Virtual cards for B2B travel payments are gaining attention as travel companies look for ways to automate payment processes and improve the experience for both customers and employees. The travel industry has been an early adopter of virtual card account numbers, particularly within booking workflows where automated payments can simplify transactions between travel sellers and suppliers.
As virtual card technology becomes more closely integrated with travel systems, its role could extend beyond booking into hotels, transportation, and other points in the travel journey. Easier acceptance at the point of sale could further expand these applications while helping businesses reduce manual payment processes and deliver the streamlined digital experiences that a changing workforce increasingly expects.
This particular piece (which is accompanied by a video as well) is very simply an endorsement for the continued use of and expansion into virtual card account numbers for B2B payments. This discussion is specifically about the travel space usage which has been an early adopter of virtual cards.
Increasingly we are seeing the incorporation of virtual cards into the travel booking and usage experience, for now somewhat limited to the booking process. Eventually this will expand as mobile capture at the POS becomes ubiquitous, and the virtual card process and understanding (more specifically in hotels and transportation scenarios) is rationalized and made easy.
In this short piece we see an executive touting the experience created for customers, but also the importance of providing similar experiences for his own employees, an important consideration as the millennial (and Gen Z) staff continuously grows into the workforce
“Travel sellers and suppliers can improve not only the traveller experience but also employee satisfaction by automating their B2B payment processes”, according to Anthony Hynes, managing director of eNett International.
The continued adoption of virtual cards for B2B travel payments demonstrates how payment automation can support more than transaction efficiency. Travel companies can use virtual card accounts to simplify interactions with suppliers while creating more convenient processes for employees responsible for booking, managing, and reconciling business travel.
As mobile acceptance and point-of-sale capabilities evolve, virtual cards could become useful across more stages of the travel experience. For travel sellers and suppliers, expanding these capabilities offers an opportunity to modernize B2B payment processes while improving the experience for the employees and customers who rely on them.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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