Today is Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day in the U.K and Canada, and Armistice Day in France and other nations—the day when we honor the signing of the Treaty of Versailles as well as all the veterans who died in combat. Did you know, however, that today only marks the ending of hostilities on the Western Front? Fighting went on in Turkey (then the Ottoman Empire) and in parts of the former Russian Empire until the July 24, 1923, Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and the Allied Nations ceased hostilities in the former Ottoman Empire.
But enough historical trivia. This past week in accounts payable saw a bit of a slow period. The Single European Payments Area shows some benefit for enterprises, Africa’s Export-Import Bank looks to boost factoring, and Concur emphasized an interest in more partnerships. Take a gander below at what happened last week in Accounts Payable news.
Treasury & Risk: Virtual Accounts Go Global
Markus Straussfeld of UniCredit wrote on November 6 at Treasury & Risk about how the new Single European Payments Area (SEPA) rules about bank account standardization presents the opportunity for enterprises to create central payments factories using multiple virtual accounts tied to a single physical bank account. Straussfeld is pleased to see the bank account standardization taking effect across Europe, and notes that SEPA’s demolition of the old country-specific payments compliance rules provides the chance for significant efficiencies for companies that do business in Europe. Read the article at http://www.treasuryandrisk.com/2014/11/06/virtual-accounts-go-global.
StarAfrica: African legislators urged to help create environment for factoring
At an event in Zimbabwe on Saturday, November 8, leaders of the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) pushed for the expansion of factoring on the continent. Dr. Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank’s executive vice president for business development and corporate banking, told legislators and regulators from across Africa at the end of the one-day seminar that factoring needed to be expanded if regional governments wanted small and mid-sized businesses to participate in the value chain. Read the full story at http://en.starafrica.com/news/african-legislators-urged-to-help-create-environment-for-factoring.html.
Buying Business Travel: What future for low-cost long-haul?
Gary Noakes yesterday examined the outlook for budget long-haul business travel at Buying Business Travel. Invoking the specter of SkyTrain, the failed budget long-haul airline that folded in 1982, Noakes’s detailed look at the future of budget business travel tackles Norwegian’s foray into the market with three-times a week flights from Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England, to New York City’s JFK Airport, as well as the rising affluence of Asian business travelers who Noakes states have minimal preconceptions of what air travel should be. Read the full article at http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/feature/1023378-will-low-cost-long-haul-work-business-travel.
Runway Girl Network: Concur seeks to forge relationships with #PaxEx stakeholders
Mary Kirby of Runway Girl Network spoke with Joe Jacobson, director of marketing for Concur, about the travel and expense giant’s interest in working with solution providers that focus on the passenger experience. Kirby posits that it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for Concur to include early-window Hollywood releases in its app, particularly given Concur’s interest in building out the capabilities in its app center. Read the full article at http://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/11/07/concur-seeks-to-forge-relationships-with-paxex-stakeholders/.
eWeek: Startup Viewpost Takes Paper, Wasted Time Out of Invoicing
eWeek has a profile on Viewpost, a three-year-old entrant to the eInvoicing marketplace founded by Max Eliscu, a serial entrepreneur who founded his first company nearly 20 years ago at age 25. Already, Viewpost has signed clients such as U.S. Bank onto its cloud-based service, an impressive feat for a young company. Read the full profile at http://www.eweek.com/cloud/startup-viewpost-takes-paper-wasted-time-out-of-invoicing.html.
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