Citi China to launch Virtual Card Accounts helping corporates to enhance security and efficiency

Shanghai, China – Citibank (China) Co., Ltd. ("Citi China") announces the launch of Citi Virtual Card Accounts (“VCA”), a next-generation global electronic payment solution designed to provide corporates with greater security, flexibility and control over their organizational expenses. Citi is the first bank to launch this solution in China, in line with the Shanghai Free Trade Zone’s focus on embracing innovative and digital solutions.

With VCA, corporates are able to generate unique virtual card numbers and dynamically set spending and reconciliation controls on each virtual card number based on their specific purchasing needs. It is designed to complement an organization’s existing commercial card program or be used as a standalone solution to streamline purchasing for large ticket items. VCA safeguards against unauthorised spend, helps prevent fraudulent purchases, simplifies reconciliation and eliminates manual paper-based payments with a faster, more efficient and traceable electronic payables solution.

Citi clients leverage VCA for supplier payments in 31 unique currencies and in 43 countries around the world. In Asia, VCA is now available in 13 markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

"This is an extremely innovative service that we can now offer to our clients in China," said Yigen Pei, Citi China’s Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions. “It provides our clients with real-time virtual card capabilities and strong controls over their transactions to help them further safeguard against risk, improve processes, and maximize their working capital."

Deven Somaya, Asia Pacific Head of Commercial Cards, Treasury and Trade Solutions, added, "We continue to see strong demand globally for new and sophisticated payment solutions to meet the evolving needs of our multinational clients in today’s digital economy. Our VCA solution will provide global and Chinese multinational corporates in China with the unique benefit of having a seamless and consistent global electronic payment solution that they can leverage across the world and wherever they do business.”

This year is the 20th anniversary since Citi started offering treasury management services in China. In 2012, Citi was the first foreign bank to issue commercial cards in China. In 2016 and 2017, Citi was ranked No. 1 for its domestic RMB payment volume among foreign banks.

Virtual Card Accounts is an extension of Citi's innovative card solutions and further extend Citi's “Procure to Pay” suite to include traditional and electronic payments via Automated Clearing House (ACH), buyer-initiated purchasing cards, and now digital virtual cards.