Travelex, MasterCard Launch Prepaid International Card

Foreign exchange and international payments supplier Travelex has launched a prepaid card product with MasterCard processing capabilities that it says will allow corporations to gain savings and enact controls around international travel and entertainment spending.

Travelex in April released its Corporate Cash Passport tool, a MasterCard-branded card loadable with U.S. dollars accepted at ATMs and by any vendor who accepts debit MasterCard products globally.

Travelex and MasterCard in May announced that relationship had been extended to allow the cards to include MasterCard's integrated processing capabilities.

Christopher Russell, Travelex's executive vice president of outsourcing for the Americas, said the tool has a number of uses related to travel programs, particularly for companies that have a large amount of contractors or other one-time travelers who do not have company-issued corporate cards.

In lieu of cash advances, corporations can use the cards to set spending limits or per diem levels for travelers. For companies that had done so with cash advances or by asking travelers to use their own cards for later reimbursement, it will give a better window into how the travel dollars are being spent, he said.

"It gives them a tremendous amount of reporting," Russell said. "They can see what the transactions actually are and go online and follow the spending patterns."

Using the prepaid card also will cut costs associated with currency exchange fees by largely eliminating the need for travelers to exchange cash for payment, he said. "Travelex is primarily a foreign exchange company, so it's actually going to save quite a bit of money," Russell said.

Companies can enact additional spending controls around specific travel events, he said. For example, if a traveler needs to rent a certain type of vehicle to transport a VIP but doesn't know the cost before leaving, the proper amount can be added to the card just prior to the purchase.

"It gives them the ability to easily to add money and extend credit, and it can be done in about 10 minutes," Russell said.

Travel management consultant Carol Ann Salcito, president of Management Alternatives, said she was an advocate of prepaid card as a supplement to established corporate card programs. "It's a great, great option for those one-off situations," she said.

Russell said he has seen quick interest in the cards and already has some corporate customers. Virgin Atlantic Airways is using the cards for crew compensation per diems, he said. Companies are finding consumer-based uses as well, such as British Airways, which uses Travelex cards to provide traveler compensation after delayed flights.