Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- City Bank Limited, the country’s oldest private commercial bank, launched prestigious American Express Corporate Cards in Bangladesh Saturday.
The American Express Corporate Cards --American Express Corporate Card and American Express Gold Corporate Card-- are business expense management cards issued through a company for its employees. The Employees will use the card for their business purpose Travel and Entertainment (T&E) payments at hotels, shops or to vendors.
The products were launched by City Bank chairman Aziz Al Kaiser and American Express EVP & Head of GNS Japan, Asia Pacific, and Australia Kula Kulendran in the capital Dhaka on Saturday.
The American Express Corporate Cards, introduced in 1966 and first of its kind in the world, is now serving 7 million corporate cards and over 170,000 companies in 51 countries globally and it is ranked as 15th best global brand by Inter-brand, City Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer K Mahmood Sattar said.
The American Express Corporate Cards will enable Bangladeshi businesses to maximize control and ensure transparency of employee expenditure, accelerate savings with accurate spending data and streamline the whole expense management process.
Any Business- public, private or sole proprietorship- can avail the cards for its employees. Instead of giving cash in advance, the firm would give its employees a pre-limit corporate card for official expenses.
The card will also provide superior benefits to travelling employees, providing insurance coverage, medical assistance and fast track immigration channel and access to City Bank American Express Lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal Int'l Airport.
City Bank will issue the cards, manage accounts and provide customer service in Bangladesh whilst The American Express will bring in its global expertise and provide customer support in 140 countries. Clients can also access 900,000 ATMs globally using The American Express cards.
Currently the size of domestic market of corporate expense management solution is approximately 15,000 businesses, according to a City Bank estimate. Earlier, the bank introduced American Express Customer Card in November 2009.
BBN/SSR/SI=10Oct10-12:36 am (BST)