MasterCard Offers System for Managing Travel Costs

MasterCard is rolling out a service to allow its corporate clients to monitor and control travel costs.

The Travel Controller is a service that lets companies reconcile their travel accounts, MasterCard said Monday. The system tracks travel expenses, linking charges with individual account and card numbers, and provides detailed information about travel purchases, allowing companies to reduce spending by controlling travel costs and ensuring that employees adhere to corporate travel policies.

The Travel Controller will be available in early 2014 for card issuers, travel management companies and corporate clients, MasterCard said. It is currently being used in a pilot phase by a few banks and other companies.

"Typically, travel and entertainment is the second-largest controllable expense after salaries and benefits, and yet companies worldwide are overwhelmed with huge amounts of travel spend data requiring expense reconciliation," said Richard Crum, MasterCard's group head for travel and entertainment, in the news release. "With minimal upfront investment and systems integration, Travel Controller gives companies the opportunity to remedy this pain point."

Banks and card companies have been offering their corporate clients a broader range of tailored card and cash-management services in an effort to deepen their relationships with these customers. In July, MasterCard began offering its corporate clients a platform that uses big data to allow treasurers to analyze companywide spending.