As companies prepare their plans (and employees) for return-to-office and resumption of business travel (which we discuss in a recent blog post), two keys to good traveler experiences are stronger ‘duty of care’ infrastructure, as well as making the experience friction-free, to the extent possible. That experience is made much easier with automated expense management, tied directly to mobile phones and using virtual instead of physical cards where possible.
This announcement in American Banker has Teampay, a 2016 New York-based startup that has a spend management platform that enables companies to request, approve, and track expenditures in real-time, collaborating with Mastercard to offer a digital-first commercial card for corporate use.
‘The New York-based company’s newest product is inspired by Mastercard’s Digital First Card Program, developed in 2019 for the Apple Card. Teampay’s approach enables debit cards to be issued virtually without the need for a physical card (though a metal card is also included)….Teampay’s new card is the first use case of a commercial card built on Mastercard’s digital-driven platform, said Sherri Haymond, Mastercard’s executive vice president of digital partnerships….”As consumers become more and more comfortable with digital payments, we’re committed to delivering technology and infrastructure that connects all types of payments and information,” Haymond said in an emailed statement.’
As was pointed out in a recent survey of frequent business travelers, 84% are itching to get back on the road but want some specific safety measures in place beforehand. The same survey shows another area of employee friction needing improvement; which is the expense management process.
The survey indicates that employees spend way too much time on the expense reimbursement process and often lose money in the filing due to lost receipts. Products like the Teampay offer help to eliminate such dissatisfying travel issues, paving the way to get back to normal.
‘The digital-driven product, called Catalyst by Teampay, makes a card number immediately available within the user’s digital wallet for spending. This is meant to help with onboarding, as companies hire more remote workers who quickly rack up travel and office-equipment expenses….“Right now we’re in this strange environment where most workers are still remote but we’re beginning to see travel and other work-related expenses ramping up again,” said Andrew Hoag, Teampay’s CEO….Catalyst by Teampay also gives card users access to World Elite Mastercard benefits — concierge services, car rental and travel insurance — through the app, Hoag said.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
