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By the end of the month, London-based Travelex Currency Services Inc. plans to launch corporate prepaid currency cards in the United States designed to eliminate the process of employee cash advances for international business travel, the company announced Wednesday at the Prepaid Card Expo in Orlando. The cards first will be available in U.S. dollars, and Travelex plans to release cards in British pounds and euros by the end of the year, according to Christopher Russell, Travelex executive vice president of outsourcing, Americas. Russell did not disclose who will issue the cards. The cards work similar to the company's foreign-currency travel cards. The cards will carry no fees other than the exchange-rate margin negotiated between Travelex and participating corporations, says Russell, who adds that Travelex will charge a service fee if the card is used for domestic travel. "We already have three pretty firm commitments from some really good-sized corporations in the U.S.," Russell says. The cards are not person-specific and would be issued in the company's name. "When one person is finished with it, they can pass it off to the next person," Russell says. The company can load the card account with funds using software provided by Travelex. "There is no need for an expense report because every single transaction is recorded and tracked," Russell says. Companies can download the transaction data into an Excel spreadsheet or similar software. If an employee needs more funds, the company can load the card accounts and funds would be available in about 15 minutes, Russell says. The company believes the timing is just right to jump into prepaid corporate expenses, Russell says. Some corporations' employees are refusing to travel because they do not want to use their own credit lines in case a cash advance is inadequate.
