The challenge: Managing multiple payment methods
Travel managers, we heard you. Managing multiple payment methods across different countries and spend types can be complex. Whether it’s tracking charges on central card accounts (BTA, CTA, M&E cards, department cards, Virtual Card Accounts) or reconciling monthly statements, these tasks add complexity and risk to your already dynamic role. Add in a lack of visibility into payment details like traveler name, trip reason, and cost center, and the task (and your job) becomes tougher.
Modern global or domestic travel programs often use a variety of payment methods, such as centrally billed accounts, virtual card accounts, and invoice-based payments, to settle travel-related expenses. Many programs also work with multiple payment providers or fragmented reporting methods, resulting in limited visibility across travel payments. This lack of transparency could cause issues around tracking where money is spent, when it is spent, why it is spent, and whether it aligns with company policies. These challenges affect the travel program and the organization in several ways:
- Operational disruptions: Delayed reimbursements, inaccurate records, and confusion during audits can lead to frustration for everyone involved.
- Increased financial risk: Without clear visibility into spending, overspending can go unnoticed, and fraud or misuse of funds becomes harder to detect.
- Wasted administrative resources: Manual efforts to reconcile and track payments drain valuable resources, with finance and travel managers spending countless hours reviewing transactions and investigating discrepancies.
The solution: Manage multiple payment methods with BCD Pay
The good news is that these inefficiencies don’t have to be a permanent fixture in your travel programs. BCD Pay, our T&E spend management program, can untangle the web of payment methods and provide greater visibility into payment data.
BCD Pay’s Corporate Wallet reduces the complexity of accessing summary information for centrally billed or virtual card accounts. Clients have told us that Corporate Wallet provides an easier way to view their account activity than their global banking partners. By consolidating payment data into one platform, businesses can streamline their tracking process and ensure consistent data formatting across different sources.
After viewing summary information using Corporate Wallet, it’s simple and easy to navigate to the details associated with their accounts using Digital Invoice Management and Virtual Payment Automation. Client travel, finance, and accounting teams will go from waiting days for invoice details or copies to seconds.
Real-world impact
A travel manager of a global professional services company shared how quick and easy access to payment and invoice information has helped their program: “Many employees wait to create their expense reports and then find they are missing an invoice. Having access to BCD Pay allows us to support requests for missing invoices so that important expense report deadlines aren’t missed.”
