Diners Completes MasterCard-Enhanced Rollout In N.A.
Following an agreement forged last year to leverage MasterCard International's merchant acceptance network, Diners Club North America chairman and CEO M.V. Rajamannar last month at the National Business Travel Association conference told BTN that the corporate payment provider has completed rolling out enhanced cards to North America-based cardholders. Rajamannar said the transition went smoothly and—following an initial rollout in Canada last year—all U.S.-based cardholders have been issued new Diners Club cards leveraging MasterCard's merchant network, bringing the total number of merchants accepting Diners Club to 24 million from 8.3 million. Rajamannar said that due to their significantly higher acceptance rate, the new cards have yielded a spike in spending. While the financial agreement between Diners Club and MasterCard has yet to be disclosed, Rajamannar described the agreement as a "rental" of the MasterCard network, through which a transactional fee is charged to Diners Club on payments processed by MasterCard. Meanwhile, the most lauded characteristic of Diners Club cards—the rewards program—remains unaffected by the MasterCard arrangement, despite fears that the alliance would yield cutbacks. "Every aspect of the rewards program is intact," Rajamannar said.
Chip-Based Cards Help Reduce Fraud In Asia/Pacific
Visa Asia/Pacific last month said card fraud in the region dipped to a five-year low as fraudulent transactions represented three cents for every $100 spent during the first quarter of this year, compared with seven cents for every $100 spent in the first quarter of 2000. Visa attributed much of the success to chip-based payment cards based on standards set by Europay, MasterCard and Visa. The card network says chip-based cards provide a stronger defense against identity theft and card counterfeiting. Although magnetic-stripe cards are the dominant form of plastic used in the U.S., the Asia/Pacific region has a higher proportion of EMV cards. "More than 32 million Visa EMV cards are in circulation in Asia/Pacific and approximately 750,000 EMV terminals have been deployed." While the cards have proven effective, Visa said, "it is through collaboration betweenthe industry, law enforcement and government agencies that positive results in the fight against fraud have been and will continue to be achieved."
Gelco Partners With SAP For Small And Midsize Businesses
Gelco Expense Management last month announced an agreement to create a T&E expense reporting system for small and midmarket companies through SAP America's Business One offering. Gelco is offering SAP customers outsourced expense management services such as auditing and receipt management as well as integration between systems. Gelco said it is offering support for small and midsize companies with a global scope through currency conversion and value-added tax reporting and reclamation software and services. "We've seen great value in adding Gelco Expense Management to our SAP Business One solution," said Stephanie Kupski, senior director of finance for Chester Valley Pharmaceuticals in a statement. Meanwhile, Gelco launched a capability for monitoring charge-card-generated expenses as part of a suite of anti-fraud tools. Gelco CardLink Control "forces employees to settle all corporate card transactions," even personal expenses—which many companies frown upon—that are not filed on expense reports. "CardLink Control ensures employees report all corporate card transactions, including credits, and prevents them from submitting duplicate expense reports," Gelco said in a statement.
American Express Bolsters Rewards Program
American Express last month added several new redemption perks to its Memberships Rewards program, including private jet travel, and expanded access to travel partners through its Web site. American Express said it is allowing Membership Rewards members to book travel directly on the Amex Travel Web site "without blackout dates or restrictions" for the company's 23 airline partners, 250 hotel partners and nearly 40 cruise operators. Members can use the Amex Web site to manage their points, ensure the points in their account will cover the selected trip and redeem them for travel. "Offering customers the ability to use points instantly without restrictions for their travel—including for any of the multitude of airlines available on the American Express travel Web site—strengthens our redemption offerings and gives our customers even greater choice," said Ralph Andretta, senior vice president and general manager of Membership Rewards. Meanwhile, last month Amex enabled loyalty program members to redeem points for private jet travel through Bombardier Skyjet and Flexjet.