PCM Vol.2 - Issue 4

How one FinTech innovation could change the way you manage and control
corporate expenses
The FinTech sector is about innovation.
But which technologies will change the
financial and business landscape now
and well into the long term? Virtual Card
Numbers is a technology that is being
successfully used by some of the world’s
biggest companies and yet it is relatively
unknown.
Conferma has been pioneering and
developing VCN technology for 10 years.
Its clients alone handled $2.5bn worth
of transactions with its VCN technology
last year. What is more, Conferma
counts 20 card issuers including Citi
Group and Barclaycard’s Precisionpay,
which is its fastest growing product set
in commercial payments, amongst its
client base.
Simon Barker, CEO and founder of
Conferma gives us an overview of
the payment technology and why its
potential is something that we should
take note of over 2016.
cardholder`s name and a three or four
digit CVV or security code. However,
instead of being stamped physically
across a plastic card, the number is
generated digitally at point of sale and
used for that designated payment only.
VCNs don’t look any different to
merchants and are processed as
standard Cardholder Not Present
transactions. Restrictions can be placed
on how the VCN is used — including
the merchant category code, amount
and date range in which the VCN can be
charged.
VCNs are proving popular because of the
advantages they hold over rival payment
methods. A traditional centrally billed
account, for example, is often not PCI
compliant and can pose a security risk.
The other alternative is issuing payment
cards to individual members of staff but,
as we shall explore in this article, this
option holds the risk of expense claims
not being right.
VCNs helping with the complexity of
expense management
The vast majority of businesses are
sensitive about their data security
and protection. Recent data breaches
and hacker attacks over confidential
information have been a reasonable
justification for concern.
Yet it’s not simply your own business
you should be worried about. Take
a moment to think about how many
different suppliers your payment details
are stored with. Financial services, office
supplies, IT supplies, caterers… anyone
who supplies goods and services to
your company is likely to have payment
and other details about your business
on record. All it takes is just one of
them to have a data breach and you are
compromised.
What is a VCN
The term ‘virtual’ can be misleading. A
virtual card number is a normal 14, 15 or
16-digit card number which banks issue
from their standard Bank Identification
Number ranges.
Just like physical payments cards
they also carry an expiry date, the
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