MasterCard, Burns Partner on B2B Payment Solution

Pan-European invoicing, payment platform designed for private and public sectors

Pan-European invoicing, payment platform designed for private and public sectors

Purchase, NY, and Manchester, UK — October 16, 2003 — MasterCard International and Burns e-Commerce Solutions today announced a joint product development relationship to introduce a new pan-European B2B payment solution, MasterCard e-P3. The companies said the solution automates the financial and information supply chain for private and public sector organizations, and it simplifies the fragmented processes associated with B2B payments.

As part of the MasterCard e-P3 program, the MasterCard Corporate Purchasing Card will be integrated into the Burns Business Exchange Service (beX), so buyers and suppliers can link electronic purchase orders, invoices and receipt confirmation with purchasing card transactions.

"Purchasing cards in Europe are at a crossroads today," said Philip Philliou, vice president, e-Business and Emerging Technologies, MasterCard International. "MasterCard's alliance with Burns to introduce MasterCard e-P3 to purchasing card issuers will offer a buyer-centric, VAT-compliant solution to streamline processes and enhance controls, while opening new purchasing categories and enabling larger-ticket transactions."

Burns' accounts payable automation expertise, in combination with MasterCard e-P3, provides an almost paperless accounts payable process, according to the provider. The company claimed that benefits include a 20 to 40 percent decrease in the total cost to process invoices; higher discounts due to faster electronic approval processes; improved cash management; and the opportunity to analyze overall spend and procurement trends.

"We are excited to be working with MasterCard and its member financial institutions to integrate MasterCard e-P3 into the Burns' electronic invoicing service," said David Foster, chief executive officer of Burns. "Our customers rely on us to link their business with trading partners. Currently, we have more than 32,000 trading partners across Europe using the beX service and are processing over 5 million transactions. The integration of MasterCard e-P3 and the corporate purchasing card means that the visibility of transactions will be enhanced, optimizing expense management and procurement in the financial supply chain."

"By automating business processes and integrating MasterCard purchasing cards into the proper place in the information and financial supply chain, MasterCard e-P3 will help step up compliance with recent European Union regulatory changes that demand swift access to real-time data, defined internal controls and overall corporate accountability," said Steve Abrams, senior vice president of MasterCard Corporate Payment Solutions.

Burns' collaborative and network-based model offers fast, proven supplier ramp-up. MasterCard e-P3 supports existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and accounting systems, including Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP.

MasterCard e-P3 was first introduced in the United States with partners Xign Corp. and Velosant, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Data's eOne Global. Participating issuers include Citibank and JPMorgan Chase.

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