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by Jennifer Lund and Rammie Olson

As part of your company’s operations, you and your team likely make a number of regular payments to vendors and partners. While checks or purchase orders can get the job done, an increasing number of businesses are turning to credit cards. Nearly 70% of new business owners said they attempted to acquire a business card of some type once their organizations were established, according to a 2023 survey¹. Overall, the commercial payments market now surpasses $1 trillion annually, and commercial card usage is expected to increase rapidly in coming years².

Using a commercial card to make payments has emerged as a key tactic for businesses of varying sizes and across industries.

Understanding commercial cards

A commercial card, which is sometimes called a corporate card, is simply a type of credit card used by businesses to make purchases. Companies often issue cards to a select number of employees to allow them to charge business expenses, such as office supplies, hotel stays and more. Smaller businesses may just have one business credit card in the owner’s name, while larger companies may look to develop a more robust commercial card program with multiple users. Here are some of the main benefits of this approach:

Save time and resources

Traditional purchasing processes can be inefficient and require a lot of paperwork. Commercial card programs cut down on inefficiencies and speed up the whole process, which can in turn free up time for your finance teams to focus on more impactful work. Removing the need for reimbursement for employees using their personal credit cards will also help save time in your accounting department.

Simplify the payment process

Many commercial cards come with flexible payment options to meet an organization’s needs. They can also integrate many of your existing payment processes into one and cut down on the need for manual data entry, which can reduce the likelihood of errors along the way.

Gain added control and visibility

Businesses that issue commercial cards can have full visibility into what’s being spent and by who, in real time. Many cards also allow an administrator to easily set and adjust spending limits to reduce a company’s exposure. Additionally, commercial cards often offer robust remittance data, which can be useful for both reconciliation and accounting purposes. The data can also be easily integrated into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and accounting platforms, which helps improve efficiency and supports greater automation.

Ultimately, using a commercial card can add some ease to your already busy business practices. By being able to separate personal use and business, having flexible payment schedules and potentially larger limits, you can save time and resources in your day-to-day processes. Many commercial cards also offer personalized customer support that can help your business stay on top of payments, potentially acquire more credit when needed, and decide how best to use the card to streamline expenses.