MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank, today announced the availability of the MasterCard Purchase Control solution for corporations of all sizes to significantly increase control and flexibility in their payments management.
Powered by the industry-leading MasterCard InControl™ platform, Purchase Control will enable Axis Bank to offer its corporate clients enhanced global controls and increased transaction security that combine an integrated pre-approval process with secure virtual account numbers. Such a solution has not been available in India before.
With continuing globalization in the business world and the evolution of transactional technology, corporations are increasingly seeing the need and value for spending control and monitoring. The seamless integration of the Purchase Control application into existing financial infrastructures adds transparency and flexibility to every transaction through control of spends and comprehensive administrative tools. The system also enhances reporting and reconciliation capabilities that can help reduce supplier misuse and the risk of card fraud.
"Globally, especially in emerging markets, we are seeing huge opportunities for commercial solutions that provide control," stated Ed Glassman, Group Executive of Global Commercial Payments & Solutions, MasterCard. "At present, payments are predominantly carried out with checks, which are slow and cumbersome. For corporations in India with complex purchasing programs, Purchase Control can represent a means for the security, compliance, agility and efficiency they require in the area of corporate spending."
Jairam Sridharan, President and Head-Consumer Lending & Payments, Axis Bank added, "We at Axis Bank work towards understanding the different payment needs of customers and have consistently pioneered in bringing innovative solutions to them. With 'Purchase Control', the Bank intends to bring best-in-class technology packaged with simplicity, transparency, built-in approval hierarchy and an effective control to our Corporate Clients for making purchases. This product will simplify the way Corporates in India have been traditionally managing spends."
Corrporations integrating Purchase Control can customize it based on their needs. The platform's three core applications can be configured to deliver efficiency and control across a range of environments:
Workflow: The workflow purchasing tool is a web-based tool that expand a company's current purchasing card program to permit purchasing card spend by all employees who need it
Accounts Payable: The accounts payable tool simplifies the AP process by leveraging limited-use numbers for vendor and supplier payments, enabling control over the payments process, and simplifying reconciliation.
Distributors and Resellers: The payables tool allows a company to fully integrate virtual account number requests for payments into current procurement processes.