Corporate Cash Passports, the prepaid travel cards distributed by Access Prepaid, are gaining popularity with businesses in Australia and across the world thanks to their ability to save time, money and security hassles.
The card is prepaid, pin protected, does not charge a currency conversion fee and is free to use for point of sale transactions. There is a flat fee for ATM transactions and customers can choose to lock in the foreign exchange rate at the time they purchase or reload the card.
Australia is increasingly doing business internationally and sending more employees overseas for business trips. The strong Australian dollar makes it is less expensive for companies to pay for accommodation and travel allowances. It is necessary to have a low-cost company-wide system for overseas expenditure.
Access Prepaid Global Director of Sales and Strategic Relationships Graham Perry told Dynamic Business that one of the most appealing features for small business, is the fact that employers can predetermine how much their staff can spend, and have greater control over the budget.
“The prepaid system is great in that employers have a lot more control over their employee spending. Money is pre-loaded onto the card by the company, and when the pre-determined cap has been reached, that’s it. Employees can’t spend any more.”
According to Perry, business owners can access the financial reports of every transaction paid for with the card and signed by the employee. This makes the whole process more centralized, streamlined and transparent, which can cut costs for your business.
Furthermore, the card is convenient. The card can be issued directly to employees on their desk, hours before they leave overseas. If the need arises to reload the card, employees can simply reload via SMS or the internet.
The card is also ideal for the global traveller. It can be used to withdraw local currency at 1.4 million ATMs worldwide and about 30 countries now use the card. Also, with the high Australian dollar, it is a great time to lock in the exchange rate on your card to make sure you do not miss out.
Additionally, the global 24 hour assistance centre offers help to card holders at any hour of the day with any type of emergency and in the language of the cardholder. “They can tell you where the nearest hospital is, what to do if you lose your passport, they can send you emergency cash,” Perry said
Lastly, it is secure. The Cash Passport is not connected to your bank account and is pin protected (ATM card) or pin and signature protected (Debit card).
There are about 100 companies using these Cash Passports right now in Australia, from medium to large corporations. These include media companies, universities and airlines.
“We’re astonished at the growth we’ve seen, particularly in the last six months. The system is very secure but still very easy to reload, it’s all about convenience.”
Perhaps it is time to consider the card for your company’s business travel.
