This holiday season, we have a lot to be grateful for, and the development of smarter, more secure corporate travel payments is on the top of our list. With yet another hotel data breach making recent headlines, corporate travel managers are desperately searching for a more secure payment alternative that will mitigate the risk of a future data breach impacting their people and organization. As we enter into a new year, make it a resolution to re-evaluate all that is going well with your corporate travel payments.
As we’ve seen, traditional corporate payment methods have the potential to leave travelers personal and financial information exposed to hackers. While fraud and breaches may be inevitable, virtual cards have become the ideal solution for hotel reservations.
Companies are drawn to virtual cards because of the security features they offer. As the name implies, there is no physical card to be stolen. Instead, a 16-digit virtual card number, three-digit security code, and expiration date gets issued for a specific transaction amount and vendor. When single-use virtual cards are used to make a reservation, if a charge is outside of preset limits, the transaction will be declined. After use, the virtual card number and accompanying data instantly becomes invalid, so if the number is stolen, the damage potential is extremely limited. In addition, since the card number gets used for its intended purpose and nothing more, concerns over having a company credit card being used for extraneous items is eliminated.
Virtual Credit Card Payments with CSI Travel
CSI Travel combines our virtual card system, mobile payment app, and purchasing card to provide businesses with secure, powerful spending control and automated processes, along with the conveniences travelers need. CSI Travel integrates within the booking process currently being used by Travel Management Companies. This transition ensures that all the reservation data is centralized with easy reconciliation. Hotel authorization forms are automatically emailed or faxed to the supplier upon booking, and a mobile application is then employed so travelers can easily access and manage their reservations and payment, even when they’re on the go.
If history repeats itself, the next major data breach could be right around the corner and the benefits of virtual cards will become even more apparent. As we enter a new year, we encourage virtual cards be part of the conversation for corporate travel managers and their managed travel programs.
