Singapore – Citigroup Global Transaction Services, a unit of Citigroup, and MasterCard International has announced a multiyear agreement to launch commercial cards in Asia-Pacific.

Under the agreement, Citigroup will provide MasterCard-branded card payment solutions to multinational corporate clients in the region through its Citibank commercial card business.

The programme provides a payment solution that allows a corporation to enhance payment procedures and improve business performance. By streamlining labour and time intensive procurement processes, these solutions save time and money, reduce or eliminate paperwork, allowing management to improve front and backend controls through comprehensive information reporting and flexible authorisation options.

Citigroup and MasterCard said a corporate card programme could potentially result in savings of up to 50 per cent per year for a corporation.

MasterCard vice-president, commercial payment solutions, Asia-Pacific, Mr Peter Gordon, said: “We understand corporations face a tougher choice than ever before and the procurement needs go far beyond a well-accepted payment card.

“Payment solutions must take an end-to-end integrated approach that works with existing or future processes to provide continuous improvements in efficiency and control. Today, the competition corporations face is tougher than ever and every effort to streamline spending, control costs and eliminate paperwork pays off in greater efficiency and agility.”

The programme will be launched in Hong Kong and Australia and expanded to Malaysia and Singapore.