Trade Finance
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Creating Synergies through Commercial Cards and Payments Innovation

by Catherine Moore, Head of International Cards, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services, EMEA

As this Guide has illustrated, there are numerous reasons for procurement and treasury to work together more collaboratively, and the opportunities for doing so are increasing. As we have discussed, there remain some challenges, not least the fact that the two business functions typically have different objectives and performance metrics. The use of commercial card programmes can make a major contribution to achieving the objectives of both procurement and treasury, enhancing payments efficiency and working capital whilst supporting rich information on supplier payments and facilitating strategic supplier relationships.

Benefits of commercial cards

Commercial card programmes will be familiar to many multinational corporations, from travel & entertainment (T&E) cards to meetings and events (M&E) and purchasing cards (p-cards). The implementation of a card programme may be driven by finance, such as treasury, or by procurement, with benefits extending across both business functions:

Benefits to procurement