A Guide to Using Corporate Cards for Business Travel

It’s hard to imagine a modern business trip without using bank cards. They provide convenience, speed, and control when paying for a wide range of expenses, from lodging and transportation to meals and organizing corporate events. These payment tools are especially important on international business trips, when employees don’t always have time to withdraw cash and exchange currency. Here’s what you need to know about paying travel expenses by card, and book hotels for corporate events on TravelHub.

Types of cards: payment and corporate

There are two main types: personal payment cards and corporate cards. Payment cards belong to an individual and are used for everyday personal expenses, but they can also be used on business trips. 

Corporate cards are linked to the company’s accounts and belong not to an individual employee, but to the organization. They are designed specifically to cover business needs: they enable centralized expense management and automated reporting, and they also allow you to complete financial transactions quickly. They’re essential when you need to pay for a business dinner, organizing corporate events, accommodations for a traveling employee or a delegation’s transportation costs, any company needs. 

Setup and issuing

Most often, for transparency in accounting and control, corporate cards are assigned to specific employees who regularly handle financial transactions: the accountant, economist, director, or deputy director in charge of operations. They can also be issued to other employees as needed. With such a card, an employee on a business trip can make a corporate flight booking, so the company won’t have to reimburse their transportation costs afterward.

Before use, it’s important to set the limits correctly. You can restrict spending categories or set the maximum allowed amount. 

Using it during a trip

An employee must clearly understand when they can use company funds and not spend them on personal needs. It’s also important to consider the specifics of international business travel, foreign-currency corporate cards for business are the best fit. Don’t forget to enable mobile banking to track transactions in real time. And for corporate hotel booking, use the TravelHub service.

Monitoring employee card spending

Modern technology gives companies automated transaction monitoring and timely processing of all activity. And integration with financial systems helps you generate supporting documents for accounting faster and optimize tax reporting. The best corporate travel cards enable transparent and fast payments in any situation.

Security of corporate payment cards

If a card is lost or stolen, it must be blocked immediately, the manager must be notified, and the bank must be informed. Use modern security measures, two-factor authentication and unique passwords. Follow secure data storage practices and avoid suspicious internet connections.