American Express has teamed up with StarCite, a meetings management company, to offer clients a new online payment system.
The system will integrate StarCite's e-sourcing and planning tools with American Express Commercial Card facilities for paying in, reconciling and analysing meetings spend.
The solution will be available to StarCite clients who also use the Amex card.
A statement by the two companies said that online meetings management was a "fast growing business practice."
Cecile Quaedackers, Amex's vp and general manager, global client group Europe, global commercial card, said: "We're creating a truly global one-stop shop for meetings management that seamlessly connects the front-end and back-end processes around meetings.
"This new co-branded solution will open up a new window on total meeting spend for our Global Commercial Card customers.
"In turn, this will assist them in controlling spend and improving their buying clout with suppliers."
Pieter Rieder, StarCite's senior vp EMEA, said: "Though meetings and events are a major corporate expense, they remain a largely untouched area for spend management, providing companies with an opportunity to realise savings of up to 20% through a more strategic approach.
"Our joint offering…will make it easier than ever for businesses to achieve the savings and efficiency benefits of strategic meetings management by making an integrated solution – from sourcing and planning to payment and reconciliation – available for the first time."
* see new jobs on BTE's recruitment site www.businesstraveljobs.com as well as new sections on how to write the Winning CV and conduct the Perfect Interview.