HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2002--Dah Sing Bank this week announced its entry into the Corporate Payment Solutions market with two new charge card programs.
The new products, the Dah Sing MasterCard Corporate Card (Corporate Card) and Dah Sing MasterCard Corporate Purchasing Card (Corporate Purchasing Card), will help local and multinational corporations save money and improve financial management.
As part of the product launch, Dah Sing has signed a global alliance agreement with the corporate card unit of GE Consumer Finance. Multinational customers of GE Corporate Card, including 10 GE businesses with operations in Hong Kong, will be the first organizations to use the Dah Sing products.
Derek Wong, Managing Director of Dah Sing Bank, speaking at a launch press conference, said, We see it is now the most appropriate time to launch our Corporate Payment Solutions. By settling travel and entertainment transactions by corporate card and office procurement by purchasing card, businesses can cut
their expenses and streamline the procurement process, for example, in the issuing of purchase orders and invoices and writing cheques, Wong added.
In addition to acceptance at 28 million merchant locations worldwide, the Dah Sing card programs offer the latest version of MasterCard's Smart Data OnLine (SDOL), a user-friendly, Internet-based reporting system. SDOL provides corporate customers with comprehensive reporting of transaction activity, for better tracking of policy compliance by cardholders and improved vendor negotiations.
SDOL provides global Internet-based reporting and expense management solutions as well as consolidated global spending data.
Through these online services, management can review the transactions made by its staff anywhere and any time. This allows businesses to be more responsive to company expenditures and retain better financial control, by either changing the purchase schedule or by monitoring the credit limits of staff members. Also, SDOL can be integrated with most clients' accounting systems to streamline internal reporting and administration.
Our Corporate Purchasing Card is the first on the local market supported by SDOL, said Wong, adding that he's pleased with the partnership with MasterCard. He also said he was optimistic about the prospects of the new corporate payment products saying: The current economic downturn has prompted business corporations to be conscious about cost-savings and to exercise more stringent control over financial management, particularly among small and mid-sized companies.
Danny Cheung, Vice President and Hong Kong Country Manager of MasterCard International, was equally upbeat about the new product launch. We are delighted to pair up with Dah Sing Bank, which is blessed with a wealth of business-to-business banking experiences and enjoys a strong database of local business corporations.
Our SDOL and other features, including high security make the corporate cards we issued particularly competitive, Cheung added.
In addition to the partnership with MasterCard, Dah Sing also announced its alliance with GE Corporate Card, one of the largest issuers of corporate cards in the world. Under this agreement, Dah Sing Bank will issue Hong Kong Dollar-denominated corporate cards to GE's subsidiaries and clients in the territory. This arrangement will allow GE to serve its clients with operations in Hong Kong without the complexities of running a credit card centre here.
In addition, GE Corporate Card's multinational clients will minimize payment of high exchange rates.
Alliance with GE Corporate Card is a testament of the market acceptance and support for our new corporate payment solutions, Wong of Dah Sing Bank said.
About GE Corporate Card
GE Corporate Card develops and markets corporate bank cards and e-settlement tools designed for medium- and large-sized multinational companies and organizations.
For more information, visit www.gebusinessmarketplace.com.
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