Tom is a trusted advisor on procurement and third-party management to organizations across the United States. Having worked with over 120 organizations over his 30-year career, he has a unique ability to bring creativity and discipline to finding solutions for even the most complex challenges his clients face.One of the newest and most flexible forms of electronic payment are virtual credit cards. A virtual card is a 16-digit credit card number that’s created solely to pay for a single transaction at a predetermined dollar amount – but without the physical card. Virtual credit cards are designed to be an alternative to check or ACH payments, and can be accepted by any vendor that accepts payment by credit card.
Here’s an overview of how the process works:
Some of the great benefits virtual cards provide include:
Cash Rebates
One of the more tangible benefits of virtual cards are cash rebates, the level of which is tied to your payment volume. The more payments you process using virtual credit cards, the higher the rebates you can earn.
Stronger Internal Controls
According to the Association for Financial Professionals, paper checks are still the number one target for payment fraud. Virtual payments allow you to set specific dollar amounts and expiration dates on each payment, giving you another layer of protection on your payments that improve controls and reduce the risk of payment fraud.
Simpler Accounts Payable Processes
Virtual cards automate the payment and reconciliation process by integrating with your financial system. Payment files are sent electronically from your a/p system to your virtual card payment processor. This eliminates the need to cut checks and automates the reconciliation process.
Better Cash Management
Converting to virtual card payments also means improved control over your cash. You’ll know exactly when payments need to be initiated and when they clear. This translates into better cash flow forecasting, allowing you to hold funds longer and make better cash management decisions.
If you’re considering virtual cards for your organization, we created this simple questionnaire to you can use to evaluate the opportunity. .
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Vendor Centric specializes in helping organizations create and mature the policies, procedures and systems they use to manage their important vendor relationships.
