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The next generation of payments solutions delivers value added benefits to government bodies, be it at the central, local or public-private level
 According to the UK’s National Audit Office, purchasing cards save public sector organisations an average of £28 per transaction compared to the conventional pay-to-purchase system. Beyond the proven efficiency and sustainability gains, public sector organisations are increasingly looking for end-to-end procurement tools that provide better controls and ensure full compliance throughout the purchasing cycle. The next generation of payments solutions delivers value added benefits to government bodies, be it at the central, local or public-private level.
With continuing pressure to step up efficiency and transparency of their purchasing solution, financial managers in public sector organisations demand information management systems that make sense of data quickly and comprehensively. Moreover, a sophisticated approach to authorisation parameters and payment routing, as well as better integration into an organisation’s procurement workflow, become key requirements. At the same time, stringent regulations and the need for an effective defence against fraud and abuse, especially given an ever increasing level of sourcing through web applications, further highlight the importance of efficient tracking processes and reporting.
Improving Business Intelligence
The solution adopted by an increasing number of organisations participating in the purchasing card scheme set up by Value Wales Procurement provides users with 24/7 online access to all transactions for complete security, as well as on-line management of card purchases. This also includes detailed transaction information, which can be delivered through both standard and customised reporting. Moreover, the system also has the capability to process expense claims.
A major benefit of the MasterCard Smart Data OnLine solution is that it can be specifically configured to the requirements of each user organisation thus allowing them to create their own review/authorisation workflow, account coding capability and data file exports suitable for loading into local accounting systems.
In addition, the MasterCard multicard solution is able to report any additional electronic information that is captured with purchasing card transactions (‘Level 3’ information), and replaces a paper invoice for VAT purposes. More importantly, the solution package enables public sector organisations in Wales to streamline and modernise purchasing by not only reducing the number of invoices to be processed, but by also enabling transactions to be easily monitored and verified at any time. As a result, public sector organisations are protected from misuse of the card by staff, safeguarded against over-charging by suppliers and are able to ensure that, where applicable, only contracted goods are purchased using the system.
Increasing Expense Control
While organisations channel an increasing proportion of their procurement spend through purchasing cards, interdependencies between supplier categories, organisational units and business decisions continue to become more complex. These parallel trends underline the relevance of tools that put financial managers in control over their organisation’s expenses. In turn, such tools need to be customisable for an organisation’s respective ERP solution.
Flexible solutions such as MasterCard inControl that allow to generate ‘limited-use numbers’ for individual transactions provide greater security over actual payments, thereby addressing existing control and compliance concerns. Combined with real-time alerts functions, organisations are able to reduce fraud as well as maverick spend. At the same time, ‘limited-use numbers’ reduce the challenges of reconciliation at the end of the payments cycle and provide for a more streamlined process.
Optimising Programme Performance
For organisations that want to check how they can improve their purchasing programme the MasterCard Optimiser (www.mastercard.com/eur/optimiser) provides a simple and effective tool. It enables organisations to benchmark themselves against best-in-class practices and to identify savings opportunities.
Public sector organisations are held accountable whether they manage their finances in the most efficient and transparent way. With procurement and provisions making out a significant part of their overall expenses, government institutions across the country have led the way with streamlining and modernising their purchasing process. By leveraging the next generation of payments solutions, public sector organisations can capture additional cost savings and further improve their accountability.
For more information
Jean-Yves Neveu, Vice President
Public Sector Business Development
MasterCard Europe
www.mastercardbusiness.com/europe
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