Global Travel VCC

Global Travel VCC Overview

ConnexPay has the ability to optimize revenue and acceptance when paying Suppliers outside of the United States. This option can only be used to pay travel-related suppliers.

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This VCC can only be issued in USD. It can be authorized in a different currency (from the Supplier’s perspective - based on their Point-Of-Sale settings/configuration) but we will only see settlements in USD. This applies to all VCCs we offer - not just the Global Travel VCC.

Accepted Merchant Category Codes (MCCs)

In order to benefit from this card product’s reduced costs, the supplier receiving payment must be configured as one of the following MCCs:

Airlines: 3000–3350, 4511

Cruise/Steamship: 4411

Global Wholesale Travel Other: 4131, 4582, 4722, 5962, 6513, 7012, 7032, 7033, 7298, 7991, 7997, 7999

Lodging: 3501–3999, 7011

Railways: 4112

Automobile/Vehicle Rental: 3351–3500, 7512, 7513, 7519

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There is currently a $500,000 limit per Global Travel VCC card. If you need to pay a single Supplier for more than $500,000, you can create multiple VCCs that total the amount you need to pay the Supplier.

Rebate Benefit

The net rebate back to you is ~1.00% higher when using the Global Travel VCC.

Supplier Benefit

The net cost of acceptance is 0.75% less expensive for the travel supplier to accept the Global Travel VCC.

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The numbers and calculations above are for example purposes only. Refer to your contract/agreement for details and specifics about your rebate calculation.

How to Issue the Global Travel VCC via API

To issue the Global Travel VCC via the API you’ll need to:

a) Submit an IssueCard request with PurchaseType of 01, 02 or 03 (Airline, Hotel or Car Rental respectively) AND,

b) Include “NonDomesticSupplier”:”True” in your IssueCard request.

How to issue Global Travel VCC via Bridge

To issue this Global Travel VCC you’ll need to check the “Non-Domestic Supplier” checkbox on the Issue Virtual Card Purchase screen.

FAQs

What currencies are available to issue this VCC in?

Today only USD. However they can be settled in basically any currency. In the future we will have the option to issue in other currencies but no ETA on that yet.

What currencies are available to settle this VCC in?

Basically any currency - all that Mastercard supports (which is all the common currencies)

Does ConnexPay handle currency conversion calculations?

You will handle the currency conversion on your side before submitting the issue card request. For example, if you are booking a flight that’s 200 euros you would need to convert that to USD in order to issue the virtual card for the correct amount. You can use any foreign exchange service for the conversion.

How does this interchange rate compare with other VCCs that can be issued in other parts of the world?

Issuing a VCC other than the Global Travel VCC to a non domestic supplier would result in roughly 2.00% interchange income (which is the same as the Global Travel VCC product) but they have other cross border fees that reduce that greatly reduce that 2.00% interchange income to a much lower net rate for that transaction.

Interchange rates in Europe range from roughly 0.30% to 1.60%. So issuing an EU VCC (rather than ConnexPay’s Global Travel VCC) for a European supplier to accept would not result in higher rebate as the interchange rates are lower.

Is there any guidance or best practices on handling foreign exchange fluctuation for delayed sales?

If a Global Travel VCC is issued to be activated at a later date (using Delayed Activation functionality) there is a risk that the final purchase price at the time of activation will be more than expected based on the foreign exchange rate at the time of original sale vs final activation. To account for this fluctuation, it may be best to add a small tolerance to ensure the VCC will have a high enough balance to be accepted by the supplier.

What happens if the VCC is accidentally created under this program but then is accepted at a non-travel supplier?

The merchant will still be able to accept it - but normal interchange and brand fees will apply.

ConnexPay employees can find more information here.