Zenith Bank has collaborated with MasterCard Worldwide to introduce MasterCard Corporate Payment Solutions to the Nigerian private and public sectors.
This new collaboration will see Zenith Bank offering MasterCard Corporate Payment Cards to the Nigerian commercial and government sectors to assist them in reducing the cost of cash within their organizations.
These cards will also enable them to streamline their processes for authorizing, monitoring and reconciling corporate expenditure more efficiently, with a particular focus on the management of travel expenses.
“MasterCard Corporate Payment Solutions include a comprehensive suite of innovative products developed after conducting extensive global research to understand the specific and evolving needs of the corporate sector,” commented Omokehinde Ojomuyide, country manager, West Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.
“We have seen a marked increase in demand for this particular type of payment solutions in Nigeria, as both private and public sectors seek more control and transparency over expenditure, and prepare to enforce corporate policies that address operational costs, and reduce the need for cash within businesses,” added Ojomuyide.
According to MasterCard Worldwide research travel expenses are ranked as one of the largest controllable expenses within any business. It is also estimated that more than 10% of direct travel expenses go towards managing the administrative costs associated with cash advances and expense report processing.
“The deployment of corporate payment cards within an organization is not just a global best practice but rather an essential tool for the successful management of travel and entertainment expenses,” said Ojomuyide.
“Corporate cards assist in meeting the core strategic objectives for Nigerian company expense programmes.”
According to Ojomuyide, these objectives include: controlling costs through improved policy compliance and budget monitoring; increasing purchasing savings through improved supplier negotiations; increasing process savings through automated payment and reconciliation of travel expenses; and finally and most importantly, looking after the needs of Nigerian business travelers by reducing bureaucracy and improving duty of care.
“Nigerian business travelers will also benefit from the fact that MasterCard payment cards are accepted at more than 33 million merchants worldwide, giving them easy access to all the goods and services they could possibly require,” said Ojomuyide.
In addition to having the ability to utilise MasterCard Corporate payment cards, Zenith Bank’s business clients will also have access to MasterCard Central Travel Solutions and the MasterCard Smart Data Online™ system.
The MasterCard Smart Data Online™ system means that every purchase a traveler makes with a corporate payment card will generate automated management information about how much has been spent, where it has been spent, and when. This data is then collected in a card management system from which the organisation can generate reports to examine policy compliance.
“Offering the benefits of MasterCard’s suite of corporate payment solutions to our clients will further position us as the go-to bank in Nigeria,” added Chioma G. Nkechika, assistant general manager/ head, Card Services, Zenith Bank Plc.
“Since its inception 20 years ago, Zenith has become well known for its commitment to introducing state-of-the-art banking solutions to the Nigerian market, and this collaboration is a seamless fit into our business strategy.”
Nkechika continued, “We have already commenced the roll out of these MasterCard solutions to our business clients, including a world leader in the oil and gas industry, our first client to implement the system. Since our client in the oil and gas sector was accustomed to working with MasterCard Corporate Payment Solutions throughout its global network, it was an easy choice for its Nigerian operations. We hope to introduce these CPS benefits to more of our clients in the near future.”
Ojomuyide concluded by saying that collaborations such as the MasterCard and Zenith Bank strategic partnership, provides tangible proof of MasterCard’s commitment to addressing the particular needs of Nigerian businesses, in their quest to adopt productive and streamlined payment solutions that assist in eliminating the costs and risks associated with cash.