Successfully Transitioning to a New Corporate Card Provider

Introduction

While the benefits of switching to a new corporate card ^[1] provider can be obvious, the actual transition can be challenging if not carried out with the appropriate levels of caution and due diligence. 

In this research abstract, we will look at the experiences of a Peeriosity member company that carried out this type of transition and learn what they consider to be the proper steps to take and the difficulties to avoid during this type of project.

Company Experience

Recently a large global consumer products company was featured on a Peeriosity Peercast^TM to share how they were facing significant challenges with their existing corporate card program ^[2].  Those challenges included not having a global contract with a provider, having different service providers for the North American and International regions, using different bank feeds to interface data in the financial system, and not effectively achieving their potential rebate levels.

Some of the desired attributes of their new corporate card program included the following:

• Global penetration of banking partner
• Local currency & central billing as possible
• Program administrator ^[3] roles can be performed centrally
• Strong reporting capabilities of the banking partner

The Peeriosity member company faced a number of challenges while carrying out the selection of the new banking partner and the subsequent roll-out of the program.  These included the level of card acceptance, having central billing not technically available, an inconsistent payment mode, the required documentation of the new program varied for each country and didn’t follow global contract guidelines, as well as bank system issues. 

Some of the lessons learned during the transition included connecting with Peers using the same partner to understand the process in lieu of your design, involving their local teams earlier so they understand the documentation requirement, and ensuring project timelines are aligned and adhered to by the bank, and stopping at the right time to make corrections if the standard process deviates.

Additional details regarding the feature company’s transition can be found on the Peeriosity member website, including the Peercast^TM recording.

iPolling^TM Results Review

The results of a poll associated with this Peercast^TM provide some insight into the Purchasing Card brand utilized and the related satisfaction level of the company with that relationship.  Looking first at the brand utilized, MasterCard was the most popular, with 33% of the companies using it.  This was closely followed by Visa with 29%, and American Express with 19%.

Reviewing the results of the second poll question, 88% of the surveyed companies are either Very Satisfied (35%) or Satisfied (53%) with their relationship with their PCard provider.  Just 6% were Indifferent and another 6% said it was too early to tell.

Some of the comments related to the poll made by Peeriosity members include the following:

Non-Profit Member: We also use MasterCard. We run a global program ^[4] in many countries and have not found one single provider that can service the whole world.

Computers & Electronics Member: AMEX is pretty responsive and has a lot of great features, like good reporting and generous rebates. The one issue is acceptance. Many smaller vendors push back on taking the AMEX card.

Manufacturing Member: We currently have very limited use of the PCard. In the early evaluation stage of rolling out a PCard program.

Manufacturing Member: Our company uses US Bank with a one-card account in the United States.

Consumer Products & Services Member: Our North America PCard program is with MasterCard, while our Europe/Asia PCard program is with Visa. The majority of spending is in North America vs. Europe/Asia.

Closing Summary

Regardless of the amount of upfront planning and preparation, the transition to a new corporate card provider can be a challenge for any company.  As was the case with our feature company, while the related risks can be effectively mitigated in most cases, there will be unanticipated issues that will complicate the implementation.

What is the status of your company regarding your current corporate card provider?  Is your current solution meeting your needs or is it time to take another look at this important area?

Who are your peers and how are you collaborating with them?

“Peercasts^TM” are private, professionally facilitated webcasts that feature leading member company experiences on specific topics as a catalyst for broader discussion.  Access is available exclusively to Peeriosity member company employees, with consultants or vendors prohibited from attending or accessing discussion content.  Members can see who is registered to attend in advance, with discussion recordings, supporting polls, and presentation materials online and available whenever convenient for the member.  Using Peeriosity’s integrated email system, Peer Mail^TM, attendees can easily communicate at any time with other attending peers by selecting them from the list of registered attendees. 

“iPolling^TM” is available exclusively to Peeriosity member company employees, with consultants or vendors prohibited from participating or accessing content. Members have full visibility of all respondents and their comments. Using Peeriosity’s integrated email system, Peer Mail^TM, members can easily communicate at any time with others who participated in iPolling^TM.