Thomas Register, Visa in Purchasing Card Agreement

Thomas Register on the Internet signed an agreement with Visa U.S.A. whereby buyers can use the Visa
Purchasing card, Visa credit card or other Visa payment products for purchases
via Order Online, Thomas Register’s e-
commerce site.

The agreement will provide instant sourcing and a one-stop purchasing process
for potential buyers searching on Thomas Register on the Internet, an online
directory of industrial products and services. It also enables Visa Purchasing
card users to obtain enhanced transaction data on their purchases made on
Order Online.

“Offering the Visa Purchasing card as a payment option provides Thomas’ online
buyers and
suppliers with a number of benefits,” said Pat Daloisio, associate publisher of
Thomas Register. “Not only does it make the payment process
more efficient and cost effective for those using and accepting purchasing
cards, but it also enables merchants to
attract further business both from government purchasers and the 75 percent of
Fortune 500 companies that use purchasing cards.”

“Visa’s alliance with Thomas Register represents a major step
towards increasing purchasing card acceptance from both suppliers online and
off-line, while at the same time helping Visa cardholders source goods and
services,” said Cory Gaines, vice president for merchant development and
acceptance at
Visa U.S.A.

Cardholders purchasing through Thomas Register’s Order Online will receive
“Level 3” transaction data, the maximum amount of information available for
corporate procurement. This data replicates most information found on a
supplier invoice in the
traditional paper-based environment.

“Traditionally, this data sought by Fortune 500 and government purchasers was
only made available by larger merchants,” said Carl T. Holst-Knudsen, president
of Thomas Publishing Co. “With the Thomas Register/Visa
partnership making ‘Level 3’
available for all our merchants accepting the Visa Purchasing card,
smaller and medium size companies can better compete for the business of
government and industrial buyers.”

As part of the joint marketing agreement between the companies, the Visa
Web site will feature a direct link to Thomas Register on the Internet.
First Data Merchant Services has been
selected to process real time credit card authorizations and the enhanced
transaction data to buyers.