Paymentech Builds Online Apps

<B> Paymentech Builds Online Apps</B>

By Mary Ann McNulty

<I>Dallas</I> - Extending its PaymentNet brand of Web-based payment tools, card vendor Paymentech Inc. this week is showcasing two new applications for online expense reporting and electronic payment and statements.

Warning that its expense reporting offers limited functionality with no auditing capabilities, Paymentech senior vice president of sales and marketing David Cramer said it's exactly what some customers said they needed. After using the PaymentNet.com tools to administer and reconcile purchasing cards, customers told Cramer they didn't want to pay the $140 per-seat licensing fees for the full-function expense option, nor did they want to hassle with the complexity of installing a service bureau.

"For an organization that has 10,000 users and wants every data element audited, they're going to get something else. But for those who say that T&E is so close to purchasing, and have no more than a couple thousand users, it could be an option," Cramer added.

After logging into the secure PaymentNet.ER section of the Web site, an employee could view one of the expense reports previously created or create a new report, populating it with all air, car, hotel and lodging expenses that have been posted. The reporting format lists expense categories--ATM withdrawals, airfare, car rental, lodging, meals, net due employee, other, personal expenses, total--down the side of a report, with dates across the top.

The employee would need only to itemize expenses, add out of pocket expenses and submit the report. A hierarchy within the application stores e-mail addresses for all managers and automatically notifies the approver of an expense report that's pending. Once the report is approved, the software feeds the accounting system to post the data to general ledgers and any payment applications. Employees also can use the application to view all previous expenses submitted for reimbursement.

Cramer said the expense application will be ready for general deployment by the fourth quarter.

The electronic billing product was developed, Cramer said, to help customers pay bills promptly at less cost to themselves and to the bank. The bank can process an electronic payment for just 1.5 cents, versus 11 cents for paper, he said. Cramer also said the average company spends $5 to cut a check and much less to do so electronically.

Essentially moving the paper reporting to the Web, PaymentNet.ESP presents a summary sheet of all expenditures, with the posting and transaction dates, reference numbers, vendor name and amounts that appear on paper statements. Using the E-Pay option that Paymentech has created, a corporation or individual essentially fills out a form onscreen to pay the card company, using an ACH transfer from their bank account. To help users with the process, the ESP application shows an image of a check onscreen with the amount paid superimposed on the statement.

The new applications will begin beta testing with some customers later this month.

Paymentech is not charging a fee for either application. "We're helping them process transactions effectively," said Cramer. "That's what we do.