The latest trend is going virtual, whether it’s working virtual, virtual reality or virtual payments; doing things virtual is the way to go. It should be of no surprise that travel payments are going virtual too. Soon the days of carrying around physical plastic cards will be a thing of the past. This article summarizes the benefits of using virtual payments.
Benefits
- Unique Card Numbers – Each card is generated on demand and has a unique 16 digit number
- Reduce Physical Cards – Only issue physical cards to frequent travelers; issuing corporate cards and their fees are expensive, especially if travelers only travel once or twice a year.
- Reduce Fraud – Since no plastic card is issued, it is harder for someone to steal or lose their card
- Increased Security – Unique 16 digit card numbers can be set for single use or multiple use before becoming invalid
- Increase Policy Compliance – Virtual cards can be set to only issue when travel adhering to company policy is booked
- Set Transaction Specific Parameters – Individual parameters like budget limit, carrier set, hotel chain, currency type, number of use, valid date range, etc can be set for each individual card
- Enhanced Data Quality – Additional data from the booking is passed into payment generation and back after payment occurs, ensuring detailed information like airline ticket number, cost center, user ID, project number, etc are accounted for in every transaction in both travel and financial systems
- Globally Accepted – Virtual cards transact through the same infrastructure and platforms that current credit cards work
- Real Time Processing – Virtual cards act like normal cards and are transacted immediately and settled daily
- Rebates Enabled – Like normal cards, earn rebates based on transactional volume
- Lower Fees – Because virtual cards are more secure than other types of payments, the fees to use them are also lower, saving you money on every transaction
- Transact In Global Currencies – Virtual cards can be funded, issued and settled in any currency that credit cards can
- Reduce The Cost Of Business –Reduce manual labor in your Accounts Payable department and eliminate costly fees for payment like wire costs for international payments
- Supplier Default Protection – Virtual cards are back by card networks like MasterCard, Visa, Amex and Discover who provide money guarantee protections
- Reduced Currency Fluctuations Exposure – Currency fluctuations can often be avoided by locking in rates at time of booking
- Manage Cash Flow Better – Reducing fraud, currency fluctuations and fees allows more precise budgeting and smarter use of your money