How Can Prepaid Business Cards Simplify Corporate Payments?

Prepaid business cards simplify corporate payments by providing instant spending control, real-time visibility, and automated expenses management.

A single expense claim takes an average of 20 minutes to file. In a world where online food arrives in minutes, movies are streamed instantly, and flights can be booked with just a tap, employees still spend hours claiming reimbursement for business expenses.

It gets worse when over 19% expense reports contain errors, resulting in significant loss of time, money, and effort. Prepaid cards for business expenses streamline these challenges by eliminating the lengthy processes of reimbursement filings and claim verifications.

Prepaid business cards provide a modern solution without compromising on security or efficiency. The global prepaid card market is expected to grow to USD 11.39 trillion by 2030, showing how businesses are embracing this solution. In this article, let's look at how prepaid cards in Ireland are simplifying corporate payments.

What Are Prepaid Business Cards?

As the name suggests, prepaid business cards are pre-loaded with funds and are used for business purposes. Employers add funds to these cards for employees to spend on business expenses.

These cards can be of two types: Physical cards are tangible plastic cards that work like any other payment card at shops and restaurants. Digital and virtual cards, on the other hand, can be used to make online payments.

With CleverCards, digital cards can be added to Google and Apple Wallets, allowing employees to make payments online or in-store anywhere Mastercard is accepted, offering a convenient and flexible solution for businesses with distributed teams.

The best part about prepaid business cards is that they are extremely simple to manage and take out the complexities of managing business expenses. Unlike any other cards, the spending on these cards is limited and can be tracked in real-time. Which means if you add €500, you can only spend €500.

Top features of the best prepaid business cards include:

• Cards can be configured by spend limit and categories
• Employees and employers should be able to track spending in real-time
• Cards can be issued to different employees with different limits
• Should have the ability to restrict spend, pause, or block the card

Why Are Prepaid Cards For Businesses Better Than Traditional Payment Methods?

Traditionally, employees are handed over credit or debit cards or, worse, asked to spend out of pocket and then claim reimbursements. Employees then spend hours filing claims and collecting receipts. On the other side, finance teams spend their time verifying claims, checking receipts, and processing payments manually.

This leads to unnecessary delays and a rise in costs. Corporate credit cards also carry security risks, as card details are often shared via email or text, and the high spending limits make them unsuitable for distribution to multiple employees.

Prepaid cards streamline this process by giving employers control while offering employees a hassle-free and secure way of spending for business needs. Let's see how prepaid cards compare against other traditional payment methods.

Prepaid Cards vs Physical Debit Cards

At first glance, a debit card looks very similar to a prepaid card. They are both linked to an account with limited funds, but in reality, debit cards are linked to your bank account. The difference between the two has significant implications for businesses:

1. Security Risk: Giving an employee a debit card is essentially granting them access to the company's entire bank balance. If the card is lost or stolen, the exposure is far greater. With prepaid cards, the risk is limited to the preloaded amount.

2. Control: Prepaid cards allow finance teams to allocate budgets on a card-by-card basis, ensuring employees spend only within approved limits. Debit cards offer no such control.

3. Replacement: If a debit card gets lost or stolen, it offers a lengthy process of freezing the account and reissuing a new card. With digital prepaid cards, like the one CleverCards offers, cards can be issued and paused instantly.

Prepaid Cards vs Credit Cards

Credit cards look like a convenient option for employee expenses, but this comes with risks. In many cases, employees end up using their personal credit cards for business purchases, leading to overspending, cash flow stress, or even late penalties.

In fact, 30% of employees report incurring fees on personal cards because of business-related spending. Prepaid cards eliminate these risks by allowing businesses to set spending limits in advance.

Prepaid Cards vs Cash

Cash has traditionally been the simplest way to cover employee expenses, but it comes with significant drawbacks. Distributing cash is slow, hard to track, and often creates reconciliation challenges.

Studies show that nearly 24% of employees pass off their personal expenses as business expenses. Prepaid cards solve these issues by digitising the process. This not only reduces fraud but also gives employees the convenience of secure cashless spending.

How Prepaid Cards For Businesses Simplify Corporate Expenses?

Clearly, the old ways of managing business expenses are no longer suitable for a modern, fast-paced business. Here are some ways prepaid cards simplify corporate expenses:

1. Instant Control: Employers can load funds onto prepaid cards with pre-defined limits. This offers employers the control to eliminate the risk of overspending and ensures employees stay within budget.

2. Real-time Visibility: Finance teams get instant transaction updates and can track where the prepaid card is being spent in real-time. This eliminates the need to chase receipts or wait for weeks to close expense reports.

3. Flexible Payments: Employees can use prepaid cards for travel, meals, office supplies, or any other business expenses with the same convenience as traditional cards. The difference is they're using company funds directly instead of their personal money.

4. Better Management: All transactions are recorded digitally, eliminating the need to save paper receipts or manually log transactions. This makes managing business expenses significantly less time-consuming for both employees and finance teams.

Getting Started With Prepaid Business Cards In Ireland

With rising hybrid work models, businesses are rapidly switching to a more efficient work mode. 87% of employees say good technology is key when working hybrid. This leads to prepaid cards becoming essential tools for managing distributed workforce expenses effectively.

If you're looking for the best prepaid business cards for business expenses in Ireland, look no further than CleverCards, a solution designed specifically for Irish businesses seeking modern expense management. Instantly issue prepaid cards and manage expenses from a secure online portal.

Want to learn how CleverCards can help sort your business expenses? Fill out the form below!