The United States is home to multiple universities and colleges. These universities and colleges comprise many lecturers, speakers, teachers, and visiting professors. They have to travel to different cities and countries as keynote speakers or as a guest lecturer, all of whom require seamless travel and accommodation.
However, managing hotel bookings for guest speakers, visiting professors, and other staff members can be challenging. Traditional credit card authorization process for universities is cumbersome. It involves lengthy paperwork, security concerns, and manual processing, often resulting in delayed check-ins and payment issues. Most universities struggle to provide a seamless experience for their guests, mainly because the manual CC authorizations process is a major roadblock.
But what if you, as a university, could simplify this entire process and eliminate manual intervention? This blog will discuss virtual card solutions and why universities must abandon manual credit card authorization.
The Challenges of Manual Credit Card Authorization for Universities
Following a traditional credit card authorization process for universities is not a very reliable approach. It requires universities to send CC authorization forms to hotels for every guest. This approach presents multiple challenges. Some of them are as follows:
1. Administrative Burden
If you need to process manual CC authorization for universities, your finance team must communicate with hotels, verify details, and ensure that payments are processed correctly. With so many frequent guest bookings, it can get hectic and overwhelming.
2. Delayed Check-Ins and Poor Guest Experience
Most hotels ask for a physical card during check-in. Sometimes, you may have faxed or emailed the CC authorization form due to miscommunication or delay in processing. This leads to delayed/denied check-ins and a frustrating experience for lecturers/guest speakers.
3. Security Risks
Most universities send credit card information via email or fax. This poses a significant security risk. Risks can include data breaches, unauthorized access, and compliance violations. Moreover, if sensitive information is incorrectly handled, it can impact your university’s reputation.
4. Reconciliation Issues
While making hotel reservations, you need to track payments, match invoices, and resolve any discrepancies. Manually tracking these makes it difficult to audit expenses. Hence leading to reconciliation and financial issues.
5. Exposing High Limit Cards
Without a centralized payment system, you will struggle to gain real-time visibility into spending. This makes budget management and fraud detection harder.
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The Solution: Why Virtual Cards Are Essential for Universities
After understanding the inefficiencies of manual CC authorization for universities, it’s time that institutions switch to virtual cards. Virtual cards offer a robust, secure, and automated approach to making hotel online payments.
Here’s how virtual cards can be a game-changer:
1. Seamless Pre-Payment and Automated Authorization
By using virtual cards, your university can generate unique payment credentials for every guest speaker or professor. These cards simplify hotel payments and often eliminate the need for a physical card at check-in, ensuring a smoother experience.
2. Enhanced Security and Fraud Prevention
Virtual cards are a great way to provide advanced security. They come with single-use credentials, spending limits, and controlled expiration dates. Because of this, you can eliminate the risk of any unauthorized transactions associated with sharing card details.
3. Simplified Reconciliation and Expense Tracking
With virtual cards, every transaction you make is automatically recorded, categorized, and reconciled. Credit card authorization for universities eliminates the need for manual tracking. This reduces accounting errors and improves financial transparency.
4. 24/7/365 Customer Support for Smooth Check-Ins
By partnering with a corporate card platform like itilite, your university can get round-the-clock customer support for your traveling professors/speakers. If the hotel faces any issues processing the card, you can ensure hassle-free check-ins with the platform’s support.
5. Customizable Spending Controls
For universities like yours, virtual cards help you set spending limits for every guest. You can restrict the usage to particular vendors and monitor their payments in real-time. Such a level of control helps prevent any overspending and enhances financial control.
Also Read: Implementing Virtual Card Payments: Enhancing Efficiency in Corporate Travel
How Can Universities Implement Virtual Cards for Hotel Payments?
We know that, as a university, you have to invite speakers or send your professors for guest lectures. We know you want them to have a smooth experience. This is what you can do to eliminate the manual and inefficient credit card authorization process for hotel payments.
1.Choose a Virtual Card Provider
The first step is to choose a trusted payment partner specializing in virtual card solutions. Choose a partner that provides solutions for corporations and universities—platforms like itilite offer integrated expense management and secure virtual card issuance.
2. Integrate with University Travel Systems
Ensure the virtual card solution integrates with existing university travel booking systems. This makes it easy for you to issue cards automatically for hotel payments.
3. Train Staff and Educate Guests
Provide training for finance teams and travel administrators on using virtual cards effectively. Inform your guests about the new process to ensure a seamless experience.
4. Monitor Transactions and Optimize Spending
Use the virtual card platform’s reporting tools to track spending, analyze patterns, and optimize travel budgets for future bookings.
Adopt Virtual Cards and Eliminate The Hassle Of Credit Card Authorization Process for Universities
Traditional credit card authorization for hotel payments is outdated, inefficient, and still carries security risks. By using virtual cards, you can eliminate the age-old manual cc authorization for your university. You can also streamline hotel bookings, add levels of security, and create a seamless experience for guests.
itilite makes hotel payments effortless with secure virtual cards. No more faxing or waiting for approvals—generate a one-time-use virtual card, share it with the hotel, and your guests are ready. You can pre-pay or pay at hotel inventory through our platform, with 24/7 customer service for smooth check-ins.
Additionally, you won’t have the headache of fraud risks, and payments are always within the policy. Switch to virtual cards and save time, money, and effort.
To know more about itilite corporate cards, book a free demo now!
