BankAmerica Corp. has developed several new commercial banking services for its large and middle-market customers.
The San Francisco-based bank has developed software that simplifies the origination of automated clearing house transactions. It also now offers a multilateral netting service for large U.S. companies that do business across borders.
The new services are part of a group of cash management products that BankAmerica offers through its electronic banking system, Wanda.
Used by 190 corporate customers, Wanda gives companies access to the bank's information reporting systems and lets them initiate electronic funds transfers and foreign exchange transactions.
In addition to the Wanda enhancements, the bank has developed software that helps corporations to better manage their corporate credit card programs.
BankAmerica, like many banks across the country, is hopeful that new services will attract corporate customers that will gradually expand their relationships with the bank.
Linda Hill, vice president and product director at BankAmerica, said the enhancements help lower corporate operational costs.
She said the multilateral netting service is a response to the increasing tendency of the bank's corporate clients to do business overseas.
With its new software, BankAmerica can tally business transactions from a parent company's various units in a single currency. The software then can determine the net credit or debit positions of a company's units.
The bank's corporate card product, based on electronic data interchange software, is designed to help cardholders manage their accounts.
When a card is used for a payment, the electronic authorization of the transaction automatically generates an electronic mail message to the employee's workstation.
Upon returning to the office, the employee can use the message to generate an electronic expense report on a Windows-based screen and forward it to a manager for approval.
Kerry Williams, vice president at BankAmerica, claims travel and entertainment budgets represent the "second- or third-largest controllable expenses within companies." He says the software will automatically kick out any exceptions for review.
The new system makes "it very clear to the manager if someone is abusing the policies," he said.
