What is Syncada, and what happened to PowerTrack?

Last July, US Bank  announced a joint partnership with Visa to launch Syncada, a business-to-business payment network. Then TSPs were informed by US Bank that PowerTrack was being re-branded as Syncada, with a new URL and logos. Other than those two pieces of information, TSPs have not had a lot of information about this change, and the result is a lot of confusion about what change has actually occurred and what it means to TSPs.

We thought it might help to answer some common questions about this change. Please note that we are not speaking for US Bank or Syncada, so while we have done our best to make this information accurate, the following is our understanding of the change.

What is the history of PowerTrack?

In 1997, US Bank created PowerTrack, a web-based payment system to be used to pay transportation bills. PowerTrack was very successful in selling their service to many entities, including the Department of Defense to pay TSPs for household goods moves. Over the years  PowerTrack has grown into many new areas, acquired competitors, and expanded overseas. Last year, US Bank divested the PowerTrack portion of its business in order to create Syncada.

What is Syncada?

Syncada is a joint partnership between Visa and US Bank. US Bank contributed the PowerTrack technology platform, and its information technology and operational personnel to the partnership. Visa brought its international presence and relationships with other banks, as well as a capital investment, to the venture. The goal of Syncada is to create a global business-to-business payment network that is utilized by many different banks, instead of being a payment tool utilized by just US Bank.

An analogy that may help understanding is that Syncada strives to be similar to the  major credit card networks such as Visa and MasterCard. Just as there can be a US Bank Visa, a Wells Fargo Visa, and  Bank of America Visa; someday there may be a US Bank Syncada, a Wells Fargo Syncada, and Bank of America Syncada. They will all utilize the same platform and payment network (Syncada, what was known as PowerTrack), but they will be sold and financed by the different banks.

Interestingly, the history of Visa itself followed a very similar path to what is being attempted with Syncada. It started as a product of specific bank (Bank of America) and eventually evolved into the payment network we use today.

So what happened to PowerTrack?

PowerTrack, at least in name, is dead and will not be used anymore. The reference will change to either Syncada or USBank, depending on the context. The web based payment tool is now Syncada. The entity with the responsibility for fulfilling and servicing the government contracts is US Bank.

What happened to the people who worked for PowerTrack?

The PowerTrack personnel have been divided. The IT and operational staff (which includes the help desk), have all become part of Syncada. The sales personnel and account managers, which includes Cheryl Garcia who is known by many TSPs, have remained part of US Bank.

Which entity is responsible for make the DOD payments to TSPs?

The contracts with the government for the third party payment system are with US Bank, so they are the entity that is responsible for payments to TSPs. They will use Syncada as the tool to make those payments. So, US Bank is both an owner of, and the first and only customer of Syncada.

Other Questions?

Please leave a comment below if you have other questions about Syncada and/or US Bank, and we will attempt to get an answer for you.

Related Posts

1. U.S. Bank and Visa Introduce Syncada - July 31st, 2009
2. New Look, Same Service at Syncada - February 19th, 2010
3. US Bank/Syncada Security Enhancements Occurring May 1 - April 29th, 2011