SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine --- Wright Express Corp. announced that Accounts Payables Direct is available to help companies streamline accounts payable operations and manage vendor relationships.

This E-Payables application from Wright Express automates vendor payments and simplifies reconciliation without changing current accounts payable processes or software. The MasterCard program is operated through Wright Express Financial Services Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Wright Express Corp.

Wright Express added Accounts Payable Direct to its MasterCard product suite to help accounts payable departments fast-track payments to vendors, reduce the number of paper checks, limit fraud and maintain  control over the payment process.

Accounts Payable Direct also has benefits for payees in the form of quick and secure payment as companies use Accounts Payable Direct to provide payment information detail.

For the payer, Accounts Payable Direct brings more payments into the MasterCard mix, maximizing the benefits of the Corporate MasterCard relationship while managing payments to take advantage of the billing cycle to manage cash flow. And Accounts Payable Direct links directly to current accounts payable systems, streamlining the payment and reconciliation process by replacing paper checks, Wright Express said.

Jim Pratt, vice president of corporate payment solutions at Wright Express, explained: "Businesses typically give their employees a MasterCard to use for travel and small local purchases. It is a way to reduce the number of purchase orders while maintaining control over those types of purchases. Accounts Payable Direct keeps all of those controls in place where appropriate, while opening up a huge range of transactions that can be processed on the MasterCard platform. Our new offering comes with all of the service and support customers have come to expect from Wright Express."