Choosing a bank card for your employees: tips and best practices

What is an employee bank card and how does it work?

The employee bank card is a professional payment card made available by the company for its employees. It allows them to make various types of purchases related to their mission, without advancing any money: 

• business meals, client lunches
• business travel: booking train or plane tickets, cab rides, payment of mileage expenses, hotel accommodation, etc.
• office equipment or supplies 
• use of services

It is also possible to withdraw cash with the employed credit card. 

The professional card works in the same way as a standard bank card and offers the possibility of defining a payment and/or withdrawal limit to control your company's expenses.

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The different types of CB for your employees

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Debit card

The debit card is an immediate debit card with the CB (national payment card), Visa or Mastercard (international payment card) logo.

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Credit card

What is commonly referred to as a "credit card" is in fact a deferred debit card: expenses made directly with the card are debited only once, on the last business day of the month. Withdrawals, on the other hand, are deducted as they are made.

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Prepaid card

The prepaid card is a reloadable bank card (cash, check, transfer, Internet transaction), with a limit that does not require a bank account to use.

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Virtual payment card

The virtual payment card is a dematerialized card similar to the physical card (16 digit card number, expiration date and cryptogram) designed for online payments.

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The benefits of employee bank cards for the company

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Putting an end to expense report processing

The latter is time-consuming, error-prone and even fraudulent.

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Real-time visibility and transparency on employee spending

Card transactions are instantly reported to a management interface, allowing for the tracking of all employee expenses.

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Better security of business expenses

Thanks to the 3D Secure system with double authentication, a PIN code or a unique card number.

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No refunds to be made and therefore time saved for the accounting teams

The employed bank card avoids wasting time on refunds.

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Facilitate online and international payments

By opting for a virtual bank card, Visa or Mastercard.

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Better manage and adapt budgets

With real-time visibility and transparency into spending.

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Possibility of setting up expenditure validation circuits

Expense tracking creates a fast and efficient expense approval process.

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Meeting employee expectations

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Uncertainty of expense reimbursement

The reimbursement of professional expenses is not systematic. The procedure of the expense report must be respected at the risk of blocking the reimbursement.

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Sometimes long repayment periods

Reimbursements may be made at the end of the month or the following month, depending on the date the expense report is submitted, which can cause serious cash flow problems for the employee depending on the expenses advanced.

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Risk of losing receipts

Expense reports must be accompanied by supporting documentation in order to be reimbursed. Without them, business expenses cannot be reimbursed.

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Tensions within your teams

All of these reasons can create tension among your employees and spill over to your accounting and finance teams.

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The employee may not be able to pay for an expense even if it is reimbursed later

They may not have the funds to do so, which can cause additional stress.

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How to properly manage the cards entrusted to your teams and avoid unpleasant surprises

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Expenditure limit

You can set the spending limit for bank cards to control your employees' spending.

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Geographical restrictions

Bank cards can be restricted geographically to avoid additional charges for foreign payments.

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Time restrictions

You can program your bank cards to prevent spending outside of work hours, such as during weekends or vacations.

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Systematic authorizations

You have the ability to identify approvers and validators upstream to automate authorizations.

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Rights and access

You can define different rights and accesses according to the roles of each: user, approver, validator.

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Inform and educate employees about the spending policy

Finally, this allows you to communicate clearly on the rules of coverage: maximum amounts, types of expenses, etc.

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How to choose the best CB for your employees?

The best bank card is the one that meets the expectations of your employees in terms of expenses (mainly advance fees) but also your needs: 

- What types of payments are your employees most likely to make as part of their job: online payments, in-store payments, foreign payments, recurring payments?

- Do you need a bank account associated with the card? Do your employees need to subscribe to one or more subscriptions? These usually require a bank account number, linked to a bank account, in order to set up the direct debit. 

- How many bank cards do you need?

- What is your budget? Pay attention to the different bank fees: annual fees, fees related to the use of the card, additional costs, options...

- What security systems are available?

- What features do you need to facilitate your financial management? How does it integrate with your accounting?

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Comparison of business bank cards for employees

Qonto

Qonto offers two types of bank cards : physical and virtual (one-time use). 

Soldo

Soldo offers its prepaid bank card, physical or virtual.

Mooncard

Mooncard also offers prepaid bank cards (physical) and special travel cards.

Revolut

Revolut offers instant debit cards , available in both physical and virtual versions.

Anyti.me

Anyti.me offers 3 types of international debit cards (Mastercard). 

Spendesk

Spendesk offers prepaid cards with a name and virtual payment cards for single or recurring use.

Regate

Regate offers debit cards (Mastercard) and virtual payment cards for recurring subscriptions.

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How do I order Regate bank cards for my employees?

To benefit from our physical or virtual bank cards, you just need to subscribe to the 'Payment cards' option directly with our sales teams.

Then go directly to the "Cards and Expenses" module of your Regate interface to order physical cards or activate virtual cards for your teams. Click on "New card" and fill in the form according to your needs. Your physical card will be sent within 5 working days and your virtual card will be activated instantly.