Happy New Year for Business and Government: Visa Unveils Industry-Leading Information Management Tools
Foster City, CA (ots)
Visa Information Management Sets New Standards for Visa Commercial Solutions
In a move highlighting industry leadership for Visa commercial products and a new level of financial management tools for businesses and governments seeking greater efficiency, Visa International has unveiled a comprehensive set of information services, called Visa Information Management.
Visa Information Management represents the industry's most comprehensive suite of Web-based information management tools, including enhanced transaction data and a variety of online reporting options to help governments and businesses of all sizes effectively monitor and control expenditures. The tools are available to be customized and packaged with bank-developed data solutions based on the specific needs of Visa regions and issuers. This, in turn, complements the range of Visa's commercial payment products -- from Visa Business to Visa Corporate, Visa Purchasing and Visa Distribution.
"Sustaining economic performance in 2004 will hinge on improving financial management and overall cost savings for business and government," stated Aliza Knox, senior vice president for commercial solutions at Visa International. "Companies should take this opportunity to make a New Year's resolution to consolidate their accounting and management processes, lowering general and administrative expenses, and driving bottom line performance."
A top priority for Visa has been to generate government and business efficiency by offering the industry's best information management capabilities within the entire suite of Visa Commercial Solutions. Comments Knox, "As highlighted by the comments we have received from issuers and their customers, and the results of extensive blind studies, Visa Information Management is the best toolkit to manage payment data."
Key Visa Information Management tools include:
-- Visa Information Source -- Uses leading Web-based technology that lets accountants and managers at any size enterprise obtain transaction-level data and summary reports across all of the Visa accounts and product types used by their employees
-- Visa Travel Account Manager -- Allows consolidated management of all travel-related spending -- from airline ticketing to rental car and hotel bookings -- by offering an enterprise-wide travel account with centralized reconciliation and detailed management reports
-- Global Data Consolidation and Reporting -- Enables Visa transaction data for a large enterprises to be consolidated from multiple sources and then to be delivered in standard and custom formats through Visa's Web-based reporting and analytical tools or through a company's Proprietary reporting system
What brings unsurpassed value to these tools is the growing level of data enhancement. Data enhancement is the ability to expand transaction detail to include information such as tax charges, hotel folio subtotals, and other line item details. Such information is essential for tax reporting and a wide range of accounting and management practices. Automating the collection of these details eliminates paper handling and re-keying of data while enabling better accounting efficiency, employee oversight, and vendor management.
Cost savings are significant, as well. For instance, Visa's own corporate finance department has automated procurement and travel expense reporting for all employees through the company's ERP system using Visa Purchasing and Visa Corporate cards. The system has cut the company's costs in half, with travel expense report processing down to US$20 from a pre-automation cost of US$57.
The scale of Visa's abilities to consolidate, enhance, and deliver data are what distinguish Visa Information Management, and are the culmination of major efforts over the past five years. For instance, Visa data enhancement produces line-item detail from transactions with the broadest set of travel industry alliances, extending from airlines and hotels to car rental firms. Visa has also worked closely with enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors to enable seamless integration of payment data with leading accounting systems. Transaction data can even be downloaded directly to ERP systems through a secure web interface. Moreover, when Visa transactions are delivered on a daily basis, an enterprise can achieve a nearly real- time view of its spending globally.
Notes to Editors:
About Visa International
Visa is the world's leading payment brand generating US$2.7 trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21'000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce -- the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
For more information contact Paul Oliva, Visa International, at poliva@visa.com.
Contact:
Paul Oliva
Visa International
Phone: +1/650-432-3742
E-Mail: poliva@visa.com