Stamford, CN April 19, 2002 GE Capital Financial and elcom have integrated GE Capital's ePcard XML payment tool into elcom's PECOS e-procurement system, a move that will help buyers and suppliers speed payment and streamline reconciliation processes, the two companies said today.
Testing of the interface began in February, and it was released to an elcom customer late in March. elcom plans to include the interface in its basic system available to all PECOS customers in May.
ePcard XML uses patented technology to automate the control, settlement and reconciliation of online purchasing. GE said the tool overcomes a hurdle in using purchasing cards with e-procurement systems: currently most purchasing card transactions generated by e-procurement systems require the supplier to manually capture the customer's purchase order (PO) number at the point of sale. ePcard XML eliminates the need for suppliers to input customer PO numbers.
Instead, ePcard XML automatically extracts the PO number from the e-procurement system, appends it to the MasterCard transaction record and transmits it to the customer's accounting system for automated reconciliation. GE asserted that this capability is going to increase accuracy and streamline administrative effort for the customer and the supplier.
In addition, when a supplier settles an ePcard transaction, the system automatically reviews the authorization request against pre-assigned limits. Suppliers attempting to charge more than the PO amount are declined authorization at the point of sale. GE said that, along with other security features of ePcard XML, its patented "pre-authorization" feature reduces potential overcharging, fraud or misuse.
"The combination of elcom's e-procurement and our electronic settlement feature saves time and money in the back office, increases security and control, and can improve the customer's return on investment in e-procurement technology," said Jeffery Dye, president of GE Capital Financial Inc., the corporate card unit of GE Card Services.
elcom e-procurement and e-marketplace solutions subsidiary of Elcom International.
