Mastercard and Comerma Pay are launching a mobile virtual payments offering for the former’s corporate clients, specifically highlighting the travel benefits of the solution.
US payments processing giant Mastercard has leveraged Comerma’s services to turn its virtual card solution into select mobile wallets for participating customers. This allows easy ‘tap-and-go transactions’, which the firm believes will improve the travel experience.
Corporate travellers will be able to integrate the virtual cards onto phones and smartwatches to make in-app, in-store and online purchases, including hotel payments and to make ad-hoc purchases whilst on business trips without having to cover using personal costs which need to be expensed at a later date.
Chad Wallace, Global Head of Commercial Solutions at Mastercard, said: “As more corporations seek convenience in managing travel expenses, we’re focused on powering a simple, secure and seamless T&E process.
“Our partnership with Conferma Pay to simplify hotel reconciliation and enable mobile wallet functionality for virtual cards marks a significant milestone in our journey to improving the business travel experience.”
Users can also set ‘flexible and customisable’ spending controls aligned with the travel and expense policies of the company they work for, also allowing the firm in question to have greater control and oversight over personal business spending.
For Mastercard, the announcement follows an active month for the company in November – last month saw the firm partner with NEC and Feedzai, secure approval for domestic payments processing in China and participate in a funding round in Paysend.
Meanwhile, for Conferma, the agreement further extends its links to some of the world’s biggest payments processors, with the company also partnered with Visa. The deal also highlights the increasing awareness of virtual cards among payments giants, with the market projected to be worth $6.7trn by 2026.
Jason Lalor, Conferma Pay CEO, added: “For far too long, T&E management processes have been fraught with challenges, from poor traveller experiences to manual expense reporting and slow reimbursement processes.
“The launch of mobile wallet capabilities for Mastercard virtual cards provides choice for issuers to their customers and a simple way for businesses to capture, track and control employee spending.
“As we progress to a fully digitised payments landscape, increased connectivity and seamless experiences will benefit everyone, from card issuers to employers and their staff.”
