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THE CASH MANAGEMENT BUSINESS JUST HASN'T BEEN the same for banks since the Internet came along. Instead of having to call account representatives at the branch to manage their treasury […]

Cities around the country are responding to the ever-increasing demand for enhanced return on invested capital, as well as pressure for improved security through the use of state-of-the-art technology. It [...]

TELLER MACHINE COSTS MONITORED L. Hoyt Griffith, Vice President, Electronic Banking Services, Dominion Bankshares, Roanoke, Va. Here we use a microcomputer to run an automated teller machine cost model. Current [...]

Two case studies of companies that implemented electronic data interchange (EDI) payment systems are presented. One company adopted EDI to handle its accounts payable systems. The problems encountered by the company included: phasing in an electronic system while maintaining a paper-based system, lack of compatibility with systems used by receiving banks, and developing detailed cost estimates of the system. Another company developed an electronic payments receivable system in response to requests from trading partners who wanted to send payments electronically. The problems encountered by the second company included handling electronic payments manually, the potential for increased errors, limited resources, and justifying the costs of changing the system.

The corporate trade exchange (CTX) payment format developed by the National Automated Clearing House Assn (NACHA) is not being used by banks. One problem is that many corporations are not yet ready for electronic payment of trade payables. Another problem involves the technical defects of the CTX format. CTX uses a data format that is a hybrid between the 'NACHA' computer syntax and the 'ANSI' syntax used by corporations, so problems have developed that prevent banks from transmitting, processing, and receiving electronic payments.

Account analysis statements are regarded by corporate treasurers as invoices for bank services. Account analyses have become more important to corporate treasurers. However, these analyses are also more difficult to analyze and interpret, because of higher prices for bank services, bank charges for a greater number of services, declining interest rates, the lack of standardized operating services, and stricter definitions of available balances. A number of software packages are now available to help internal accountants analyze bank account analysis statements. These programs should be selected on the basis of their flexibility, their key functions, vendor experience, and price. This selection procedure is explained.

Developments in technology can enable business to streamline functions such as finance and treasury through lesser paperwork and faster transactions. Examples include the use of spreadsheet database downloads, which has virtually eliminated monthly statements and phone calls. CD-ROM technology has also significantly lessened the burden of retrieving information on check payments in banks as well as improved storage and check shredding tasks.

Financial controllers of companies in Italy are beginning to see a bright new world opening up. Electronic banking, which has become more widely available to the corporate sector, has made [...]

Stanford University reduced its expenses for funds transfers by using automated clearing house (ACH) trade payments. Finance officers can pre-format the information required to send ACH payments and store the information in-house, which saves on bank carrying costs to store data. Pre-formatted ACH payments are used for domestic payments, payments to recipients who are likely to receive payments in the future, or if it is in the university's interest to send a payment promptly.

NEW YORK -- Texas Commerce Bank has introduced a service enabling its corporate customers to access account balance data from several banks through a single computer transmission. To use the [...]