Citibank Singapore and Visa Launch Renepay - A Next-Generation Cloud-based Procurement Platform for Corporates in Singapore

03/02/2017

Citi Visa Commercial Cardmembers benefit from extensive cost savings and increased efficiency by using this fully automated B2B e-procurement platform

Citibank Singapore and Visa today announced a partnership with Renepay to launch the next-generation of business-to-business (B2B) e-procurement platform that is available only to Citi Visa Commercial Cardmembers in Singapore.

The first solution of its kind in Singapore, Renepay is a cloud-based procurement platform designed to address the complex purchasing requirements of medium and large corporates. Based on a reverse auction methodology, the platform comprises of an ecosystem of B2B suppliers in Singapore across 10 product categories¹ including Boon Lay Enterprises and Coca-Cola, among others, and buyers who are Citi Visa Commercial Cardmembers.

According to a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Development survey², 75 per cent of companies quoted manpower as the top cost issue for them. The key solutions to resolving this problem are by raising productivity, sourcing for cheaper supplies and reducing overheads. In addition, companies also stated that they faced financing issues such as declining supplier credit and delayed payments from their customers.

With Renepay, buyers benefit in the form of extended interest-free repayment period, huge reduction in time spent on negotiation as a result of the standardized purchase mechanism in addition to increased productivity from the elimination of paper-based processes. Most importantly, buyers will gain from the extensive cost savings and increased efficiency from the use of this user-friendly and fully-automated platform for their procurement needs.

Mr. Vikas Kumar, Head of Cards and Personal Loans at Citibank Singapore, said, “As a bank that is focused on understanding the needs of our customers, we are always seeking new solutions and ways of servicing to add value to their business and remain as their preferred banking partner. To that end, we are pleased to team up with Visa to offer Renepay to our corporate customers at absolutely no cost to them, who will get to enjoy up to 55 days of interest free repayment period and a peace of mind from the enhanced security when they use their Citi Visa Commercial Card to make payments online. Having such financial flexibility and security are critical to a company’s success in today’s fast-evolving business landscape.”

Vikram Kshettry, Head of B2B Partnerships, Asia Pacific at Visa, said, “With Renepay, not only do corporates enjoy the benefits of automation, but the competitive pressure created by suppliers ensures better prices for our cardholders. We recognise that corporate buying is very specialised and corporates have expert procurement teams who understand their requirements in detail. We did not want to decide what product they should buy and at what price, which is essentially what a market place does. We wanted to provide them a platform where they can interact with leading suppliers online and arrive at the best price through the online negotiation centre.”

Firdaus Mogul, Founder of Renepay, said, “We are very clear on what corporates’ needs are – they want to get the best deal on the best brands from trusted suppliers. With Renepay’s flexible platform, corporates can use our ecosystem of suppliers or invite their own. In addition, they can use standard forms that are readily available for their use or use their own customised version. At every step of the procurement cycle, we allow corporates to decide on what best works for them including what to purchase, which suppliers to transact with, and the payment process which they would like to adopt. The success of our business model is evidenced from the huge savings of as much as 17 per cent on direct costs and 43 per cent on order processing costs by corporates using our platform in India. Renepay is a revolutionary concept and we are proud to bring it to Singapore to benefit more corporates in this part of Asia.”

What sets Renepay apart from other procurement platforms is the enhanced transparency it provides. With a centralized tracking feature, companies will be able to view electronic purchase orders, invoices and payments which facilitate better transactions reporting in addition to error-free reconciliation. Please refer to Appendix 2 for information on the procurement process using Renepay.

Citibank Singapore has launched Renepay to its Citi Visa Commercial Cardmembers in February 2017.

¹ Appendix 1: 10 Product Categories of Suppliers on Renepay (Note: this list is not exhaustive and the categories are added progressively over time.)

² The SME Development survey is conducted by DP Information Group on 2,847 SMEs across 7 sectors in 2015.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit, or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations; however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit www.visa.com.sg

About Renepay

Renepay is the lead product from Infinia Corporate Solutions (ICS). ICS is incorporated in UK with fully owned subsidiaries in India and Singapore. Formed in December 2014, ICS specializes in building solutions that simplify the solutions available to commercial buyers. ICS works with leading card issuers and card issuing networks around the world to enhance their product range through technology or manpower solutions. Renepay, their first product launch, was launched in India in 2016 and has over 1500 buyers and over 500 sellers. It uses the artificial intelligence of technology and enhances it with experience of professionals to create “human technology”.