The future of travel payment solutions: Changes to expect by 2030
Finance and travel management teams know the drill all too well. A business trip gets booked through one system, paid for with corporate cards, and then reconciled through expense reports that never quite match up. The result? Hours spent chasing receipts, reconciling discrepancies, and explaining variances.
But, Blockskye predicts this fragmented approach to corporate travel payments is about to experience a major shift.
A prediction for travel payment solutions
At The Beat Live conference in New York, Brook Armstrong, co-CEO of Blockskye, made a striking prediction about the corporate travel landscape: "It is our view that by 2030 everything changes in corporate travel and payments."
Armstrong's keynote, covered by PhocusWire, outlined specific shifts that will reshape how organizations manage business travel expenses and payment processes. For finance teams struggling with current travel payment solutions, these changes represent both opportunity and urgency.
Brook Armstrong delivering the keynote presentation. Photo courtesy of The Beat Live.
Why existing travel payment solutions fall short
Today's corporate travel payment ecosystem suffers from fundamental data fragmentation. Travel booking platforms capture itinerary information. Corporate credit cards record transaction data. Expense management systems house receipt images and approval workflows. But these systems rarely communicate effectively with each other.
The consequences are significant:
Finance teams spend excessive time reconciling travel expenses
Compliance risks increase when payment data doesn't match travel records
Real-time spending visibility remains limited
Traveler reimbursements get delayed due to documentation gaps
For organizations that bill travel expenses to clients—particularly government contractors—the stakes are even higher. As Armstrong noted: "Payment data is the most crucial data. It can't be wrong. For example, some companies expense their travel to their clients—the margin of error here is zero, especially if that client is the government."
Three key shifts in travel payment solutions
Armstrong outlined 3 specific changes that will transform corporate travel payments by 2030:
1. Direct content integration pressure
Traditional travel payment solutions that can't match supplier capabilities will face increasing pressure. When airlines and hotels offer comprehensive payment options, split billing, and real-time modifications through their direct channels, intermediary platforms must deliver the same functionality or risk losing relevance.
For finance teams, this means future travel payment solutions will offer more sophisticated expense allocation tools and real-time payment splitting capabilities.
2. AI-powered payment processing
Artificial intelligence will revolutionize both traveler self-service and agent support for travel payments. AI systems will handle routine payment modifications, expense categorization, and policy compliance checks automatically.
This evolution will reduce the administrative burden on finance teams while improving accuracy in travel expense processing. Instead of manually reviewing every expense report, finance professionals can focus on exceptions and strategic analysis.
3. Unified payment and travel data
The most significant change involves merging payment data with travel information into unified systems. Rather than maintaining separate databases for bookings, payments, and expenses, future travel payment solutions will operate from integrated data sources.
This integration promises several benefits for finance teams:
Automatic expense report generation
Real-time spending visibility
Improved compliance monitoring
Streamlined audit processes
Enhanced client billing accuracy
Implications for finance teams
These predictions carry important implications for how finance organizations should approach travel payment solutions:
Evaluate integration capabilities: When assessing travel payment solutions, prioritize platforms that demonstrate strong API connectivity and data integration capabilities. Solutions that operate in isolation will become increasingly problematic as the industry moves toward unified data systems.
Plan for AI integration: Consider how current travel payment solutions handle automation and AI integration. Systems that require significant manual intervention for routine tasks may become obsolete as AI-powered alternatives emerge.
Prepare for new contract models: Armstrong also predicted a shift toward "agentic payments"—per-transaction contracts replacing traditional annual agreements between suppliers and payment processors. Finance teams should understand how this change might affect their travel payment solution costs and contract structures.
What this means for travel managers
Travel managers should also consider these trends when evaluating payment solutions:
Traveler experience will improve through better self-service capabilities
Policy enforcement will become more automated and real-time
Supplier relationship management may shift as contract models evolve
Content and payment integration will become table stakes, not differentiators
Preparing for the future of travel payment solutions
Organizations don't need to wait until 2030 to benefit from these trends. Finance and travel teams can begin preparing now:
Audit current systems: Evaluate how well your current travel payment solutions integrate with existing financial systems
Assess data quality: Review the accuracy and completeness of your travel expense data
Plan for integration: Consider how future travel payment solutions might connect with your broader financial technology stack
Stay informed: Monitor industry developments in AI-powered expense management and payment integration
The road to 2030
The travel payment solutions landscape will likely evolve gradually rather than through sudden disruption.
Organizations that begin preparing now—by prioritizing integration capabilities, data quality, and AI readiness—will be better positioned to take advantage of next-generation travel payment like Blockskye’s payment products: BMAX and B360.
Read the full coverage of Brook Armstrong's keynote in this Phocus Wire article.
