Travel and Expense Trends to Watch in 2026

Succeeding in business is no longer about leading with certainty; it’s about navigating ambiguity. Both small organisations and global enterprises have felt the impact of rapid economic and sociopolitical changes in 2025, and change shows no signs of slowing any time soon.

As 2026 approaches, adaptability will be just as critical as strategy. For finance and travel leaders, that will mean keeping a pulse on emerging trends—from breakthroughs in agentic AI to ongoing industry consolidation—anticipating how they might shape what is to come, and being prepared to pivot as needed.

Here are the trends that SAP Concur executives say will define the next chapter of travel and expense (T&E).

Technology Could Drive More Value Than Ever Before—But Trust and Transparency Are Key

In 2026, we will see meaningful progress in personalisation across the travel journey and through suppliers. Advances in AI and predictive analytics will make increasingly personalised and more intuitive experiences possible, with benefits extending beyond travel to the broader business suite, including HR, finance, and procurement, driving more value than ever before.

However, AI is only as good as the data behind it, and technology can introduce risks, like deepfakes, threats to data privacy, and fraud, which are changing how companies approach their T&E policies. These issues underscore how critical considerations like interoperability, common data standards, security measures, authentication, governance, and human oversight will be in the next wave of travel innovation. All eyes will be on companies and how they approach talent and staffing in response to AI adoption as well. Establishing trust and ensuring transparency will be critical to progress in the year ahead.

The consolidation that the travel industry has experienced during the past two years will continue into 2026. We’ll see more partnerships, like the strategic alliance that SAP Concur announced with American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) and our co-developed solution that will redefine the corporate T&E experience for businesses and their travellers.

We’re in a very dynamic period of change in the travel industry—one that is driving unprecedented innovation. While the industry has traditionally been slower to adapt to new technology, any growing pains that we may experience now will be far outweighed by this exciting opportunity to shape the future of T&E.

– Charlie Sultan, President of Concur Travel, SAP Concur

Technology Could Help Balance Efficiency, Compliance, and Traveller Experience

In the next chapter of travel, AI-powered solutions—and the people deploying them—will create an ecosystem where technology, safety, and traveller experience coexist seamlessly.

Technology modernisation has become non-negotiable for airport and airline resiliency and responsiveness. From more biometric checkpoints to predictive maintenance powered by AI, the ecosystem will evolve to move faster and more securely in 2026. This transformation aligns with customers’ expectations of rapid and direct access to information and the fastest security processes possible.

In 2026, organisations will continue exploring how and where AI can make the biggest impact. They will use it to enhance duty of care, predicting risks and personalising safety alerts to individual travellers. Travel managers will use AI and automation to balance efficiency, sustainability, and empathy within travel programs, through personalised recommendations, simplified expense management, and tools that help business travellers feel heard and supported. And with virtual cards and mobile payments, it’s never been easier to hit the road.

2025 may have started with some healthy gen AI skepticism among travellers, but these technologies are everywhere now and show no signs of slowing. Travellers will start trusting AI with more than just generating trip ideas or booking basic travel. They’ll use it to manage entire journeys and adapt to disruptions in real time—and when they get home, the expense report will be infinitely easier.

These evolutions will transform the travel experience in 2026 to be more intuitive, frictionless, and enjoyable.

– Jen Moyse, Vice President of Product and Head of UX, SAP Concur

AI Could Push Expense Reports Toward Extinction in 2026 and Beyond

In 2026, the future of T&E management will increasingly take place outside traditional applications. With AI becoming deeply integrated into collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack, tasks such as approving an expense report or booking a business trip will happen where employees already work.

What’s more, the power of AI multiplies when it can connect and validate data from multiple sources. When systems are connected, AI will create a more intelligent and trusted view of every transaction using information from travel itineraries, expense reports, payslips, invoices, and more.

As spend management expands beyond traditional tools, organisations must remain vigilant about maintaining data security and compliance. Like any new technology, while AI introduces new methods for potential misuse, it isn’t necessarily increasing fraud; it’s just transforming how it occurs. For instance, we’ve discovered that roughly 1% of receipts reviewed by the new AI-generated receipt checker in Verify are potentially generated by AI. These early examples reinforce why continuing to innovate is essential.

The emphasis will remain on automating manual processes, leveraging AI-infused services to drive efficiency and deliver safeguards. In a few short years, the concept of an “expense report” may be obsolete altogether, replaced by agentic AI with the autonomy to audit, reconcile, and reimburse automatically in the background, so employees can focus their time on delivering greater strategic value to their organisations.

– Christopher Juneau, SVP and Head of Product Marketing, SAP Concur

Investments in Technology and T&E Could Help Position Small and Midsize Organisations for Success

Small and midsize businesses (SMB) are the definition of resilient—they can often pivot strategies faster than large, multilayered organisations—and they know that volatility will continue in 2026. In response, most SMBs are keeping strong cash and risk buffers while funding a tight set of growth bets, including investments in technology and smart business travel.

Continued technology adoption, from basic automation to agentic AI, will help SMBs drive material, measurable improvements in efficiency, visibility, and controls. Organisations that start by adopting AI within the tools they already use, and invest in applications that sit on top of relevant, reliable business data, will help reduce risks and accelerate adoption across their workforce.

SMBs should invest in travel that delivers real ROI, and they will look to technology to offer employees more choice and autonomy while prioritising safety, sustainability, and cost control. The promise of AI is to deliver the best of both: benefits to the business and great employee experience.

Pre-spend controls, such as virtual cards and dynamic card controls, will also be game changers in how organisations control spend, lower risk, and reduce the burden of cash outlay for business expenses.

Unpredictability will continue to drive SMBs toward cost control and stability wherever possible. SMBs see the highest ROI from initiatives that help improve cash flow and automate business processes. T&E is a large, controllable spend category, and SMBs that continue to view it as an investment in business development and growth are likely to thrive in 2026.

– Kacey Flygare, General Manager and Global Business Head, SMB, SAP Concur

Finance Departments Could Succeed with AI Adoption by Embracing a “Failure-Forward” Culture

In 2026, the finance organisations leading in AI adoption will be those that champion a failure-forward mindset. As AI begins to automate much of the number-crunching, the differentiating value of finance teams will lie in their ability to think critically, ask the right questions, and learn quickly from missteps. We want to drive change; we don’t want to be driven by it.

Yet, that shift won’t happen without a cultural reset. Finance professionals are trained to eliminate errors, but AI innovation thrives on iteration and experimentation. Leaders must lead by example and create an environment where taking calculated risks is encouraged, mistakes are examined without blame, and learning is celebrated as progress.

Only when failure becomes a data point, not a downfall, will the finance function fully unlock AI’s potential to reimagine decision-making, growth, and value creation across the business.

– Sonja Simon, Chief Financial Officer, SAP Americas