Benefits
January 30, 2009 – 6:19 amThere are various advantages to the use of Internet-based services:
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Cost. A full range of modules is available to users at nominal cost. Automating bank transactions greatly reduces bank costs for personnel, technology, and customer service, and brings a suite of treasury services previously unavailable to many medium-sized and smaller corporations.
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Single-platform access. Access through a single platform allows the corporate user to move easily from one product to another. While some treasury workstation products are similarly organized, others have separate dial-ups, log-ons, security procedures, and screen designs for various cash management modules.
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Easy implementation. New modules can be added with minimal setup, delivery effort, and cost. User-friendly menus enable users to quickly learn and adopt new technology.
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Ease of upgrading software. In a treasury workstation environment, software must be physically installed on each PC, resulting in multiple installations each time software is upgraded. On the Web this is accomplished easily with updates being loaded onto a single server.
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Straight-through processing. Vendors can begin to focus efforts on straight-through or full-cycle processing, involving entire sections of the cash flow timeline. For example, e-commerce purchasing, accounts payable, and disbursement services are becoming available as banks look to expand their product offerings and as companies outsource functions not considered as core competencies.
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Pricing. Fees for Internet-based products are lower than bank workstations and significantly less than for vendor-supported treasury workstations. Depending on the configuration, bank workstations typically cost in the low five figures, often in the $25,000 range.Vendor workstations can cost $50,000 for the minimal configuration, and as much as $500,000 for full functionality. Internet-based treasury information services may cost a few thousand dollars per module.
Taken From : Essentials of Managing Corporate Cash
