Mobile Payments May Be Down an Option in 20 Years
A Dilbert strip once described business travel as a way to “…be exhausted, bored, stiff, headachey, annoyed…for the next three days.” While the new development from Certify, Certify Travel—about which it recently dropped word our way—may not help improve the overall state of business travel, it will make setting up and paying for such travel that much easier by giving it a mobile edge.
With Certify Travel—which itself represents a “significantly-upgraded version of the company’s mobile travel software”—users get the ability to set up airfare, car, and hotel reservations all from one central app. The recent acquisition of nuTravel gave Certify the necessary firepower to augment its travel booking capabilities, which it’s done in a big way.
Once the bookings are complete, the whole shooting match can be paid for from the app itself, reports note, using a credit card or mobile wallet system that’s been properly synced with the app. It’s not just about bookings, though; the system also allows for several other new capabilities ranging from price verification tools to expandable flight details, including a air matrix presented in the accordion style and a clear display of fare families and relevant penalties.
GL2 Solutions LLC, which offers software implementation for travel management companies, noted via its president Elaine Bryant: “Certify is awesome for our clients, providing wonderful customer service and fantastic performance. Its mobile app is the exact experience business travelers seek, allowing them to book and make changes to their itinerary whenever they wish. We can also get it up and running in two weeks compared to 120 days with Concur.”
That’s a lot to like all in one space, and bringing mobile payments into the mix only improves on an already sound picture. With a clear edge on many of its larger competitors, Certify Travel might well have the critical marketplace advantage it will need to let it take on some of the bigger and more established operations. That’s going to be vital for breaking through the raw inertia that such operations will face, because a lot of places already have “their favorite” and aren’t likely to change.
Still, the ease of use and depth of operation presented by Certify Travel should be enough to help it make at least some market share going forward.