Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a leader in commercial card and payables
solutions, today announced additional functionality to the card
management tool, Works®. The new solution, Online Account
Request, simplifies the card application process by providing an
electronic means to request a card and reducing new card application
processing time by as much as 50 percent.
Many companies today process hundreds if not thousands of card
applications per month. Done manually, the processing is vulnerable to
human error when incorrect information is keyed into card management
tools. Furthermore, correcting the errors results in loss of valuable
employee time. By allowing cardholders to input their information
directly, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is helping companies to
significantly reduce both the potential for errors as well as the time
taken to identify and correct the mistakes. Online Account Request
offers companies the ability to create robust process controls by
establishing electronic approval workflows. These processes have the
capacity to be audited years after the card has been created.
Online Account Request will be an essential tool for card program
administrators and treasury departments to improve efficiency and
accuracy in a company’s cardholder application processes, explained
Kevin Phalen, head of Global Card and Comprehensive Payables in Global
Transaction Services. “The new functionality is another demonstration of
Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s commitment to support our clients’
success and develop solutions that directly solve their day-to-day
challenges,” he stated.
Over the last four years, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, one of the
leaders in global corporate travel card, has invested over $1.2 billion
in its Global Transactions Services platform where corporate cards
reside. Earlier this year, the company announced the launch of a new
user interface for Works®. The redesign was a multi-million
dollar investment to improve the user’s experience by streamlining
workflows, data presentation and user navigation.
In just three years, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has experienced
double-digit growth in the global corporate travel card business. “We’re
extremely proud that more and more companies are entrusting us with
their card business. Developing innovations like Online Account Request
is key to our clients’ satisfaction. We look forward to continuing to
innovate and helping our clients be even more successful than they are
today,” added Phalen.
With more than 225,000 active users, the Works® platform
helps companies manage all aspects of their card program – from
individual card account setup, spending controls, account approvals and
reconciliation to organizationwide expense reporting. The management
tool supports card programs including Purchasing Cards, Travel &
Entertainment Cards as well as the bank’s accounts payable online tool,
ePayables.
Bank of America
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activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of
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activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of
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