Shopping on business trips: With private or company credit card?
A study by shows: Four out of ten business travelers also use corporate credit cards for personal purchases. Virtual credit cards could be an alternative and provide more transparency.
Four out of 10 business travelers admit to using corporate credit cards for personal purchases - 46 percent of European and U.S. travelers and 38 percent of Asia Pacific travelers. That's the finding of a study by global business travel provider Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). "Travel managers need to address corporate credit card misuse and also find out why travelers are not following the rules," says Christophe Renard, vice president of CWT Solutions Group, the consulting arm of Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Clear rules for the use of the business credit card
The practice is widespread, although 58 percent of Europeans and 63 percent of Americans say their company's policies prohibit the use of corporate credit cards for personal purchases - with an 85 percent implementation rate in both regions. Among Asia-Pacific travelers, 69 percent say their company prohibits personal use, with an 87 percent implementation rate. Overall, six in 10 global business travelers receive a corporate credit card from their employers - most likely in Asia Pacific (67 percent), followed by the Americas (61 percent) and Europe (56 percent).
Private credit card is also used for business
However, the results of the CWT study also show the opposite result: travelers often handle business travel expenses via their personal credit cards. Globally, 49 percent of business travelers always use their personal credit cards. Travelers from Asia-Pacific are significantly more likely to do so (55 percent) than travelers from the Americas (48 percent) or Europe (44 percent). "Using personal credit cards for business expenses means it becomes complicated for companies to track spending - and that makes it a lot harder to enforce policies," says Christophe Renard of CWT Solutions Group. "If companies don't want to issue credit cards to all employees - which is understandable - virtual credit cards are a good compromise. Travelers don't have to use their personal credit cards for business expenses, and companies know exactly what their money is being used for."
Source: Carlson Wagonlit Travel
