4 steps to choosing your business bank card for optimum expense management!

Business bankcards are used by many companies to better manage their expenses and those of their employees. In addition to their function as a means of payment, corporate cards have become an essential tool for managing expense accounts.

They make it considerably easier to monitor and control company expenditure, and provide greater security for the payment process. Your employees are more autonomous and your financial management is more optimal.

However, there are several types of card with different characteristics. So which one is right for your company? And what criteria should you use to make the right choice?

In this article, we'll give you all the information you need to make the right choice, so that you can opt for the means of payment best suited to your needs and those of your employees.

See all software Expense Management

What is a business bank card?

A business bank card, also known as a company card, is a means of payment that a company provides to its employees to pay for business expenses. It is directly linked to the company's bank account .

👉 Legally, the vast majority of companies are required to open a business bank account. This is where they register their capital when they are registered. However, there are exceptions:

• sole traders
• self-employed professionals

What types of business bank card are there?

The business or corporate card

This card, also known as the "employee" debit card or business card, is specially designed for large international companies where employees regularly incur expenses linked to business travel.

👉 Expenses are therefore in foreign currency, so employees need to have a card that is suitable for international use. It limits the financial pressure on employees and centralises your expenses to make them easier to track.

The virtual card

Also known as an e-card, the virtual card is a dematerialised means of payment that allows you to pay your business expenses online, thereby limiting the risk of fraud. They have the same characteristics as a physical bank card, namely

• bank card number
• expiry date
• CVV code

The Business card

Otherwise known as a "company" debit card, this is designed for small and medium-sized businesses. The company's account is debited directly and this type of card is often reserved for the company's directors. It can, however, be allocated to specific departments such as :

• the purchasing department
• the finance department
• the payment department (for travel bookings, for example).

The "tenanted" card

This type of card is used to pay employees' business travel expenses via a payment account registered directly in the information system of the service provider concerned.

👉 It is one of the main centralised payment methods on the market. It enables all transactions relating to employees' business travel to be settled and managed in real time from a single location.

The purchasing card

The purchasing card enables employees authorised by the company to pay for goods, services and other operating costs from pre-identified suppliers.

What are the advantages of a business bank card?

Considerable time savings

Managing expense accounts is often a time-consuming and repetitive task that takes up the time of specialist departments. With a business bank card, all your employees' business expenses are centralised in a single business account.

Each business card holder has access to a mobile expense management application . This makes things easier for :

• Employees, who no longer need to spend hours creating expense reports in Excel. All their expense receipts and invoices are stored on the platform.
• Managers, as the platform automatically manages detailed expense reports and archives receipts in digital format.

Secure business expenses

The business bank card offers you enhanced security by allowing you to keep control of your expenses, which considerably reduces any attempt at fraud.

All your sensitive information is protected by a secure digital platform. Your data can be encrypted for even greater security.

What's more, if your card is lost or stolen, it can be blocked at the click of a button .

👉 We therefore advise you to distribute prepaid cards to your staff so that all employees are not affected in the event of loss or theft.

Avoid personal expenses

Thanks to their business bank card, your employees no longer have to use their personal bank account to finance expenses linked to their business assignments. The traditional model for managing business expenses could be described as follows:

1. employees advance the costs of their business trips and missions,
2. they then create expense claims accompanied by proof of payment,
3. they expect to be reimbursed within several days or even several weeks.

Although this method was effective in the past, it is no longer the case today. With the digitalisation of companies, time-consuming and repetitive tasks are avoided or even eliminated, and expense management is optimised.

With a business bank card, you can pay your employees specific sums based on your budget forecasts.

👉 This avoids the inconvenience of employees who don't have enough personal funds to meet their business needs.

Finally, business bankcards can be very beneficial when travelling abroad on business , which often involves high expenditure in foreign currencies.

Better monitoring of business expenses

All transactions carried out using a business bank card are recorded and sent directly to the relevant departments via a digital platform.

👉 This considerably optimises the monitoring and control of expenses.

This optimisation can be further enhanced if your bank card is connected to an expense management solution to automate all your reporting and monitoring.

See all software Expense Management

How do you choose your business bank card?

1 - Assess your company's precise needs

Opting for a business bank card is a decision taken after a need has emerged. These needs may differ from company to company. Your priorities and expectations are different, which may lead you to opt for different types of card. To best meet your need(s), you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• What problem am I trying to solve by introducing a new payment method?
• How many employees will be using these cards?
• What types of expenditure will be paid for using these cards?
• Do my employees travel abroad on business? (In this case, an international or foreign currency card is preferable).
• What is the budget set for each card? (Depending on your budget forecasts)

2 - Compare the offers on the market

Depending on your needs, there are several offers available. These may be banks, online payment solutions or even neo-banks that give you access to a multitude of offers accompanied by numerous advantages:

• travel insurance
• loyalty programmes
• personalised tracking,
• encrypted data,
• 24-hour assistance, etc.

It's up to you to decide, according to your priorities and your budget, which services would be most beneficial to you. Don't rush! It's important to study all the offers carefully so that you can offer your employees the best possible payment card.

👉 Pay attention to the fees charged by these service providers, such as :

• foreign transaction fees,
• card creation fees
• commissions charged for certain services, etc.

3 - Differentiate between immediate and deferred debit cards

There are two payment terms for bankcards:

• Immediate debit cards: these automatically debit the company's business bank account on the same day as the payment, with a margin of two days. You are notified in real time.
• Deferred debit cards : these debit all your expenses at the end of the month.

The choice between these two types of payment card is essential. It will be made according to your budget planning as well as the different types of expenditure you incur.

💡 In general, immediate debit cards are cheaper than deferred debit cards.

4 - Move towards digital tools

Businesses are going digital and increasingly entering the digital age. A digital offering will meet all your needs while making your day-to-day life easier. Intuitive expense management solutions have a number of advantages:

• dematerialising expense reports
• automate expense management processes
• reduce the number of steps employees have to take
• control your employees' expenses
• automatically export your expense reports.

Online software for corporate cards is also highly relevant, giving you a 360° view of all your expenses so you can optimise your budget planning.

These new intuitive, ultra-customisable solutions are a real performance driver for companies, who can see their time-consuming tasks automated, leaving them more time to concentrate on their core business.