Virtual Payments for Business Travel
Mary Miklethun – SVP Commercial Card Product & Marketing, U.S. Bank
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Agenda
• Key Research Findings
• Beyond the Data: things to consider
• Q&A
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Key Research Findings
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Characteristics of Virtual Payment Options
CTS/BTA
Single
Use
Accounts
(SUAs)
• Single centrally billed number for all transactions
• Monthly statement shows all charges to that number
• Client or their travel agency reconciles each charge to its
respective booking
• Unique account number assigned to each transaction
• All accounts roll to a single central bill
• Unique account number provides “key” to automatically match
transaction data to booking data
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Buyer Use of Virtual Payments Increasing
Q7. Which of the following forms of payment does your company use to pay for business travel (transient and group) and
meetings-related expenses? Select all that apply. [buyers only]
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Buyer Usage of Virtual Accounts
Q7. Which of the following forms of payment does your company use to pay for business travel (transient and group) and
meetings-related expenses? Select all that apply. [buyers only]
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Buyer Usage of Virtual Accounts
Q20. Overall, how familiar are you with Central
Travel Accounts? [only buyers not using CTAs as
payment method]
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Q25. Overall, how familiar are you with single-use virtual
accounts? [only buyers not using single-use virtual accounts
as payment method]
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Supplier Payment Types Accepted
Q30. Which of the following forms of payment does your company accept for business travel payment? Select
all that apply. [only suppliers from air, ground transport, hotel, TMC or online travel agency industries]
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Beyond the Data: Things to consider
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When Do Virtual Payments Make Sense?
• Alternative to other central billing methods
• Capture travel expenses that otherwise fall outside
corporate card program
 Infrequent travelers
 Contractors
 Recruits
Benefits of CTS/BTA Accounts vs.
Single-Use Accounts
Need
Protection from
fraud / misuse
CTS/BTA
 Standard protection provided with
any card-based payment
 Risk of misuse on a static account
number, potentially accessible by
multiple individuals, with continuous
credit availability
Policy compliance
Data
Reconciliation
Single-Use

In addition to standard fraud protection,
minimizes potential for misuse



Account enabled for specific purchase
Credit available for specified period of time
Limited access to account information
 Relatively little direct control over
compliance
 Accounts deployed for in-policy bookings
 Issuer and travel agency often
share data files to support
reconciliation
 Unique account number on every booking
creates a “key” for matching transaction data
to booking data – eliminates manual effort
 Prevention of out-of-policy upgrades or
ancillary expenses
 Manual intervention common
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CTS/BTA Sample Data Flow
charged to a single
central account
Employees
Travel
Agency
Corporate
Supplier
Transactions including
ticket details
Multiple flight
bookings…
Travel agency data
feed – including
itinerary details
Online Review /
Financial
Extract
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Acquirer
Matched data and invoice records
Travel agent and transaction data matched
using details such as airline ticket number
and Auth Code
Issuer
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Single-Use Account Sample Data Flow
Individual
traveler
Books travel
Travel Agency
Send booking
details
Account # sent to
Supplier with
booking info
Receive
account #
“Pool” of
single- use
accounts
Supplier
Process
transaction as
normal
Acquirer
Booking
data
Online
Review /
Financial
Extract
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Matched
data
Automatic
Reconciliation
Booking and transaction
data matched using
account number
Transaction
data
Issuer
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Travel Agency Considerations for SUAs
• More complexity in single-use account setup
 CTS/BTA simply stored by agency
 SUA requires integration to issuer
•
Points of integration
 Card issuer
 Global Distribution System (GDS)
•
Additional service fee?
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SUA Considerations - Hotel Bookings
• How will single-use account authorization information
get to the property?
• Front desk procedures
• Allowance for tax, meals, wi-fi?
• Standards still being developed; communication with
preferred properties will be critical
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SUA Considerations – Air Bookings
• Complexity in airline settlement process
• Potential for multiple transactions
 Changes and upgrades
 Through agency and direct
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SUA Opportunities and Pain Points
“I would like to learn
more about single use
payments.”
“The issues we have are
related to internal
management decisions
on how the process
works. The tools are
there we have been
unable to sell our
company on changing
the current processes.”
“Looking for solution for new hires
graduates and other entry level
positions that may not have cards or
much credit other than Corporate
Cards and Direct Bills. Single-use
virtual cards are a possibility…”
“Virtual credit cards are a great idea
in theory but in practice the method
the card information is transmitted to
hotels (by fax) is very unreliable.
The issuers have to find a better
way to transmit the card info and
work harder on educating the
merchant. “
“Want to ‘have a way to
pay for hotels without
needing to fax’”
“Interested in
integration with a
‘guest-traveler’ sub-site
within a corporate
online booking tool
solution”
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Key Takeaways
• Increase in adoption and awareness point to continued
growth
• Single-use accounts introduce new complexity, but
deliver significant benefits
• Processes at all points in the value chain – buyers,
suppliers, agencies – may change
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