As co-founder and CEO of financial technology firm Conferma, Simon Barker has been in the thick of corporate travel’s virtual payment movement. The benefits of single-use virtual credit card accounts are well known: improved security, better management controls, easier reconciliation and a more convenient experience for travelers without their own corporate cards. Barker points out…
Purchased for $757 million in 2000, the GetThere corporate booking tool is hardly mentioned in Sabre’s annual reports. The TripCase mobile app isn’t mentioned at all. As usual, neither came up during this morning’s earnings conference call. Along with Sabre’s virtual payments offering, these products have bounced around inside Sabre and had four leaders in…
[UPDATE, Nov. 27, 2017: International Air Transport Association members last week approved rule revisions allowing travel agencies to use their own credit cards or “alternative transfer methods” to purchase airline tickets on clients’ behalf. The revisions changed the wording of IATA Resolution 890 to bring it “in line with industry rules and best practices,” according…
[UPDATE, Aug. 21, 2017: Concur plans in September to run virtual payment pilots with travel management companies that have gone through a “readiness” program. In an update for TMCs, Concur indicated that they must have a relationship with Conferma and support virtual payment for both Concur Travel and offline reservations. Concur also indicated that the…
Amid a steady flow of announcements about virtual payment in corporate travel, American Express is putting on a different spin. It has created a model that combines the single-use concept of virtual account numbers with the centralized Business Travel Account setup. Amex’s “enhanced BTA” now is available in Australia and the United Kingdom, with additional…
[UPDATE, Sept. 12, 2017: The U.S. General Services Administration announced Citibank and U.S. Bank as contractors for its SmartPay 3 program, covering purchasing, travel, fleet and integrated payment services. GSA indicated that the program would total $700 billion in transaction value during the contract term, which including extension options would run from November 2018 to…
Hotel Buying Oct. 13, 2016 On Teleconference 2, The Company Dime and expert guests examined the dynamics of the ongoing 2017 hotel rate negotiating season. ABC Global Services CEO Eric Altschul, Hilton executive director for business travel sales Maria Chevalier, Festive Road associate Lora Ellis, Anthem travel and events director Cindy Heston and HRS . ….
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