Overview ■


Rob Gill Digital payments


High-profile hacking incidents continue to show the importance of tackling payments fraud


change – and that’s the remorseless advance of new technology, as you will read about throughout this supplement. Much of the innovation has revolved


around using technology such as virtual card account numbers, as well as giving more options that combine dif- ferent payment regimes like pre-pay- ment, debit and credit accounts. There has also been a focus on integrating expense solutions to help both travel- lers themselves through automation of the process and also travel departments which benefit from the collection and reconciliation of MI.


“Innovation is key and companies are casting their net wide to find the ‘next big thing’ in payments”


But what’s the next big move? Fintech firms – new technology-led financial services companies – are set to create more competition by offering these hybrid payment solutions to corporate clients. “This is something established players are looking into as well – indeed, at Barclaycard we recently updated our Precision Pay so- lution so that it offers debit, credit and pre-paid payments on one platform,” says Maria Parpou. There is also an inevitable shift


towards more mobile-based ser- vices, helped by the increase in virtual payment technology and use of API (application programming interface) links that are increasingly enabling a


In association with


range of travel expenses to be managed through a single platform on a mobile device. “Demographic changes are driving shifts in the workforce, with millennials driving demand for mobile and digital experiences,” says Amex’s Penney. “Similarly, the importance of the SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] sector is driving increased demand for working capital solutions, like cards that help extend payment terms as well as facilitate payments to merchants.” Innovation is key to this develop-


ment, and companies are casting their net wide to find the “next big thing” in payments. For example, Visa recently launched its Everywhere Initiative in


Europe. This offers entrepreneurs up to €50,000 to help develop new payments technology. This project has already been running in the Americas and Asia. “Every time we expand this


programme into a new region, we aim to attract talented entrepreneurs with fantastic ideas to the payments space, and we hope to see similar great outcomes in the European market in the months ahead,” says Shiv Singh, senior vice-president of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa Inc. Visa also opened a new European


innovation centre in London in Febru- ary – the largest of its kind across Visa’s global network – where the payment giant is working alongside financial institutions, merchants and other partners to develop new products, such as using biometric authentication to pay for tickets.


No matter how many new barriers or obstacles Brexit or EU regulators may throw up in the next couple of years, technology is set to continue leading the way in the corporate payments world.●


There is little sign of the problem going away, with financial fraud in the UK increasing by 1.8 per cent year-on- year to a total of £768.8 million in 2016, according to Financial Fraud Action UK. Card companies are continuing to raise their levels of security, including the increased use of chip-and-pin security around the world, as well as encryption and tokenisation processes designed to protect transaction data when it is being transmitted. Companies, such as Mastercard, have also been developing the use of facial recognition technology to authorise transactions. Katy Worobec, director of Financial Fraud Action UK, says: “Banks work hard to protect their customers and stopped £6 in every £10 of attempted fraud in the first half of 2016. “The industry is continually evolving


its response to fraud as it develops, investing in new detection and verification tools.”


BBT CORPORATE CARDS SUPPLEMENT 2017 09


Earlier this year, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) suffered a security breach of its web server that potentially affected the personal details of up to 43,000 individuals. Thankfully, this data did not include any payment details, but it showed how vulnerable and inviting the travel industry can be to hackers, especially given the type of data typically held by companies in the sector.


Hotel brands such as Marriott, Hyatt and Intercontinental have also suffered security breaches during the last couple of years. While airline organisation IATA (Inter national Air Transport Association) has estimated that card fraud costs the industry $1 billion a year.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36