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Related Newslog Items 20 May 2010 Incoming travelers to the United States from Visa Waiver Program countries by the end of the summer no longer will use paper arrival/departure forms at U.S. airports. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, those travelers instead must use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization before departure as U.S. Customs and Border Protection automates processing "for U.S. airports on a rolling basis over the next several months." DHS noted that CBP has received "more than 19 million ESTA applications" since the program was broadly deployed in January 2009. 14 January 2010 Effective 20 January, travelers from 35 countries must obtain electronic authorization before departing for the United States. On that date, use of the Web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization program run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will become mandatory for those travelers holding passports from Visa Waiver Program countries. 16 December 2009 Australian, Canadian and U.S. nationals will be charged a "reciprocity fee" when entering Argentina, according to Argentine officials. Set at US$70 for Australian passport holders, US$100 for Canadian passport holders and US$131 for U.S. passprot, the fees are scheduled to take effect 20 December 2009. "The Argentine government set this entry fee on equal amounts to those Argentine citizens must pay when requesting a visa to travel to those countries," according to the country's Department of Immigration Web site. 14 October 2009 BCD Travel established a joint venture with Greece's Amphitrion Holidays SA, which serves the corporate, meetings and incentives and leisure markets. The Greek agency has six offices, 250 employees and annual turnover of US$143 million, according to BCD Travel, which during the past 18 months has "noticed growing demand by multinational clients for a strong presence in the Greek market." 30 September 2009 Visa Inc. introduced a new global spend management platform in partnership with SpendVision, according to SpendVision majority owner HRG. Designed for financial institutions and commercial card clients, the Visa IntelliLink Spend Management tool includes reporting, data services and program support components on a single platform, and "integrates with the entire suite of Visa B2B payment products." According to HRG, it provides multi-language and multi-currency capabilities, receipt imaging, "compliance triggers," alerts for cardholders and program managers, integration of non-card transactions and "options for extending capabilities beyond payment, including travel booking integration." During "a migration period," IntelliLink Spend Management will replace Visa's existing information management tools. It is "available to commercial card issuers around the globe immediately."
10 September 2009 The U.S. Senate passed the Travel Promotion Act. A companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is now in committee. The legislation--which in 2008 passed in the House but not the Senate before Congress adjourned--would create a non-profit corporation "to communicate United States entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel," according to the Senate version, and would impose a $10 fee on those foreign visitors not paying for a visa to enter the United States. Combined with private sector contributions and initial funding from the U.S. Treasury, user fees would support a newly created Travel Promotion Fund. The legislation also would establish within the U.S. Department of Commerce an Office of Travel Promotion.
28 May 2009 About 500 Deloitte travelers in Europe are testing a new corporate card that also serves as their remote access to the company's virtual private network. Barclaycard, Visa Europe and EMUE Technologies partnered to embed a keypad, LCD screen and battery on the corporate payment cards to allow Deloitte employees to enter an identification number, generate a one-time use passcode and access the computer network. The three-month pilot is the first test of one-time code functionality for Visa Europe and is expected to save Deloitte "up to 65 percent per user over having a separate traditional token device," according to Deloitte senior partner Simon Owen. 13 January 2009 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security now requires travelers visiting the United States from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program to obtain security clearance through the Web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. DHS said it would "take a reasonable approach to travelers who have not obtained an approved travel authorization via ESTA, and will continue an aggressive advertising and outreach campaign throughout 2009." The U.S. Travel Association stated concerns related to a lack of awareness among affected travelers, ramifications of noncompliance and complications for travelers and travel agents without Internet access. 25 November 2008 Visa announced global mandates for compliance to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard that "establishes the minimum requirements for Visa Inc. regions," except Europe, which has its own timeline and process for compliance validation. Visa regions previously issued their own deadlines and validation requirements for card security and data storage. The new mandates require Visa merchants processing more than 6 million annual transactions to validate PCI compliance by 30 September 2010. By 30 September 2009, merchants and acquirers processing more than 1 million annual transactions must confirm that they did not retain data from magnetic strips, security codes or PIN data. "Hackers are looking for this type of data because of its use in counterfeiting payment cards, and that is why Visa prohibits its storage," said Eduardo Perez, Visa Inc. head of global data security. 16 July 2008 " All travelers going to mainland China are now required to provide proof of flight and hotel booking prior to their visa application," according to HRG Asia-Pacific executive vice president James Stevenson. "Companies must now also obtain an official invitation from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on behalf of employees ahead of visa applications being made and explicitly request a multiple entry business visa if required." HRG said China is tightening visa controls ahead of the Beijing summer Olympics and is expected to "return to previous relaxed levels" in the autumn.
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