In total, these are 2,000 business travellers that Artemis Strategy Group went to survey the market at the beginning of the year on behalf of Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), 2,000 professionals from the European, American and Asian markets. Objective: to take stock of the use of business credit cards. The results are in: out of 10 travellers with one of these cards, 4 admit to using it for personal purchases. Among Europeans and Americans, 46 % are concerned. However, companies do not seem to be turning a blind eye to these abuses. In fact, most travellers from the USA (63 %), Europe (58 %) and Asia (69 %) stated that their employer had introduced a policy prohibiting the use of a business card for personal purposes.
However, the opposite phenomenon is also very common: almost half of those surveyed (49 %) say they systematically use their personal credit card on business trips. To avoid this kind of behaviour, Christophe Renard, Vice President of CWT Solutions Group, recommends the use of virtual credit cards : " When personal credit cards are used for business expenses, it is much more difficult for companies to track their spending and enforce their policies. If companies don't want to give each of their employees a credit card - which is perfectly understandable - virtual credit cards are a good compromise. Travellers no longer need to use their personal card for business expenses, and companies know exactly how their money is being spent.. "
