Communications of the acm

E
NHANCED
P
URCHASING
C
ARDS
Enhanced purchasing cards, or p-cards, (such as Mas-
terCard’s e-P3) are e-payment solutions that offer man-
agement services for B2B purchasing, presentment,
and payment. This e-payment strategy is the result of
collaboration between outside software vendors and
existing p-card issuers to provide businesses with cus-
tomized end-to-end e-commerce. P-card solutions
allow buyers and sellers to collaborate within a com-
mon environment, streamline payment processes, and
use p-cards for payment. Businesses transmit orders
electronically, view the status of orders and invoices
online, control the initiation of payments, and inte-
grate data into existing financial systems. 
Enhanced p-cards
share many of the positive
characteristics of desirable
e-payment networks.
They are typically Web-
based and relatively easy
to integrate with legacy
software and hardware
environments. This ease
of integration greatly
reduces the cost and com-
plexity of implementation. Another p-card benefit is
reduced potential for fraud and credit loss, due to
enhanced settlement processes. P-card transactions set-
tle through an online “credit gateway” associated with
the p-card issuer that allows institutions to exchange
encrypted information for authorization purposes.
These systems provide a secure environment for pay-
ments because sensitive account information is not
exchanged directly, and transactions are easily traceable
and challenged when disputes arise. 
One significant disadvantage of enhanced p-cards is
that interchange fees typically still apply. This means
that suppliers may be averse to accepting the enhanced
p-card for medium- to large-value (more than, say,
$1,000) transactions, as fees increase as the dollar value
of the transaction increases. Given these benefits and
limitations, the enhanced p-card represents a good way
for current users of p-cards and prospective e-payment-