Citi and Navan Enter Into Travel and Expense Partnership
Skift Take
Key Points
- Citi and Navan will market a co-branded travel and expense solution for Citi Commercial Bank cardholders in the U.S.
- The partnership aims to compete with travel and expense management rivals, leveraging Navan's technology to eliminate expense reports and reconcile transactions.
- Navan benefits from Citi's extensive client base, including over 25,000 commercial card clients and 7 million cardholders globally.
Summary
Citi and Navan have announced a partnership to offer a co-branded travel and expense solution for Citi Commercial Bank cardholders in the U.S., aiming to rival companies like SAP Concur and Expensify. The deal will allow Citi to potentially expand its commercial card business and leverage Navan's technology, which eliminates expense reports and reconciles transactions. Navan stands to gain from Citi's vast client base of over 25,000 commercial card clients and 7 million cardholders worldwide.
Citi and Navan will soon be marketing a co-branded travel and expense solution for Citi Commercial Bank cardholders. The tools, powered by Navan, initially will be available only in the U.S., the two companies announced Thursday.
The deal will enable Citi and Navan to compete with travel and expense management rivals, such as SAP Concur, Expensify, and Egencia. The co-branded solution now borders on an in-house solutions for corporations that hand out Citi Commercial Bank cards to their employees.
With the deal, Citi could potentially expand its commercial card business by offering a travel booking and expense management technology.
Citi will leverage Navan Connect, which the company states eliminates expense reports for traveling employees and reconciles transactions for corporate finance departments. Navan, meanwhile, can go after potential clients who prefer a credit card from a major bank such as Citi.
The partnership is a substantial win for Navan given the fact that Citi has more than 25,000 commercial card clients, and 7 million cardholders around the world.
Navan co-founder and CEO Ariel Cohen said in the announcement that the deal validates his company’s tech and “the value of the real-time visibility and control over spend that Navan offers finance teams and traveling employees.”
Cohen spoke at Skift Global Forum in September. View the video for his take on how the company is using AI.
Photo Credit: Navan CEO and co-founder Ariel Cohen (left) and Skift Research's Seth Borko in discussion at the Skift Global Forum in New York in September 2023. Source: Skift Skift
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