Credit and debit cards have been both in use for nearly seven decades now, but virtual cards are relatively new…and gaining in popularity.
Virtual cards are digital versions of credit or debit cards used for purchases in lieu of physical cards and, by extending financial services to your customers, you’re adding another line of business to your product offering, as well. These virtual cards allow users, cardholders, and consumers to get instant purchasing power while eliminating the wait for a physical card. Beyond speed, virtual cards also allow for more customization like placing specific spending limits or expiration dates on multiple cards. Just like a physical card, the primary cardholder can request an unlimited number of additional cards except now are able to get them instantly.
Benefits of virtual cards
For companies looking to offer corporate cards, virtual cards are appealing for a number of reasons:
- Granularity: Since there’s no limit to the number of virtual cards you can create and distribute, staying organized and automating card distribution is a snap. Users can create a virtual card for every supplier or vendor as well as set spending limits so each month when the statement comes in, the card is never over the spending limit.
- Cost: Instead of issuing physical cards where the cost can add up quickly, virtual cards are efficient to create and much cheaper to issue.
- Management: Cancellation is much easier with virtual cards and there’s no need to physically destroy the card, resulting in a much safer and secure card.
- Multi-use: Virtual cards can be used exactly like physical cards for in-store transactions by leveraging digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or Samsung Pay. This gives virtual cards clout in both the physical and digital worlds.
- Protection: The level of fraud protection and dispute resolution is the same between both virtual and physical cards, but it’s more difficult to steal information from virtual cards. Safety is not sacrificed just because the card is digital.
Virtual cards and your company
Cledara, the leading UK-based software subscription management platform for businesses to track their SaaS spending, embeds credit solutions powered by virtual cards from Bond to simplify procurement, improve expense management, prevent overlooked recurring charges, and minimize forgotten card-on-file charges for clients. A client administrator is able to allocate and enforce budgets, set and cancel virtual cards to reduce wasteful spend, and provide employees with controlled purchasing power while avoiding the overhead of issuing and managing a large number of physical cards.
Businesses that utilize virtual cards have an unprecedented level of control and oversight over their expenses which allows for on the fly customization. Without the need to issue expensive physical cards with a long-duration expiry period, companies can issue virtual cards to their employees to:
- Manage expenses and control budgets
- Streamline procurement without centralizing it
- Provide managed purchasing power to employees
- Reduce and/or remove the need for employee reimbursement
- Issue time-boxed cards for specific events or projects
Easy build on Bond
Companies that want to offer new financial products can verify identities of their customers by using KYB or KYC, issue both virtual and physical cards, and monitor transactions all in one platform like Bond. Using APIs, SDKs, and compliance know-how on Bond, brands are able to launch credit products in a matter of weeks, as opposed to the lengthy process if they were to build themselves. Brands gain invaluable access to customer data that opens the door for stickier customer relationships, creates new business opportunities, and expands existing revenue streams.
Interested in seeing how virtual cards can grow your company? Reach out to learn more or start building your own fintech!
