Despite the growing number of alternative payment methods, prepaid cards still maintain their status as one of the better solutions on the market. Users adapted to them rather quickly due to their functional similarities to credit and debit cards, especially for corporate purposes. The reason behind this is a lengthy list of advantages, some of which include business spending management, risk mitigation, simplified reconciliation process, and many more.
Allow us to start from the beginning and explain how corporate prepaid cards work, who they are for, and enlist the ways in which your business can benefit from this particular solution.
To use a prepaid card, you first need to load it with sufficient funds that you are limited to on the card. Prepaid cards are not linked to a bank account, which means that once you spend the money you loaded on the card, there is no ‘reserve’ to rely on. Still, they are easy to top up and use, which makes them a more preferable choice among corporate users who want to regulate overall company spending.
All transactions made with prepaid cards can be tracked on a mobile device, thus giving its users instant, real-time insight into all expenses.
Any type of expense can be handled with a corporate prepaid card, from purchases involving greater amounts like service payments and rent, to smaller day-to-day expenses including lunch meetings, office supplies, costs of transport, and so forth.
At Unicard, we came up with a practical Employee Expenses Cards Program which allows businesses to better manage fragmented and irregular payments. It allows corporate clients to manage employee expenses and allowance, thereby streamlining the process of reconciliation. Considering its benefits, our corporate prepaid card is easily applicable in a range of industries, from logistics companies, insurance and trust companies, securities and brokerage firms, to hotels, resort groups and pension scheme service providers, etc.
Prepaid Cards are growing in popularity among corporate clients because they proved highly practical and crucial for successful business management. Some of the main advantages include:
Since prepaid cards don’t come with credit facilities, you cannot get into debt. As the card is not linked to any bank account, there will be no credit attached to the card. Any transaction higher than the amount on the card will be instantly denied and overspending prevented.
This makes it easier to stick to the set budget and avoid any reckless spending, which is quite common when it comes to smaller purchases made on a daily basis. They can be easily overseen but, when accumulated, can reach a significant amount. Plus, you can apply a monthly expense report to flag inappropriate spending sooner and save the company more money.
And while we are on the subject of unauthorised spending, if the card gets stolen, you can block it immediately and prevent any unaccredited payments.
As the card will be loaded with corporate funds, the administration can request to have full insight into each transaction completed with the card. A corporate prepaid card system will enable you to track all issued cards - when were they loaded and with what amount of money, as well as when was each transaction made and where. This provides management with a new level of control that will prevent any improper spending of corporate funds.
The best part is - all this information is available to you 24/7. Using your desktop or mobile device, you can check the balance on any of the corporate prepaid cards, as well as the details of individual transactions.
Prepaid cards are equally beneficial for employees as they are for business owners. It allows them to make corporate-related purchases when necessary, without having to spend their own money in urgent situations and then wait for reimbursement. They can also handle small day-to-day payments and not keep track of every single one in order to justify their expenses. All transactions can be easily tracked at any time, both by the employee and their supervisor.
Ask any businessman and they will tell you that handling expense report and reconciliation process takes up the better half of their workload. Considering a ton of other responsibilities, it is quite understandable that those who are in management positions find it difficult to balance their assignments. Since this is a delicate process and needs to be handled carefully to avoid any oversights, there exists the need for a simplified and more accurate system.
Unicard offers one such solution. With our corporate prepaid card program, no paper statement is needed and all information required for the reconciliation process is at the palm of your hand. To learn more about optimising bank reconciliation and how a prepaid card can help you, check out one of our previous articles here.
Corporate prepaid cards can bring about great profits for the company. Aside from the above-listed benefits, they can be efficiently utilised as a powerful branding tool. Here at Unicard, our co-branders can design the cards on their own and ensure they are in line with their brand.
Corporate prepaid cards are evidently far more practical and eco-friendlier solution to cash payments and other alternative payment methods. With all the data in one place and no need for paper statements, CEOs and other management roles get the chance to shift their focus to other responsibilities without having to worry about uncontrollable spending.
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