Case Study:
CTM’s Success with Virtual Payments: Powered by graspPAY and CSI
Looking Beyond Plastic for Business Travel Expense
Moving Forward With Business Travel
According to a poll done by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) in February 2022, “Three in four (78%) supplier and travel management company (TMC) professionals surveyed currently feel optimistic about the business travel industry’s path to recovery, up from 54% who reported being optimistic in the January poll.” Additionally, “Four in five (82%) poll respondents feel their employees are ‘willing’ or ‘very willing’ to travel for business in the current environment, compared to 64% in the January poll.”
In the summer of 2021, Juniper Research found that, “The global value of virtual card transactions will reach $6.8 trillion in 2026, from $1.9 trillion in 2021. Virtual cards, secure digital cards with randomly generated details, will show strong growth as they are increasingly used for B2B payments.” The report further identified that the simplicity of virtual cards are becoming much more preferable compared to expensive and slow methods still being used today.
With Virtual Payment projected to grow exponentially in the coming years, let’s examine the process from when a virtual card is issued, to when it is used by the traveler, and how the resulting data is processed and utilized.
Challenge
Corporate Travel Management (CTM), a TMC based in Charlotte, NC, needed a better way to manage hotel payments for different categories of travelers—some booking independently, others requiring full travel support. Relying on static or ghost cards created frequent fraud risks, compliance issues, and painful reconciliation processes. On top of that, non-employee travel and guest bookings made managing spend even more complex.
Solution
CTM adopted graspPAY, Grasp Technologies’ virtual payment integration, in partnership with CSI as their virtual card issuer. Virtual cards are instantly generated, merchant-restricted, and tied directly to bookings through the GDS and online booking tools. Each card is controlled with usage limits, expiration dates, and detailed tracking fields—making them ideal for both profiled and guest travelers. graspPAY also provides a secure web portal with deep reporting capabilities and Level III data visibility.
Results
With 400–500 virtual cards processed monthly, CTM drastically improved security, eliminated fraud-related losses, and simplified reconciliation. Over two years, they experienced only four flagged fraud attempts—all of which were blocked automatically with no financial impact. Level III data, including UDIDs, booking info, and hotel details, enabled faster, more accurate reconciliation and reduced support questions. With GraspPAY, CTM now delivers a seamless experience to clients, with better policy control, data accuracy, and operational efficiency.
About graspPAY
graspPAY is a virtual payment solution designed specifically for travel management companies (TMCs), corporate travel departments (CTDs), and agencies that need a secure, scalable, and automated way to manage hotel and travel-related payments. With graspPAY, users can issue single-use, merchant-restricted virtual cards that reduce fraud, eliminate reconciliation headaches, and support both employee and non-employee travel. Seamlessly integrated with GDS and online booking tools, graspPAY ensures accurate data capture, real-time controls, and full visibility into travel spend—empowering finance and travel teams to streamline workflows, stay compliant with corporate policies, and improve the traveler experience.