Ditch the Check Writing, Says VAI

December 2, 2014 Alex Woodie

Organizations that use VAI‘s IBM i-based ERP software will be able to submit and accept payments electronically rather than write or cash checks as a result of a new partnership with Comdata.

The partnership that VAI (Vormittag Associates) formed with Comdata earlier this year will see the companies integrate Comdata’s payment processing software and network with S2K Enterprise, the name of VAI’s IBM i-based ERP software.

Comdata is a 45-year-old company that provides payment processing services, which got its start in the trucking industry. Today the company issues a variety of card types, including fleet fuel cards, corporate spending cards, and payroll cards.

According to VAI, Comdata also offers a “payment modality” via its virtual MasterCard account feature. This service enables automatic payment reconciliation over the MasterCard network, and thereby eliminates the manual check handling required to pay suppliers and process customer payments.

Comdata, a subsidiary of Ceridian that’s based near Nashville, Tennessee, has a history developing software for the IBM i platform and has partnerships with other IBM i software vendors, including trucking software developer TMW Systems and Computer Guidance, a provider of ERP software for construction companies.

Bob Sneed, senior vice president of corporate payments at Comdata, says his company’s virtual payment platform is designed to offer both suppliers and manufacturers the capability to easily and safely accept payment electronically. “We’re delighted to work with a trusted and established ERP provider like VAI, and look forward to providing their customers with a variety of innovative financial tools directly within their ERP platform, such as purchasing,” he says.

In 2013, about 20,000 customers used Comdata’s service to process more than 1.4 billion transactions using more than 600 million cards The company, which has 1,300 employees, processes about $54 billion in transactions annually.