A 2018 Hyatt Place Business Traveller Survey revealed that 90% of Indian business travellers feel motivated to get more work done when travelling for business. But at times these business travellers feel unappreciated by their employers.
Data from the September 2019 survey by Wakefield Research of 500 Indian business travellers revealed that 31% were stressed about filing expense reports after a business trip in the middle of a busy workday.
The survey commissioned by SAP Concur highlighted the existing gap in business travel expense management solutions, as revealed by 32% of employees participating in the survey reported having lost over INR 7000 of their personal money on a travel related business expense that wasn’t reimbursed.
Recognizing an opportunity, HDFC Bank has launched a corporate credit card in partnership with Mastercard and SAP Concur to provide a one-stop solution for payment and expense management during business trips.
“With this card, corporates will be able to offer the best business traveller experience through cashless payments that integrate with management solutions for Concur Expense. Corporates can gain greater insights and control, while ensuring regulatory and tax compliance through this solution,” said Parag Rao, country head, Payments Business and Marketing, HDFC Bank.
The key benefits of the partnership include:
- Upfront visibility and control of spends: All business spends incurred by an employee are populated in Concur Expense to ensure faster claim submission, processing, and reimbursement in compliance with the organisation’s policies.
- Cashless payment and digital claim process: Minimise the need to carry cash and delivers efficiency and accuracy in employee reimbursements.
- Integrates partner apps: Provides the advantage of a connected ecosystem by leveraging partnerships with Uber for Business, Booking.com, Airbnb, Hilton and other partners.
- Global Wi-Fi: Complimentary Wi-Fi services across airports, flights, and restaurants that will keep travellers connected without worrying about roaming fees, unsecured connections, or configuring SIMs.
- Complimentary lounge program: Provides several complimentary lounge visits at international and domestic airports.
“As spending gets easier, driving control and improving employee experience gets more complicated. By automating and integrating travel, expense, and invoice management, we are helping our customers build an intelligent spend management platform,” said Mankiran Chowhan, managing director, Indian subcontinent, SAP Concur.
The goal is to enable them to uncover valuable spend data, simplify processes, and make smart decisions.
Chowhan said the joint solution will enable organisations to make strategic decisions based on insights unique to their business and gain a consolidated view of their budget, drive control on how employees spend money, automate payments to speed up processing, and ensure compliance and data accuracy.
Corporates can potentially save up to 10% due to increased efficiencies and strategic insights.
