Interview with Maartje van Beek: Exploring our Payment Solutions

In meeting and event management, efficient payment processes are critical. Maartje van Beek, Director of Project Management at Meetingselect, shares how our cutting-edge payment solutions transform the way clients handle transactions.  

From seamless integration with financial systems to innovative virtual credit card options, Maartje explains how Meetingselect simplifies payments, enhances transparency, and delivers greater financial control—helping businesses save time, reduce costs, and maintain flexibility in a competitive market. 

What payment solutions do we offer? 

“At Meetingselect, we transform how payments are managed in the meeting industry. We offer different payment solutions, from direct on-site payments to payment on account and Virtual credit card options this includes unique integrations with various Virtual credit card companies 

What sets us apart is our role as a payment intermediary—streamlining the financial process, so clients deal with a single partner while we handle all transactions with the venues. This end-to-end solution ensures smooth, secure payments, even in cases where virtual credit cards are not accepted. 

By offering a single source of truth, we empower clients with clarity, simplicity, and trust in every transaction." 

What are the key features and benefits of our payment solutions? 

“Our payment solutions streamline supplier management by positioning Meetingselect as the single supplier in your system, eliminating the need to set up multiple suppliers for every venue worldwide. This saves significant time and internal costs. 

A key benefit is the ability to pay venues directly while maintaining control over your payment terms and integrating seamlessly with your expense systems. For each meeting, we create a dedicated virtual credit card with specific references to ensure accurate cost allocation. 

Meetingselect acts as the single point of truth, providing real-time data, VAT enrichment, and complete transparency across all transactions, helping companies optimize their meeting management programs without the need for pre-financing. This end-to-end process empowers you with clarity, control, and cost efficiency." 

How do our payment solutions meet client needs and improve user experience? 

 "Our payment solutions are designed to integrate seamlessly with clients' financial processes and systems, such as procure-to-pay platforms. We provide flexibility for clients to implement their own financial agreements within our platform while staying legally independent. 

This streamlined integration reduces the need for lengthy purchase-to-order processes and minimizes administrative burdens like supplier setup and payment management. As a result, clients experience a smoother, faster workflow and fewer internal discussions about financial procedures. 

By removing these pain points, we enhance the overall user experience, allowing clients to focus on what truly matters—their core business activities." 

Why are our payment solutions beneficial in today's market? 

"In today’s market, businesses prioritize innovation, sustainability, transparency, and efficiency. Our payment solutions align perfectly with these needs by standardizing and automating financial processes. Unlike standalone payment solutions, we offer additional benefits like VAT compliance enabling clients to easily reclaim VAT. 

We provide a clear view of all financial transactions, which is crucial for companies focused on data transparency. With Meetingselect, invoicing is not only smooth and accurate, but payments are also securely managed and consolidated with booking data. We issue credit cards or invoices only when fully approved, ensuring alignment with each client’s processes. 

Our solutions bring clarity, security, and control over financial management, empowering clients to make informed decisions and optimize their spending.” 

What sets our payment solutions apart from competitors? 

"Our payment solutions stand out because we offer a choice between a range of integrations available to help suit the client’s needs. While competitors may provide similar services, we go further by ensuring greater transparency and accountability. 

Our platform simplifies the user experience for both clients and suppliers by consolidating all payment processes. We provide 100% assurance in handling original invoices and maximizing VAT recovery, giving clients peace of mind and greater financial control.

This combination of flexibility, transparency, and reliability is what sets us apart in the market." 

How do we ensure privacy and security of our clients within our payment solutions? 

"Our payment solutions are truly unique in their customization. We go beyond standard practices to ensure compliance and maximum benefit for our clients. For instance, we handle invoicing and payment processes in a way that allows for optimal VAT recovery and ensures that every detail, from the correct naming to validation, aligns with local regulations. 

There’s even more behind our approach that we can't fully disclose here due to client agreements. However, if you’re interested in understanding the finer details of how we manage these processes and how it can benefit your organization, we would be delighted to discuss it with you in a private conversation. Reach out to us to learn more!" 

How do we ensure scalability and flexibility in our payment solutions? 

"By allowing both venues and Meetingselect to act as merchants, we simplify supplier management significantly. This means clients don’t need to onboard new suppliers individually, which can be time-consuming and costly. 

For example, we recently helped a client eliminate 7,000 suppliers from their system, replacing them with just one. This not only streamlined their operations but also resulted in substantial cost savings, with internal costs for creating and maintaining suppliers dropping significantly. 

Our approach reduces administrative burdens and supports scalable growth, making it easier for clients to manage their supplier relationships efficiently and cost-effectively." 

How do we integrate our payment solutions with other systems our clients use? 

"Our payment solutions are seamlessly integrated with clients' existing systems through APIs. We have implemented Conferma as a credit card provider to support various payment solutions alongside the direct connections that we have in place. This integration ensures that we can leverage Conferma within our processes effectively. 

Meetingselect provides a comprehensive end-to-end process that connects our platform with clients' financial systems. Regardless of external processes, we ensure that all data is validated, secure, and accurately shared with clients. This approach guarantees smooth integration and reliable, protected information flow 

How does customer feedback influence the development of our payment solutions? Can you share any recent changes based on feedback? 

"Customer feedback plays a crucial role in shaping our payment solutions. For instance, during implementation, clients can choose whether to manage card issuance themselves or delegate it entirely to us. This reflects our commitment to adapting to client preferences. 

A recent example is our enhancement for Airplus. Based on client requests, we enabled self-service card issuance through our system. However, we also observed a preference for clients to delegate this task to us to ensure a single point of contact and maintain high data quality. Consequently, we’ve incorporated more mandatory reference fields to improve internal data consolidation. 

These changes illustrate how client feedback directly influences our development process, helping us refine our solutions to better meet their needs." 

How do we support clients during the implementation and adoption of our payment solutions? 

"We support clients through a seamless onboarding and implementation process designed to ensure smooth integration of our payment solutions. Our approach includes meticulous setup to guarantee that all information flows correctly through credit card statements, simplifying financial processes.

Additionally, we offer advisory and consulting services based on our extensive experience with various payment solutions. We tailor our guidance to specific regions and types of locations, addressing acceptance issues and potential costs to optimize the adoption and efficiency of our solutions." 

How do our payment solutions help our clients achieve their goals/overcome challenges? 

"Our payment solutions are designed to address key challenges and support clients in achieving their objectives. They offer significant cost savings by reducing indirect expenses related to payment processes and cash management. 

We enhance compliance and policy management by providing better control over payments, ensuring that financial policies are followed consistently. Our system issues credit cards only when supplier invoices are received, which helps clients avoid the complexities of employee expense claims and administrative burdens. This approach not only improves visibility into expenses before they occur but also ensures accurate invoicing and VAT recovery.” 

What upcoming innovations or enhancements are planned for our payment solutions, and how will they benefit our clients? 

"We are excited about several upcoming innovations that will further enhance our payment solutions. Key improvements include: 

• Enhanced security: We are introducing more secure payment processes. For instance, virtual credit cards will now be issued with a one-time use within a specified period, significantly reducing fraud risk. 

• Improved acceptance: We are expanding the capabilities for virtual payments, making it possible to handle transactions remotely without needing physical cards. This will streamline payment processes and improve convenience. 

• Advanced Integration: Our platform will feature more integrations for seamless payment processing and successful payment links, enabling real-time transactions and reducing manual interventions. 

• Faster Transactions: We are working on enabling 24/7 payment capabilities, eliminating the dependency on manual card processing and speeding up bank transactions. 

• E-Invoicing: Automated invoice processing will replace manual handling, reducing errors and administrative costs. 

These innovations are designed to provide clients with enhanced security, efficiency, and accuracy, helping them stay ahead in a rapidly evolving financial landscape."