Corporate credit cards do make travel very easy for employees, and is a tool that needs greater acceptance among employers.
Simply because their primary and peripheral benefits make them a win-win proposition for all.
For starters if an employee is travelling overseas, he doesn't have to worry about running short on the local currency, nor is there the embarrassing sight of him walking around with a bulging wallet.
Corporate cards also help make an impression and affords snob value -- much needed if an executive is making a sales pitch to an overseas buyer.
But then, corporate cards are much more than such trivia.
Employees travelling overseas many a time exhaust their allowance limits and end up using their personal credit cards for official purposes. This puts the staffer in a spot because he could quickly reach his credit ceiling in local currency terms and would not have much left for personal shopping.
Also, there may be reimbursement issues -- he wouldn't be able to get the money back till he receives his monthly credit card bill.
The reimbursement process would also involve paperwork -- submission of numerous receipts and vouchers to the accounts department.
But if the employee had a corporate credit card, all he has to do is swipe it for travel, boarding and everything else that the company allows.
In this case the bills are settled between the employer and the credit card company directly and the business traveller only has to answer an email from the accounts department confirming all expenditure.
But despite this, say card issuers, it is better to keep the physical bills of expenditure -- just to be on the safe side.
From the company's point of view, it is not just a convenience for employees -- corporate cards also help reduce paper work considerably.
Arjun Vishwanathan, manager-media relations, Wipro, says the voucher-claim process can be done away with totally.
About 500 senior managers at Wipro who travel overseas frequently and have a customer interface have been given corporate credit cards.
Companies also save on the expenditure front since these cards come with tie-ups and discount offers with specific airlines, hotel and restaurant chains.
For instance, American Express till recently had a tie up with the Park Group of Hotels giving the corporate clients up to 20 per cent on room rentals.
Companies typically give these cards to their employees on the basis of their job functions. If the employee does a fair share of domestic/overseas travel as part of work he/she would be given a corporate credit card. Typically this would be given to the sales and business development teams of IT companies and international business divisions of Indian and global MNCs.
Many companies also permit employees to swipe the corporate credit card for personal use in case of an emergency provided the employee later reimburses it to the company.
Not to forget are the fringe benefits for the individual like entry into plush airport lounges and other freebies.
For instance, Standard Chartered recently sent out free tickets for the recent India-Australia cricket test in Mumbai to several of its corporate credit card customers.
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