Paysafe sees 95% employee adoption of Navan and big travel savings

Paysafe is a leading payments platform for businesses and consumers. Because the company has offices in 10 locations across three continents and a presence in 120 markets globally, its travel programme is extensive and demanding. With its previous travel provider, Paysafe was crippled by a poor user experience, disjointed data stored across two platforms, and inadequate duty-of-care capabilities. Managing the travel programme was something of a poisoned chalice; it ate up significant amounts of time just in resolving issues, and travellers often booked off-platform anyway. It was clear big changes were needed.

Before Navan

Off-platform bookings and disjointed data

Before partnering with Navan, Paysafe used Amex GBT for the bulk of its travellers and a separate agency for its 27 C-level VIP travellers. With company travel data split across two platforms, it was impossible to get full insight into travel spend.

Non-VIP travellers were mandated to use Amex GBT to book travel, but there were so many complaints about the user experience and inventory that they were eventually allowed to book off-platform.

The company’s travel programme was managed by the head of procurement, but a task that should only have taken up 10% of his time soon demanded 60% because of the number of problems he faced. When the head of procurement left, travel management was briefly reassigned to the facilities team before eventually landing on the desk of Rob Chapman, now Global Head of Security and Corporate Travel.

“

“Before Navan, the system was so outdated it felt like you were booking on a tool that was 10–15 years old. People were constantly complaining about it.”

Rob Chapman

Global Head of Security and Corporate Travel

Rob instantly recognised that Paysafe needed to overhaul its travel programme and started searching for a new solution.

“The system was so outdated it felt like you were booking on a tool that was 10–15 years old. People were constantly complaining about it,” Rob says.

Why Paysafe chose Navan

The first time Rob got a demo of the Navan platform, he could see the user experience was night and day compared to the previous solution. The intuitive interface and extensive inventory immediately stood out.

Navan’s 24/7, in-app customer support was also a key factor, and notably different to the service provided by Amex GBT, where support was sometimes hard to access.

Paysafe was quickly convinced that the Navan Pro service, powered by Navan company Reed & Mackay, could meet the needs of its VIP travellers, while the ability to bring the company’s entire travel data — including that of Paysafe executives — into one platform and dashboard was the deciding factor.

The Navan effect

A jump in platform adoption

Paysafe travellers were quickly impressed with Navan’s user experience. Unlike with the previous travel solution, travellers found the trip-booking flow to be simple and they didn't encounter errors in the booking process. The result: greater time and money savings.

After seven months, platform adoption stands at over 95%, a huge jump from the pre-Navan level. As a result, Rob's travel team now has immediate access to significantly more spend and duty-of-care data, which proved invaluable when 12 Paysafe employees found themselves stranded during flooding in Dubai recently.

Rob was able to log on and see exactly where the employees were and help organise solutions, something he says would have been almost impossible with the previous travel provider.

30 hours a week saved

Partnering with Navan has drastically cut the amount of time Rob and his team spend managing travel — he estimates they save 30 hours a week. “I’ve got my evenings back and I don’t have to work 12 hour days any more. There aren’t many issues to resolve — it’s gone from over 30 issues per week down to three max — so I can focus on my main priorities, which are duty of care, cost savings, and everything else I look after at the company,” Rob says.

The successful implementation of Navan also gave Rob a boost in his career: “The visibility and recognition I got within Paysafe after the success of switching travel platforms played a huge part in me getting a promotion.”

“

“The visibility and recognition I got within Paysafe after the success of switching travel platforms played a huge part in me getting a promotion.”

Rob Chapman

Global Head of Security and Corporate Travel

Navan Pro

Paysafe previously used a specialist travel agency for its 27 VIP travellers and got great service. The only problem, Rob says, was having company travel data split across two providers.

With Navan Pro, Navan’s premium traveller offering, Paysafe’s C-suite travellers still get the same excellent high-touch service they had before and have access to even more benefits.

Now, Paysafe VIPs get access to a support team around the clock via a dedicated number and email address. An agent books on behalf of the VIP travellers, keeping in mind the personal preferences of each.

Whereas before they had just one point of contact, they now have round-the-clock VIP support, with all agents experts on the Paysafe account.

“

“I use the Navan Pro platform nearly every single day to book travel for my executives and also for myself and my experience has so far been 100% positive. The platform is easy to use and all of the trips I have booked have run smoothly.”

Jenna Coulson

Executive Assistant

The executive assistants responsible for arranging travel on behalf of the VIPs are enjoying Navan Pro, finding it to be a valuable asset in delivering exceptional service.

In addition, Rob and his team now have a single source of truth for all business travel data, whether for regular or VIP travellers, since everything is seamlessly displayed in real time on the platform.

Happy travellers

Paysafe travellers were quickly enamoured with Navan and the customer support they get, as shown by the outstanding 5/5 CSAT score and NPS of +73 — a world away from their experience with the previous travel provider.

The benefits Paysafe employees are seeing with Navan

Travel managers:

• Can view company-wide travel spend in real time in one centralised platform
• Fulfil their duty-of-care responsibilities thanks to live traveller tracking and enhanced support
• Save 30 hours a week, which they can use for higher-value tasks

Travellers:

• Choose from a large travel inventory and book trips quickly
• Can access support 24/7
• Earn rewards when they book cost-effective hotels that save company money

Looking ahead: tweaking and refining

Having been so impressed with Navan’s travel platform, Paysafe is now exploring the possibility of implementing Navan Expense. This addition would enable the company to manage travel and expense on one platform and get the benefits of seamless data integration.

Ultimately, Rob is excited to plan for the future, safe in the knowledge Navan is the perfect partner for Paysafe — “I feel confident,” says Rob, “that Navan can support us as we grow.”