Virtual payments ■


Nick Easen


Virtual realities


Payments are now catching up with the digital revolution


involves paying for goods and services. Digital payments are potentially the biggest shake-up to corporate travel since plastic credit cards – virtual cards, as well as mobile and invisible payments are on the rise. “Half of all travel reservations are likely to be done through a virtual card within the next three to five years,” says Melissa Gargagliano, head of EMEA commercial cards at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML). “We are seeing an increased adoption of the technol-


A 14 BBT CORPORATE CARDS SUPPLEMENT 2017


s corporations across the globe gradually digitise their businesses from end- to-end, it’s unsurprising that part of that process


ogy, both by clients and suppliers alike. They are proactively asking to know about virtual card capabilities, whereas two years ago that was not the case.” Having lagged behind the digital


revolution, virtual payments are now right at the heart of this transforma- tion, with ‘fintech’ – financial technol- ogy – becoming a major buzzword. Many fintech start-ups are now focused on payment services. The buzz created last year is now trying to deliver in 2017.


RISING STAR “Virtual cards now account for one fifth of the monetary value of cash transac- tions, so it is a growing sector,” says


Roberto Scolaris, product manager at Concur. “There is no doubt that virtual payments are currently one of the key trends within the industry.” For Airplus, virtual cards have now been its fastest growing product for the past three years. There have also been industry developments that have helped facilitate their uptake. For instance Sabre has now incorporated virtual payments into its platform. Now any client whose travel management company uses this GDS to make book- ings is able to incorporate virtual cards into their payment strategy. But despite the hype, this payment form has not achieved global domina- tion. When it comes to the payment


In association with


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