Transform Payments' Middle Ground With Single-Use Accounts

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In the ongoing quest to improve the payment process, forward-thinking financial executives are exploring new territory, including the fertile "middle ground" of payments, which encompasses a wide field of transactions that have, until recently, been handled by paper. One of the key strategies for capturing the "meat in the middle" is the Single-Use Account (SUA), which allows companies to hold on to cash longer, pay suppliers sooner, increase rebates and reduce accounts payable (AP) manpower costs.

"Payments' New Land of Opportunity," a new report by J.P. Morgan Treasury Services, highlights real-life success stories from J.P. Morgan clients who have implemented Single-Use Accounts. These clients have found Single-Use Accounts to be a simple - yet effective - alternative to check payments for medium-sized transactions.

Among the many advantages to be gained from using Single-Use Accounts are:

Greater working capital, as companies improve days payables outstanding (DPO) without negatively impacting cash flow
Increased visibility into cash management
Rebates on AP spend
Powerful security and anti-fraud controls
Integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) or other payment AP systems, done in real time or through a batch file process
Process efficiencies, including faster reconciliation and better accuracy
Process savings, based on companies' ability to reduce AP manpower
Easy implementation and management.

Single-Use Accounts allow companies to lock down purchasing controls as they see fit. They can establish unique spending restrictions, including limits on transaction amounts, dates and merchants, thus reducing (or entirely eliminating) fraud and misuse. Suppliers, too, can benefit: an automatic electronic remittance allows for faster payments to suppliers, while companies hold on to cash longer, gaining greater power over their cash flow.

To find out how Single-Use Accounts can help your company, download "Payments' New Land of Opportunity" here.