MasterCard e-P3 allows buyers to automatically link electronic purchase orders, invoices, receipt of goods and other documents with purchasing card transactions. Suppliers can use the system to issue and view electronic invoices and accept electronic payments.

The service utilises MasterCard's Global Data Repository and the Xign EFT platform to exchange data electronically between buyers and suppliers for each transaction. Online reporting of transaction data is also available through the card company's Web-based reporting tools. The system supports existing ERP and accounting systems, including Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, JD Edwards, Microsoft Great Plains and GEAC.

Stephen Orfei, senior VP and head of MasterCard's e-commerce and e-B2B centre of excellence, says the adoption of electronic B2B payment systems is largely dependent upon the automation of the broader financial supply chain, from invoicing through payment settlement through reconciliation.

Philip Philliou, vice president, e-Business and emerging technologies, MasterCard International, adds: "For the first time, MasterCard member financial institutions will see a true integration of purchasing, invoice presentment and payment, offering their corporate clients clear advantages over today’s slow, labour-intensive, paper based settlement processes."

Texas-based supply chain services company Pantellos and New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre are the first adopters of the service and have both implemented e-P3 across the Xign EFT platform and are using it in conjunction with the Citibank and JPMorgan Chase corporate purchasing cards, respectively.