What do run-flat tires and payment and expense technologies have in common? They are both designed to eliminate a disliked task.
Just as run-flat tires have largely eliminated the risky roadside task of installing a spare, emerging technology could one day completely relieve travelers of the need to claim expenses, concludes BCD Travel’s latest Inform paper. Payment and Expense, Emerging Technology and Travel Management examines how new innovations will change payment and expense.
New technologies can improve the traveler experience and provide major advantages to managers and accounting departments. Examples include:
- Machine learning can provide an analysis of invoices and automatically feed information into the correct fields of an expense claim.
- Blockchain will allow a supplier to issue a fully itemized transaction record directly into the client company’s accounting system.
- Booking and payment can be made “fun” by allowing travelers to book a flight by selecting an airplane that’s flying across a virtual map via virtual or augmented reality.
- The Internet of Things can automate the hotel experience by sending a receipt directly to the traveler’s expense system.
“Anyone who has traveled for business has experienced the inconvenience of filing an expense report,” said Mike Eggleton, Senior Manager Analytics and Research at BCD Travel. “In the near future, technologies using machine learning will dramatically simplify expense reports—and reduce the dread we have for them today.”
The Inform series on emerging technology and travel management
Payment and Expense is the fifth report in a six-part series on emerging technology and travel management. Previous reports have covered the impact of new and emerging technologies on sourcing, policy, communications, and duty of care. The final report will explore how emerging technologies will improve the performance of business travel programs.
To receive all six reports as they are published, visit www.bcdtravel.com/inform and subscribe to our Move blog.
