The Power of Commercial Charge Cards for B2B Companies.
The use of commercial charge cards has become increasingly popular among B2B companies in recent years. Commercial charge cards are payment cards issued by one company to other companies or to their own employees for business expenses, offering many benefits such as improved cash flow management, streamlined expense tracking, enhanced control over employee spending, and cash-back rewards. However, in addition to these benefits, issuing commercial charge cards to customers can also provide significant advantages for B2B companies. Today, let’s dive into why B2B companies should consider issuing their own branded commercial charge cards to their business customers, backed up by real-world examples and data.
Strengthening Business Relationships
Issuing commercial charge cards to customers can help B2B companies build stronger business relationships. By offering a convenient payment method, companies can streamline their purchase process and make it easier for customers to do business with them. This, in turn, can improve customer loyalty and retention rates. And the demand for benefits such as strengthening relationships with suppliers isn’t slowing down. According to a report by Beroe, corporate charge card demand is expected to grow by over 7% annually, making it a $35 Billion market opportunity this year..
A great example of this is American Express's partnership with Marriott International. Marriott issues American Express commercial charge cards to its employees, providing them with a convenient way to pay for business expenses such as travel and entertainment. This partnership has helped Marriott streamline its payment processes and strengthen its relationship with American Express.
Streamlining Payment Processes
Commercial charge cards can help B2B companies streamline their payment processes, which can save time and resources. By using commercial charge cards, companies can simplify their payment process and reduce the need for manual invoice processing. This can improve payment accuracy and reduce the risk of payment errors.
B2B companies now have the opportunity to issue their customers a branded commercial charge card, allowing that customer to streamline its payment processes and reduce the need for manual invoice processing. Your card can help your customer reduce payment errors and improve payment accuracy.
Increasing Revenue
Issuing commercial charge cards can also contribute to your bottom line. By providing your customers with a convenient payment method you have the ability to earn valuable revenue every time they use the card.
Imagine offering one of your customers a commercial charge card that they can use when they spend with you. Every time they spend, you earn revenue.
Enhanced Data Insights
Commercial charge cards can provide B2B companies with enhanced data insights. By tracking customer spending patterns and purchase behavior, companies can gain valuable insights into their customers' needs and preferences. This can help companies make more informed business decisions and tailor their offerings to better meet their customers' needs.
For an example of this we need to look no further than Shell's partnership with American Express. American Express issued a commercial charge card to Shell, allowing the company to track customer spending patterns and tailor its offerings to better meet their needs. This has helped Shell improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
BaaS Makes It Easy
In many of the examples provided, businesses partnered with banks to create the charge cards. As you may suspect, this is often a long and expensive process involving many different vendors, requirements and relationships, not to mention the fact that many banks may not want to work with SMBs. Also, most of the revenue generated from the use of these cards (interchange) would go to the banks, not the brands.
But thanks to Banking-as-aService providers like Bond, those drawbacks are a thing of the past. With Bond you can create your very own charge cards in months, not years and with little need for expensive technical expertise. And as icing on the cake you get to earn the majority of the interchange revenue generated when your customers or employees use the card.
In conclusion, issuing commercial charge cards to customers can provide significant advantages for B2B companies. These advantages include strengthening business relationships, streamlining payment processes, increasing customer spending, and enhancing data insights. For SMBs, the key is to choose the right Banking-as-a-Service provider that can get you and your commercial charge card program up and running, ensuring compliance, value and profitability.
