Payment and expense are linked to traveller behaviour more than we probably think. I hadn't even considered it myself until I heard Vincent Eavis of Paytech say many disruptors aim to ease the paying pain points of travel, particularly mobile apps.
Uber, for example, is successful not because people need taxis but for the convenience of one-click cashless payment. When Lian Wolfs of AirPlus, who was on stage with Eavis at the Business Travel Summit Amsterdam, said she expects plastic pay to disappear
in Europe during the next five to 10 years, it raises the question of what will replace cards as the most popular pay method. Could it be 'invisible' payment like Uber or tapping via our phones or watches?
Before any of that happens though, it appears many travel managers need to identify who can help drive the purchase and integration of new travel payment solutions. There are several reports in our Knowledge Databank that indicate how many buyers are
still using Excel and haven't automated expenses due to various barriers. During a roundtable discussion at the summit two travel managers said their main struggle is to get anyone to take ownership of a travel expense programme while Eavis says it's
owned by "everyone and no one".
Sebastian von Stein, who advises buyers on travel and expenses through his consultancy expenseBrain says it's typically procurement and/or finance that will lead payment-related projects and data will help get the attention of CFOs. Von Stein, Eavis and
Wolfs agree that thinking about the end to end chain including expenses and supplier invoicing will generate interest internally. "Companies need to think about the future of technology and integration," says von Stein. "There is lots struggle to
find ownership of the end to end solution and, also, if the expense solution has no compatibility with the online booking tool it could get thrown out. Could there be one RFP for the entire chain?"
Eavis suggested buyers look at the ecommerce operations within the buyer's own company and to integrate with that platform if possible. Simplifying payment has been behind the success of the world's biggest retail platforms and streamlining not just for
travel but across businesses means savings, increased transparency on spend, smoother trips, less manual admin, a boost in productivity and no annoying expense forms.