TravelBank now is offering its expense management platform through the platform of unmanaged and lightly managed corporate travel booking specialist Upside Business Travel, the first step in a new strategic partnership between the companies.
Under the agreement, Upside clients will be prompted to enroll with TravelBank when booking a trip in Upside's travel platform. From there, the integration will "evolve over time" to address the needs of corporate travelers and managers in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as reconciling unused airline tickets and supporting contactless payments via virtual cards, the companies said.
In the short term, the pact helps TravelBank access a new potential audience for its expense management service, given Upside's focus on serving companies with unmanaged or lightly managed travel programs—many of which don't have dedicated expense management providers, said TravelBank co-founder and CEO Duke Chung
"For us, the partnership helps broaden our client base by providing another channel for us to reach more business travelers and provide them and their companies with more holistic financial insight, beyond a travel budget," Chung noted.
In April, TravelBank added new functionality to its expense management platform designed to support work-from-home expenses, which have become more relevant with the Covid-19 pandemic freezing the vast majority of business travel. Simultaneously, TravelBank also rolled out a new subscription-based pricing model, shifting from a per-transaction structure.