The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is implementing technology from Fundtech-subsidiary Accountis to provide bank-branded electronic invoicing services to its corporate customers. The Accountis platform uses UBL standards for its documents. RBS has signed a multi-year contract for Accountis's electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) technology which it will use to provide VAT-compliant e-invoicing services to corporate customers in the UK. The application provides detailed status information - such as proof of delivery, acceptance, query and approval status - for all documents involved in a business transaction, from purchase order to invoices. The service also provides real time dispute management. Accountis says RBS customers that implement the service will be able replace slow and costly paper-based processes with a faster and more environmentally-friendly technology. It also facilitates the bank provision of invoice-based financing services.

"For our customers we see e-invoicing as a fast-track to saving time and money," says Ian Watkinson, head of e-invoicing, RBS. "In addition to eliminating paper and automating manual processes, users of the service will quickly benefit from real-time document management, faster settlements and better working capital optimisation."
Watkinson says e-invoicing is a "strategic addition" to the bank's product portfolio.
"By offering additional transaction services such as e-invoice delivery, we will gain greater visibility of our customer's end-to-end, financial supply chain transactions. This will help us to improve our understanding of their business and strengthen our long-term relationship," he adds.