Press Centre

MasterCard Launches One-Time-Use Card

Michael B.Baker
Business Travel News
May, 2008

MasterCard Worldwide has introduced a new corporate card platform through a European issuer to give companies better control over traveler spending patterns, and a network executive said domestic issuers soon will follow suit.

The Royal Bank of Scotland in April announced the launch of its Approval to Buy offering, the first to use the MasterCard InControl platform, following a year-long collaboration between the network and issuer. The offering allows companies to generate card account numbers for one-time purchases within certain parameters and timeframes tailored to the company's need - for example, by an employee who needs to make purchases but does not necessarily need a full corporate card.

"We identified there was customer demand for transaction controls that can be tailored to individual staff and business requirements," said Raghav Prasad, head of commercial cards for the Royal Bank of Scotland. "We wanted to offer customers the flexibility to undertake transactions within parameters reflecting the specific needs of their business."

The bank has tested transactions with the tool and is securing its first full customers, said Steve Abrams, global group executive for MasterCard's commercial products. After the United Kingdom rollout, Royal Bank of Scotland will expand it to other geographies.

While the ability to create one-time-use account numbers is not new, the functionality around them - such as the ability to create multiple account numbers and develop alerts - is, Abrams said. For example, an employee who just joined a company could get approved for and immediately put travel spending on the card before receiving a physical plastic card.

"This way, after approval of a customer, you can create a limited-use account and really get that customer to start using the card, eliminating any sort of expense distribution like vouchers or per diems," Abrams said. "Instant issuance can really change how issuers look at the acquisition of new customers on the Internet."

The platform soon will be available through U.S. issuers, although no specific timeframe is announced at this point, Abrams said. MasterCard currently has three letters of intent with U.S. issuers and about two dozen issuer customers at some stage in the tool development pipeline, he said. The platform eventually will have off-the-shelf products to be used by smaller issuers, he said.

Platform controls would allow companies to set strict spending guidelines within corporate card usage. For example, companies could compile a list of approved hotels or restaurants that allow card usage, block spending after certain hours at out-of-policy establishments and get real-time updates on employee spending habits.

"You can enforce corporate policy based on authorizations, ensuring the right vendors are being utilized for air travel, hotel and car rental," Abrams said. "There's a tremendous amount of flexibility to adding control in the transactions."