WEX Travel and UATP: Broadening Acceptance, Satisfying Customers
UATP has long been a leader in easing payments for the travel industry, accepted worldwide as a form of payment for corporate business travel by a wide range of Airline, Rail and Travel Agency Merchants. A platform designed to make travel payments easier, when UATP looked to expand its services to corporate accounts, the organization turned to WEX Travel to make it happen.
Expanding UATP Capabilities to Hotels and Car Rentals
Announced in August 2015, WEX Travel partnered with UATP as a ‘Master Merchant’, providing the opportunity for UATP cardholders to extend the payment capabilities of UATP cards with a single-use Virtual Card Number (VCN) from WEX Travel.
Described as “a logical move” focused on broadening the reach of both companies, the WEX and UATP partnership will have an immense impact for travelers, managers, and issuers, allowing UATP corporate accountholders to purchase hotel and car rentals with their UATP card.
With VCNs becoming increasingly popular due to international acceptance, better visibility, and improved security due to the one-time nature of the card, this partnership is set to generate a great deal of interest from airline partners.
A Great Deal of Interest among Airlines Globally
An initial rollout scheduled for later this year with Delta Air Lines is receiving a great deal of interest in the industry from airlines across the world, as highlighted in a Business Travel News interview with UATP President and CEO Ralph Kaiser:
“Everyone is interested in it and not just in the U.S., either. It just worked out that Delta was able to work with WEX in the U.S. to launch [in the fourth quarter]. Our issuer base is 33 airlines, and the majority of active issuers who have big corporate programs are interested in this. Anytime the airline talks to a corporate and says, “Hey when you book a flight on us, you can also book your hotel and car rental and we put it all on the same statement for you,” they’re going to say, “Sure. Why not do it?” They’ll all add it. We just need to get it into the market.”
How it Works
- A UATP cardholder uses their existing UATP number to book their hotel and/or car rental alongside their airline booking.
- A VCN is automatically generated and sent to the hotel and/or car rental company for processing.
- Details of the transaction show on the UATP cardholder’s regular UATP billing statement.
The solution seamlessly extends the payment capabilities of UATP by enabling the client to book their travel with their existing travel agency without any process changes. Corporate travelers will receive one consolidated travel statement for all of their air, hotel and rental car bookings from their respective UATP Issuers.
See more regarding the benefits of the UATP/WEX Travel Hotel and Car Rental Agreement to airline issuers and corporate clients.
To view the article, click here.
