According to a recent survey by BCD Travel, buyers say simplifying the process is at the top of the list when it comes to travel and expense management.
The top priorities for buyers were: paperless expense solutions, higher transparency and control over expenses, reconciliation of booking data with payment and expense data.
The survey, which was released at the end of July, also found that "the importance" of travel and expense spend management has increased for the 164 travel buyers who responded, reaching its highest level since 2020.
BCD Travel said this year 88 per cent of buyers regarded payment and expense management as “very important” or “extremely important,” compared to 76 per cent in 2021.
And when it comes to payment setup and administration, the biggest pain points for travel buyers are suppliers not accepting specific payment methods or charging extra fees (46 per cent) and payment needs of non-employees (43 per cent).
Looking at payment methods, corporate cards (84 per cent) and central billed accounts / business travel accounts (71 per cent) are the two most often used.
The travel management company launched its BCD Pay, spend management system in 2021, and makes adaptations as new technology develops. It uses real-time virtual cards, artificial intelligence, machine learning and open APIs.
In February BCD said it was looking at the ability for receipts to be automatically attached to expense reports, something 76 per cent of travellers were asking for in another survey conducted by the group.
When BTN Europe asked if this had now happened a spokesperson said: "Our API now includes images for BCD invoices and will include images for non-BCD invoices by end of year."
The survey in May, which asked 1,349 travellers (rather than
buyers), showed half of travellers were experiencing challenges with
complex expense categories, such as hotel stays with meals and other
incidentals paid separately.
The traveller survey also showed only 1 per cent of those on the road
used virtual payment options despite the latest results from buyers
showing 38 per cent offered it as part of their T&E programme.
Ajay Singh, vice president, digital payment and expense products at BCD
said: “With the tremendous evolution and growth in financial technology
and automation, the journey to transform the travel and expense spend
management experience is well underway“.
Stephan Baars recently took on the role of BCD Travel president and CEO, replacing CEO John Snyder, who stepped down on July 1.