporting, including grouping and analyzing spending in multiple views, through data consolidation; use spending data for strategic sourcing to negotiate supplier and volume discounts; and gain access to state-of-the-art management reports to assist with tax reporting requirements.

"We are extremely pleased to work with Visa to issue acquisition cards to the Government of Canada," said Doug Ichiuji, senior vice president and head of government services for U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems. "Many of our most effective solutions have grown out of our long-standing partnership with our public sector partners, and we are looking forward to meeting the Canadian government's payment needs for many years to come."