Why did you turn to Anytime in the first place?
Tom Browne: "All Tour Operators who produce their own trips are faced with the same problems: enabling their teams who run their trips all over the world to pay for expenses on the spot, to secure the funds dedicated to the trips, and above all to haveimmediate access to funds in the event of an emergency.
At the time, it was not uncommon for supervisors to take"Travelers Cheques" or even cash on trips. But this solution posed problems of internal control, traceability, retrieval of payment vouchers, and expense control.
That's why the group was a pioneer when, in 2011, it signed a contract with a banking institution to supply single-use physical cards that were nominative. The administrative procedures were time-consuming, and required us to collect and protect an enormous amount of personal data. So much so that at times we had two people dedicated full-time to managing these cards.
We discovered Anytime when we bought a new subsidiary, ALEFA SANS FRONTIERES. And a much more efficient and ergonomic procedure than that of our financial partner. After a year's observation, we decided to deploy this solution across all the group's entities."
How do you use Anytime services today?
T.B.: "In concrete terms, we can say that there are 3 different uses for Anytime cards.
- Firstly, internally, our employees have business cards for fairly standard use.
- Secondly, today all our teachers and supervisors have an Anytime card (not necessarily loaded). This allows us, in the event of a problem (transport strike, accident...) to send them money instantly. All without using cash. It also enables us to pay for activities on site when they have not been booked by our head office.
- The third is to enable parents of young travelers to givepocket money to their children, with no risk of loss during transport. In concrete terms, parents pay us the amount they wish, we load it onto the card of our supervisor, who withdraws it on the spot, according to the child's needs. Any money not used by the child is then returned to the parents on their return from the trip."
Anytime has enabled us to set up a very large fleet of cards for our supervisors and teachers who go abroad. What we appreciate most is the flexibility, ease of use, traceability and security of the solution.
What was it about Anytime that impressed you most?
T.B.: "The Group is one of our long-standing customers, and I must admit I've always appreciated the special relationship our management has built up with Anytime's experts. Today, their cards are an essential part of our emergency management system. I've always been able to contact someone in customer service if I've had any problems accessing the platform or a particular card.
What's more, we feel really listened to. One day, I asked to be able to top up several cards simultaneously (the option didn't exist at the time), Anytime developed the solution for us."
Would you recommend Anytime to someone you know?
T.B.:"I already have! In particular to our trade association,UNOSEL, which includes many tour operators specializing in travel for children and young adults. The Anytime solution is really tailor-made for our business."