AirPlus International, in Partnership with Santander Group, BNP Paribas, UBS and Nordea Modernize the Business Travel Market with NextGen®: The Global Card Network

NEU-ISENBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AirPlus International, a leading international provider of business travel expense analysis and payment solutions, now partners with worldwide leading financial institutions Santander, BNP Paribas, UBS and Nordea to provide companies in the international arena with the optimal solution to their worldwide travel cost management challenges.

Beginning Summer 2011, the partnership’s NextGen^® system will deliver an all-in-one tool for professional business travel management that integrates the market’s leading corporate cards, lodge cards and management information system (MIS) solutions. Many years of experience and extensive know-how have been combined to tailor NextGen^® to fulfill global companies’ diverse market and product requirements.

NextGen^® revolutionizes professional travel management globally. When settling business travel costs across international borders, companies no longer have to navigate a myriad of locally provided tools that might fail to meet the needs of their modern global travel management.

This is where NextGen^®, introduced jointly by the international financial specialists, comes into play. With one central contract, corporate customers receive a single solution to meet their professional business travel management needs around the globe. The NextGen^® partners guarantee consistent products and quality service for all of a customer’s international branches. And yet another benefit is a single point of contact for implementation, support and service; customers enjoy the stability of dealing with only one dedicated contact.

“The difference is night and day. When I speak to a global customer today about the NextGen^® Network, I can offer a single source of purchase, implementation and account management without sacrificing the specific needs of the customer in Spain, for example, or the UK. Further, the customer pleases his/ her internal customers with a project no longer requiring a never-ending set of individual supplier negotiations. And the plug-and-play global data solution is the icing on the cake.” – Volker Huber, Head of Global Sales, AirPlus International.

For editors:

Lufthansa AirPlus (www.airplus.com) is one of the leading international providers of solutions for daily business-travel management. More than 35,000 business customers rely on AirPlus for their business travel payment and analysis. The products and services are distributed on a worldwide basis under the AirPlus International brand. The AirPlus Company Account is the most successful invoicing account of the Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP).

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with a presence in 10 main markets. At the end of 2010, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone and 10th in the world by market capitalization. Founded in 1857, Santander had at year-end EUR 1,362 billion in managed funds, more than 97 million customers, 14,082 branches – more than any other international bank – and 179,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America. Furthermore, it has significant positions in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Poland and the U.S. northeast. Santander Consumer Finance operates in the Group’s core markets as well as in the Nordic region. Grupo Santander registered €8,181 million in net attributable profit in 2010.

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the strongest banks in the world*. The Group has a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, including more than 160,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.
* Rated AA by Standard & Poor's i.e. 3rd rating level on a scale of 22.

UBS draws on its 150-year heritage to serve private, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. We combine our wealth management, investment banking and asset management businesses with our Swiss operations to deliver superior financial solutions and manage CHF 2.2 trillion in invested assets. UBS has offices in more than 50 countries, including all major financial centers, and employs approximately 65,000 people.

Nordea's vision is to be a Great European bank, acknowledged for its people, creating superior value for customers and shareholders. We are making it possible for our customers to reach their goals by providing a wide range of products, services and solutions within banking, asset management and insurance. Nordea has around 11 million customers, approx. 1,400 branch offices, a leading net banking position and a total market capitalization of EUR 32 billion.

Press enquiries:
AirPlus InternationalSabine Bernstein</person>
Hans-Böckler-Straße 7
63263 Neu-Isenburg
T: + 49 (0) 61 02 204-165
[email protected]
www.airplus.com
or
Ciudad Grupo Santander
Edificio Arrecife, Planta 2
Boadilla del Monte
28660 Madrid
www.santander.com
or
BNP Paribas
Media Relations
T: + 33 (0)1 40 14 65 14
[email protected]
or
UBS
UBS AG
Media Relations
T: + 41 44 234 85 00
[email protected]
or
Nordea
Stig Sönnerberg
T: +46 853491183
[email protected]

Source: AirPlus International