Articles
March 6, 2025
How Credit Cards Help Treasury Generate Revenue at Oceaneering
# Cash and Working Capital
# Technology
Virtual credit cards are now 70% of the company’s spending and rebates make treasury a revenue enabler.
Corporate treasury might not always be front and center in a business, but at Oceaneering it has become a hub of innovation and financial strategy. Brook Ballard, the company’s treasurer, recognized that a well-designed credit card program including virtual cards where corporate buyers can earn rebates could do much more than streamline payments—it could transform treasury’s role and reputation.
- “At first, people saw the card program as a convenience initiative,” Mr. Ballard said. “But now, it’s a cornerstone of our financial strategy. We’re not just making payments; we’re actively shaping business efficiency and risk management; generating interest income by extending the payment cycle; and even generating revenue with the rebate.”
- The benefits of the card program have been far-reaching. “We’re paying for everything on these cards now—from social networking sites, internet to trash collection,” he said. “It’s delivered convenience but also shown us how to turn routine expenses into opportunities.”
- This transformation didn’t happen overnight. It required a deep dive into existing processes, an understanding of where inefficiencies were draining resources, and a bold strategy to leverage cards beyond their traditional use cases.
The cost of complexity. Oceaneering provides engineered services and products primarily to the offshore energy industry. Its complex, global operations meant treasury needed a solution that could handle international payment requirements as well as provide risk mitigation tools and real-time visibility.
- “We were dealing with everything from emergency payments for offshore teams to reconciling a dozen different systems,” Mr. Ballard explained. “It was time-consuming and not nearly as efficient as I would have liked.” The tipping point came when he and his team realized how much their old processes were costing—in every sense.
The answer: cards. “Initiating card systems allowed us to avoid prepaying funding to hotels for crews, emergency wires for utilities, reducing manual processing for standard recurring software and service payments,” he said. It’s a multifaceted card program combining three key payment methods integrated into the ERP’s AP module. Along with check, wire and ACH, the company added:
- Tokenized payments: virtual cards. Secure, one-time-use credentials sent directly to vendors. A virtual card is a one-time credit card number for an exact amount, unique to the specific vendor transaction, with a relatively short expiration date, sent to the vendor.
- Buyer initiated payment (BIP). B2B payments to vendor and supplier accounts, enabling streamlined high-volume transactions.
- Card-on-file. A method used for recurring expenses such as utilities, subscriptions and digital services.
More control. By integrating these payment types within its ERP, Oceaneering created a seamless, automated process that not only reduced reconciliation time but also allowed treasury to have full control over spend categories and vendor relationships.
- “We had to build an entirely new framework within our ERP,” Mr. Ballard said. “Every vendor is set up with a specific payment type, whether card-on-file, BIP, tokenized or local currency card transactions. While it took a lot of work, we knew we were building a system that enhances financial control and improves operational efficiency.”
- He added, “We had to rethink how we tracked spending. Now, every transaction is coded and integrated into our expense system. The visibility it’s given us is incredible. We can pull up detailed reports in minutes—something that used to take days.
- “We can track every dollar spent, optimize payment timing and reduce fraud risk. It’s a level of control that wasn’t possible before. It’s about creating a system where transparency is built into the DNA of how we operate.”
Game changer. Virtual cards now account for 70% of the company’s spending. “Virtual cards are a game-changer,” Mr. Ballard said. They’re a key reason treasury has gone from a cost center to a revenue enabler, thanks to the rebates the company earns.
- “In certain countries, where interest rates are sky-high, we’re earning the equivalent of a 14% return on transactions simply through utilizing the card and leveraging the transaction date to the payment date to capture additional interest income,” he noted. “That’s a fundamental shift in how treasury contributes to the bottom line.”
- “We’ve got over 5,000 cards globally, but the beauty of virtual cards is their flexibility. Need a one-time payment for a vendor? Done. Want to cap a specific spend category? Done. Real time, global and efficient.”
- This flexibility has also revolutionized day-to-day operations. “Take something like paying for emergency accommodation for a global team. Before, we’d wire a lump sum to a hotel, hoping it matched the expenses. Now, with cards, we only pay for what we actually use. The difference in efficiency is night and day.”
Other benefits. Rebates and working capital efficiencies have also funded technology investment. “That revenue allows us to implement automation tools and analytics platforms that enhance our overall financial strategy,” Mr. Ballard said. “We’re not just covering operational costs anymore; we’re actively driving financial performance.”
- The program has also empowered Oceaneering to negotiate better terms with vendors. “When you can show vendors the scale of spend with them, it changes the conversation,” he said. “We’ve secured discounts on everything from airlines, rental card providers and SaaS subscriptions simply by leveraging our data.”
- Other upsides include fraud mitigation. “If a mistake is made on a wire payment, getting that money back can be difficult and time consuming,” Mr. Ballard noted. “But with a card? We can reverse a charge in seconds. That’s massive when you’re managing payments across multiple time zones.”
- Mr. Ballard recalls a critical moment when an overseas worker required emergency medical care. “With the card, we could immediately get them the help they needed. No waiting on approvals or wires. It was just done. That’s the kind of impact that goes beyond numbers.”
Getting full value. Rolling out a program of this scale wasn’t without hurdles; treasury faced everything from employee resistance to the complexities of integrating cards into Oceaneering’s systems. “We didn’t just flip a switch,” Mr. Ballard said. “We built controls for every eventuality—spending caps, automated fraud alerts, and even real-time notifications when a card is used. It’s about giving employees freedom while ensuring accountability.”
- This automated approach has been a boon to compliance management for treasury. “As soon as a transaction occurs, we send out automated reminders to ensure it’s accounted for,” he explained. That process keeps everyone accountable and reduces opportunities for misuse. It also goes hand in hand with the importance of treasury educating corporate card holders about making the best use of the tool.
- “You can’t assume everyone will understand the benefits immediately,” he noted. “We created guides, held training sessions and ensured employees knew how to use the cards effectively. It’s a culture shift, and that takes time. You give people the right tools to solve problems and create opportunities.”
Future potential. Looking ahead, Oceaneering sees even more potential for cards. “We’re exploring how the program can support our sustainability initiatives. For example, tracking carbon footprints on travel expenses or incentivizing vendors with strong ESG credentials. The cards are just the beginning.”
- Mr. Ballard added that this isn’t just his story—it’s about a team, a vision and a willingness to embrace change. “Treasury doesn’t have to be reactive,” he urged. “It can be proactive, strategic and even exciting. That’s the future we’re building.”
- And for him, that’s the real success of the card program. “This program has given us the agility to respond to challenges, the insight to make smarter decisions and the confidence to take on more. It’s a question of rethinking what treasury can be—and then making that happen.”