NEW YORK – Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a leader in card services for middle-market, large corporate and public sector clients, today announced that it has enhanced its global card capabilities with new products, services and geographies. The expanded capabilities are the latest developments of a multi-year investment strategy, and reflect the continuing importance of card products to creating optimal working capital solutions for corporations and public entities.
“Everything we’ve done over the last year to enhance our global card programs has been in direct response to client demand,” said Kevin Phalen, head of Global Card and Comprehensive Payables in Global Transaction Services (GTS). “The feedback we receive from clients at our proprietary conferences and day-to-day interactions is critical to designing our investment plans and determining how and where to expand our geographic footprint. We look forward to growing our business with new and existing clients in 2015 and beyond.”
Some of the significant enhancements introduced over the last year include:
- Expanded the country footprint: The global reach of our card programs was extended to Guatemala and Turkey.
- Enhanced delivery capabilities: We now provide real-time account management and integrated global data consolidation in Hong Kong and India.
- Investments in servicing: For our clients’ corporate travelers, we continue to invest in our phone and mobile based solution set. The enhanced functionality allows users to access data and live support via their preferred channel anywhere around the globe, 24×7.
- B2B card solutions: We expanded our B2B payment solution utilizing virtual card accounts cards into the Asia Pacific region. Today, clients can enjoy the working capital benefits of the solution in 27 countries across Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America and North America.
- Chip and PIN: In April, the company announced the expansion of chip and PIN technology to all Purchasing and Travel credit card products available to clients in the United States. The bank has been a leader in chip and PIN technology, having been the first issuer to offer the enhanced security to U.S. travelers, enabling them to make successful transactions at overseas merchants and un-manned terminals.
- Mobile solutions: We launched a mobile application of Global Reporting and Account Management, the expense reporting solution for card programs. Executives who are on the go can now leverage the tool’s capabilities to help control spending, optimize profits and facilitate compliance with their own travel policies.
“Improved transparency and tighter control over expenses continue to be hot topics for organizations of all sizes in every region around the world,” said Percy Batliwalla, head of Sales for GTS. “As card programs grow in efficacy and sophistication, they are becoming an increasingly powerful tool for treasury departments – providing them the granular information they need to better manage and forecast their finances.”
Visit the Bank of America Merrill Lynch website for further information about the bank’s Card and Comprehensive Payables Solutions.
