Virtual cards have been in use in US businesses for more than a decade now. But a piece from The Fintech Times is still touting the expanding of virtual card usage into the space of small businesses.
Companies utilized Virtual Cards in the past with larger companies in the accounts of payable processes; thus, the creation of a tokenized card for the small US Businesses would be an expansion of the use cases for virtual cards. However, to our knowledge, it has not yet been used widely.
This development is about to take place due to a collaboration between American Express and Extend. Extend is a New York City startup that offers a digital card platform compatible with commercial cards that can modernize payment methods.
U.S. companies with an eligible American Express Business Card will be able to enroll and create virtual cards, known as tokens, through Extend’s app or desktop login using their existing American Express Card account….”We have seen more and more businesses ramp up their use of virtual cards since the start of the pandemic as they looked to digitize their payments processes and increase their use of touchless payments,” says Dean Henry, Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Services, American Express.
Virtual Cards can help to solve the timely needs of many businesses. It can help to find a reliable and enhanced way for controlling expenses to the payment process automation or the capturing of enriched data.
Extend CEO Andrew Jamison further said that this market is rapidly growing as businesses realize how versatile and effective virtual Cards can be. It can help in managing subscription payments and in equipping employees with security company cards. They can also help with the development of custom payment solutions with their APIs.
The release is going to point out the many benefits of virtual cards. It includes speed and security of payment. Again the pandemic has also increased the interest in this form of payment.
Dr. Sarah Roberts, the owner of Crabapple Dental, full-service dental practice in Georgia, is already seeing the benefits of virtual cards. “Working with American Express and Extend has helped us manage vendor payments using virtual cards. By setting our spending limit and expiration date on a virtual card, we have more control. We also create specific cards for different expenses, which makes it easier to track spending.”
It’s reported that American Express and Extend plan to offer additional features and functionality over time, including the ability to add American Express virtual Cards to mobile wallets to make in-store purchases.