Liability Types

With corporate travel card programs, an organization can choose from among different types of program liability:

• Corporate liability (buying organization is liable for the transactions, like in a purchasing card program); this has become the most common

• Individual liability (employee/cardholder is liable, typically paying the issuer directly each month and receiving reimbursement from the employer for approved business travel and entertainment expenses)

• Joint and several liability (liability is shared between the organization and employee, giving the issuer the opportunity to pursue delinquent payments from one or both parties)

• Split liability (liability for specific transactions is assigned to either the cardholder or the organization, based on what the transaction is for; might use merchant category codes for assignment purposes)

• Contingent liability (ties in with individual liability; if the cardholder is delinquent, the issuer can pursue payment from the organization, providing the transactions are for legitimate business expenses)

Related Resources

• Travel expense management

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