Hancock Whitney clients who’ve adopted our purchasing card program regularly tell me that they appreciate our responsive service, easy-to-manage monthly cash rebates and time-saving expense management module.
One such client is an operator of convenience store/gas stations. The client issues purchasing cards to executives and managers that allow them to pay for travel and entertainment and other business expenses. In 2016, the client’s CFO came to us, his lender, looking for an easier-to-manage card program. He’d been using a complicated American Express program that required him to regularly track and redeem points and choose the type of rewards he would receive, such as gift cards or cash.
The company’s CFO switched to our Visa purchasing card program, in large part because it offered a straightforward, monthly cash rebate. In addition, he liked how our expense management module simplified the expense reporting process for his cardholders.
After moving its existing purchasing card program over to Hancock Whitney, the company started using one of the cards for accounts payable — to purchase supplies for its stores. Using the Visa Supplier Matching Service, we identified suppliers to the company that were already taking cards, and reached out to them on behalf of the company, working to secure acceptance from as many suppliers as possible.
Since adopting the Hancock Whitney purchasing card program in 2016, the store operator has increased card spend by over 20%, which has significantly boosted cash rebate revenue.
Impressed by responsive customer service
But what has impressed the CFO the most about the program, he tells me, is the personal and responsive client service he’s received, including ready access to bank associates.
Here’s just one recent example: The store operator had a large-dollar purchase to make, but the transaction’s dollar amount was more than double the credit limit on any one of the company’s cards. The client brought the problem to our service area and we worked with the company in a timely manner to adjust the credit limits within its program, avoiding any delays and ensuring the company retained its rebate on that transaction.
Recommended us to a friend
Because of the impressive service, monthly cash rebates and ease of the expense management module, the store operator’s CFO didn’t hesitate to recommend Hancock Whitney when a friend last year asked who he was using for purchasing cards.
That friend, president and CEO of a manufacturing company in the same city, had been using an American Express card program as well as a second program through a major national bank. He too didn’t appreciate the extra time and effort required for monitoring and calculating the rewards points for the two programs and was considering moving all of his card business to the national bank. Instead, he chose our card program — influenced by his friend’s description of the service he’s received and the fact that our program offers a monthly cash rebate rather than the annual rebate his national bank pays.
It’s gratifying when a client likes your product and the service you provide enough to recommend you to another business. I believe it says something about the quality of what we’re offering.
If you’d like to learn more about our commercial card services, contact your Hancock Whitney banker.
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