Purchase, NY | MasterCard Worldwide today announced strategic enhancements to its corporate meeting solutions portfolio to provide companies with greater control, efficiency and transparency around meeting planning and management. The company has partnered with two leading providers of online meeting solutions to address the needs of different stakeholders in today’s fragmented corporate meetings market.

“Since meeting needs differ dramatically by organization and type of event, we chose to partner with best-in-breed providers to offer our corporate customers a suite of flexible solutions that meet their individual needs, provide clear visibility into spend, and improve efficiencies throughout the entire meeting planning and execution process,” said Steve Abrams, group executive, Global Commercial Products, MasterCard Worldwide. “In today’s tight economy, our corporate customers are looking to optimize their card programs to capture meeting spend, and seek access to productive meeting planning tools that can help identify additional savings opportunities.”

Easy-to-Use Tool from etouches Streamlines Event and Meeting Management

etouches provides a cost-effective online attendee registration and management tool to help maximize attendance, enhance flow of information to attendees and sponsors, and reduce costs associated with time spent on event registration tasks. The easy-to-use tool can create registration websites quickly and easily, provide automated emails, and generate reports to track registration status against goals and budgets. Companies that subscribe to etouches through MasterCard will receive special offers.

“Tasked with managing a diverse portfolio of events and meetings with limited budgets and human resources, meeting planners today are looking for ways to increase productivity through strategic information management solutions,” said Leonora Valvo, CEO, etouches. “With our integrated event planning tools, such as eReg, our cost-effective event registration module, companies can take advantage of a hosted solution that reduces workflow complexity and enhances end-user experience without the cost of traditional, enterprise software.”

Worktopia addresses the need for a web-based platform to search for, compare and book small meeting rooms online and in real-time, efficiently and conveniently. By using one channel for all bookings, meeting planners can increase efficiencies while procurement can have greater visibility. Through this alliance, the MasterCard Purchase Control application will be the exclusive purchase control feature on Worktopia’s tool, and during the booking phase, eligible MasterCard corporate customers can conveniently control an employee’s use of card accounts to pay for meeting room reservations and services.

“With increased pressure to measure and manage expenditures related to small meetings, more companies today have to justify the ROI of face-to-face interaction while also complying with corporate budgets and goals,” said John Arenas, CEO, Worktopia. “Together with MasterCard, we can help companies establish enforceable policies by providing procurement with central visibility and control while allowing decentralized purchasing by meeting arrangers across the organization.”

The MasterCard Purchase Control application works with MasterCard Corporate Meeting Cards to help meeting planners and procurement managers reduce maverick and unmanaged spend, while improving compliance. Through a tailored workflow tool within MasterCard Purchase Control, eligible companies can have:

  • One-time use, virtual account numbers assigned to employees to enable those without commercial card accounts to book meeting rooms and services online.
  • Enhanced authorization controls that direct how, when and where cards may be used.
  • Enhanced levels of security, control, data capture and traceability on every purchase as limited use virtual account numbers may be set on a transaction-by-transaction basis, allowing meeting planners to report on meeting expenses on a more granular level than ever before.

About MasterCard Worldwide | MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 21 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to .

About eTouches | etouches provides event & meeting planning professionals an online suite of integrated applications that offer efficient, cost-effective tools to support the planning and management of any type of meeting. etouches works the way you do, capitalizing on 25 years of event planning, to streamline the execution of world-class events from conception to delivery. Integration with other business management tools such as online travel booking, financial software and CRM systems enables results reporting and ROI. For more information, visit .

About Worktopia | Worktopia, Inc. offers solutions that allow meeting planners to search, compare and book simple meetings and group accommodations in real-time, in hotels, business centers and airport lounges worldwide. Worktopia’s solutions also provide new visibility into what companies are spending on Simple Meetings, facilitating control, compliance and cost reduction efforts. The Worktopia MasterCard Enhances Suite of Corporate Meeting Solutions with New Alliances and Integrated Purchase Controls meetings management solutions power major travel management company white labels, leading corporate booking tools and travel agency desktops. Worktopia delivers attendee management services in partnership with SignUp4, LLC. For more information, visit .

Contacts:

Sarah Ely, MasterCard Worldwide, +1 914-249-6714,
[email protected]

Brooke Parker
Weber Shandwick, on behalf of MasterCard Worldwide
212-445-8142