Card-based government purchasing programs are well established in both the US and UK, where national and local governments have programs in place that have transformed the way in which they purchase goods and services, manage expenditures and deliver benefits. Major potential in Asia Pacific Governments are the single largest purchasers of goods and services in all countries and have a huge opportunity to reap significant gains in administrative efficiency, cost savings and transparency. Government spending in Asia Pacific represents over US$1.1 trillion, or an average of 15 percent of gross domestic product. According to a study of six key Asia Pacific markets - Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan - conducted by Global Insight, an economics consultancy, over US$300 billion of government expenditure could be made through card-based electronic payments. The evidence of programs running in a number of markets including the UK and US, suggests that for every billion US dollars spent by governments, there is a potential saving of US$100 million to be made through Visas government card programs. Visa, working through its member banks, is the leading provider of government payment services. Its global network and unrivalled acceptance make it the ideal partner for governments. Cannon also highlighted Korea as the Asian market in which these programs are most developed. As part of a drive to increase transparency and good governance, the Korean government had mandated 54 of its agencies to use cards in a major program encompassing T&E, procurement and expense management. Sharing global best practices Over the last 20 years, more than 2,000 Visa government programs have been implemented in 25 countries generating estimated cost savings of more than US$4.5 billion. Between 1995 and 1997, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and the UK were the first countries outside the US to automate procurement and many of these countries have continued to expand their programs, delivering enormous benefits to taxpayers. Over the last five years, new programs have been piloted or launched in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and Thailand.
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