Pascalle Albrecht's Insights: Revolutionising Corporate Travel Payments with ABTA’s Support

Pascalle Albrecht, the Executive for Commercial Issuing at Absa and a leading expert in corporate travel solutions shares her insights on how modern Travel Management Companies (TMCs) can revolutionise the way businesses handle travel expenses. As corporate travel becomes increasingly complex, Albrecht emphasises the need for innovation in areas of security, safety, and convenience. By collaborating with the African Business Travel Association (ABTA), Absa is working to bring the best solutions to the table and support TMCs in delivering seamless and secure travel management services.

Managing corporate travel expenses often involves dealing with cumbersome manual reconciliation processes and fragmented systems. Albrecht highlights automation as a critical solution for TMCs looking to streamline these operations.

By integrating automated travel and expense management systems, TMCs can offer their clients a platform that tracks travel-related expenses in real-time. This centralised system captures spending across flights, accommodation, and bookings, allowing businesses to reconcile expenses more easily and manage budgets more effectively. These automated solutions reduce the likelihood of errors, accelerate processing times, and improve overall financial control.

One of the most common challenges TMCs face is enforcing corporate travel policies. When employees independently book their travel or submit out-of-policy expenses, businesses struggle to maintain control over costs and compliance. Albrecht advocates for embedding corporate policies directly into booking and expense systems to streamline this process.

By integrating policy compliance into the booking workflow, travellers are automatically guided towards in-policy bookings, while out-of-policy requests are flagged for approval. This not only simplifies decision-making for the traveller but also gives businesses greater oversight of travel expenses, ensuring compliance and cost management.

Payment security is a top concern for businesses and TMCs alike, especially in an era where global transactions carry increased risks. Traditional corporate cards can expose businesses to fraud or misuse, particularly when used across various countries and vendors. Albrecht champions the use of virtual cards as a secure solution.

Virtual cards are generated for single-use transactions, limiting the possibility of fraud and ensuring only authorised amounts are charged. These cards are especially valuable for travel-related expenses, where controlling costs and preventing unauthorised charges are paramount. By adopting virtual cards, TMCs provide their clients with a secure and transparent payment method, improving oversight and reducing financial risk.

Managing corporate travel across borders introduces additional challenges, particularly with fluctuating exchange rates and multi-currency transactions. Currency volatility can affect travel budgets, and without proper monitoring, businesses may find themselves overspending. Albrecht highlights the importance of real-time currency tracking and multi-currency support in addressing these concerns.

By leveraging real-time currency monitoring systems, TMCs can help businesses gain greater control over international travel expenses. Multi-currency payment solutions offer transparency, allowing clients to track exchange rates and ensure that their travel expenses stay within budget. This approach minimises currency-related risks and provides a smoother experience for international travellers.

A smooth and efficient traveller experience is crucial for maintaining employee satisfaction and productivity. Complex or slow expense management systems can lead to frustration, delayed reimbursements, and reduced morale. Albrecht recommends adopting user-friendly platforms that allow travellers to manage their expenses seamlessly.

Mobile-ready solutions that enable instant expense reporting, mobile payments, and digital receipt submissions are now essential for corporate travellers. These tools simplify the expense management process, enabling employees to focus on their work without the distraction of complicated administrative tasks. This not only improves compliance but also enhances the overall travel experience.

Pascalle Albrecht leads the Commercial Card Issuing at Absa, where she shapes the long-term vision and develops measures to achieve business objectives. Her role involves assessing organisational performance, setting achievable goals, and implementing processes to enhance effectiveness.