A federal judge's ruling that ends Visa and
MasterCard's practice of barring member banks from issuing credit cards from
competitors such as American Express and Discover is likely to trigger a tidal
wave of competition for consumers' business. But in the corporate world of
purchasing cards, does this give anyone a leg-up?

American Express claims it does. The October ruling by U.S. District Judge
Barbara Jones enables Amex to pursue ventures with banks similar to the ones it
has overseas. American Express is a partner with 70 financial institutions in 77
countries to offer corporate cards under those institutions' names and believes
Jones' decision will enable it to strike similar alliances with U.S.-based
banks.

Yet some experts say that the ruling isn't likely to change the p-card landscape
too significantly. My gut feeling is that because purchasing programs take
up a lot of resources, issuing banks aren?t likely to take on a new purchasing
card product, says Stephanie King, president of CPR Consulting Inc., a
Livermore, Calif.-based consultancy that focuses on the p-card sector.