A lot of other risk is perceived rather than actual, and a credit limit is not a primary protection against fraud. If companies set a restrictive limit, the card will not be fit for purpose. “It is far more helpful to query
exceptions to policy,” he continues. “We are seeing a much greater emphasis on post-transaction control.” Citi has recently launched an audit tool, which flags behaviour inconsistent with policy, such as transactions above a certain threshold in each spend category. Another way in which companies
are extending control is by widening the net of what they pay for with a card. In particular, Amex reports, mobile telephone bills are increasingly being paid by card and so too are meetings, which have traditionally been paid by invoice. Meeting spend in hotels captured on Amex cards rocketed 29 per cent in Europe last year.
IN NEGOTIATION Companies can also contain their travel costs by using the spend data in negotiations with suppliers. According to a survey of 1,234 travel card programme administrators by Palmer & Gupta, quoted in the MasterCard white paper, companies that use travel card data in negotiations obtain 33 per cent better discounts than those that do not. It is a powerful figure, but both
Citi’s Cannings and AirPlus International UK managing director Yael Klein question whether UK companies use data for this purpose as much as in the past. “It will remain important, but perhaps less important than when it was introduced because companies which didn’t previously have supplier programmes are mature now,” says Cannings. “Supplier negotiation data is more important in developing
HOW COMPANIES USE TRAVEL CARD DATA TO REDUCE CORPORATE T&E PURCHASING COSTS
92% 91% 88% 85%
72%
Monitor compliance with policy Audit travel activity Update or improve travel policies
Track and analyse travel spending patterns and trends
Engage in price negotiations with vendors
markets like Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.” Klein offers a slightly different
take on the topic. “We think there is more and more reliance on spot- buying, especially among mid- market customers,” she says. “It is different in other countries like Germany, where air deals are still going very strong.” Also going strong is an
increasing understanding of the process efficiencies to be gained from a card if – and only if – it is integrated into a wider strategy for managing expenses. The most obvious example of integration is to provide an automated feed from travellers’ corporate cards
8 Buying Business Travel 2012 In association with
Source: Corporate T
ravel & Entertainment Payment Cards – The Benefits for T