What are prepaid business cards?

Prepaid cards offer a flexible way for small businesses to manage their cashflow and expenses. It can be an important tool for budgeting as only the amount of money pre-loaded on the cards can be spent. You, as the business, can top up the card with funds and then give it to your staff to spend, imposing spending limits if necessary.

You and your employees can then use the card for a wide range of expenses including meals and entertainment or paying suppliers.

Physical and virtual cards are available. Virtual cards tend to be used for spending on one-off online purchases and subscriptions. On the flipside, a physical card is better if you’re making more purchases when you’re out and about. Whether you opt for a physical or digital card will depend on what sector you’re in and what you plan to use the card for. A prepaid card is also more secure than a credit or debit card because there’s only so much the thief can be spend before you manage to deactivate it.

What’s more, both can be added to a digital wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Prepaid cards could be a better shout for small businesses that struggle to access credit cards due to having a poor credit rating. Get them as part of an existing business account offering or as a standalone card.

Prepaid business cards: pros and cons

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to prepaid business cards. Let’s take a look.

Pros:

• Can be issued and used instantly: If you have new staff members joining your business, you can get them set up quickly and efficiently.
• Don’t need a credit check: Unlike other financial products, you don’t need a credit check to get an account. As mentioned, this could make it a more suitable option if you have a blemished credit history.
• Convenient: If they’re part of your existing business bank account, they’re easy to integrate into the rest of your business’ finances.
• Easy to use: Once they’re set up, they’re good to go. As long as you’re within your limit, you can spend online or at places with a point-of-sale system.
• They’re widely available: Both through your banking provider and as a standalone, there are plenty of prepaid card products around.
• Quicker at processing expenses than a credit card: This is ultimately better for staff as they’re out of pocket for a shorter amount of time.
• It can be used abroad: If you or your staff travel a lot for business, you can keep the trip on a budget with a prepaid card. Just make sure you can load multiple currencies onto it.

Cons:

• Quite heavy on fees: Prepaid cards may have fees in areas you don’t expect them, for example loading the card or going over your limit.
• Can’t build a credit score: It won’t help you build up a credit rating, which could be particularly useful if you’re a new business.
• Fewer rewards than a debit or credit card: Though some offerings have cashback.
• Not covered by Section 75: Unlike a credit card, prepaid cards aren’t covered if there’s a breach or any misrepresentation by the seller.

The best prepaid cards

Here are some of the best prepaid cards on the market. Most are part of a broader package while others are standalone.

Wallester

Number of cards: Unlimited

Account fee: None

Accounting integrations: None

Features: 

• Budgeting tools 
• Customise cards with your business logo
• Use with Apple Pay and Google Pay

Get started with Wallester

Moss

Number of cards: Unlimited virtual and physical cards

Account fee: None

Other fees: Fees based on add-ons

Accounting integrations: Sage, Xero, QuickBooks

Features: 

• From the standard Moss Platform
• Users can add corporate cards
• Employee reimbursements and spend controls
• Advanced accounting and more

Get started with Moss

Airwallex

Number of cards: Unlimited virtual cards

Account fee: No set up fee, no monthly fee

Fees: Add multi-currency cards for £5 per user per month, first five cards are free

Accounting integrations: Xero

Features: 

• Employees can spend in over 40 currencies
• Pay global expenses directly from multi-currency wallet balance
• Auto convert currency
• Consolidate team expenses into single card
• Full control and oversight of spending 

Get started with Airwallex

Emburse

Number of cards: Unlimited

Account fee: Custom

Accounting integrations: QuickBooks, Xero

Features: 

• Reloadable prepaid cards that allow you to set spending limits
• Set budget and merchant category restrictions
• Add funds to cards in seconds
• Managers can approve requests for additional funds
• No fees for domestic transactions

Equals Money

Number of cards: Business Tier: 1-20 cards, up to 200 virtual cards; Business Plus Tier: Up to 50 physical cards, up to 200 virtual cards; Enterprise Tier: 51+ cards, over 200 virtual cards

Account fee: Business (£20.83 per month); Business Plus Tier (£29.17 per month); Enterprise Tier (custom pricing)

Fees: £1.50 per cash withdrawal, £10 per additional card issued

Accounting integrations: Xero

Features: 

• Unlimited users
• Free virtual cards
• Monitor transactions and set spend limits
• Integrate with accounting for easy reconciliation
• Customise access permissions for individual users

Get started with Equals Money

Pleo

Number of cards: Not stated

Account fee: Starter (£9.50), Essential (£39 per month), Advanced (£89), Beyond (£179)

Fees: £5 per ATM withdrawal on the Starter package

Accounting integrations: Xero, Quickbooks, Sage

Features: 

• Expense management dashboard
• Limit spending for each card and set maximum transaction amounts
• Easily add or remove cardholders
• Physical and virtual cards available

Get started with Pleo

Soldo

Number of cards: 20, 30 or unlimited virtual and physical cards (dependent on your plan)

Account fee: Fees start from £21 per month, depending on the package

Fees: One per cent for international transactions, ATM fees start at one per cent with a £2 minimum, £1 issuance fee for a virtual card, £5 issuance fee for a physical card. 50p fee for temporary virtual card

Accounting integrations: Sage, Xero and Quickbooks

Features: 

• No fees for domestic transactions and just 1.5 per cent FX fee 
• Dedicated support
• No credit check to sign up
• Advanced card rules and limits

Tide

Number of cards: All paid-for plans come with at least one prepaid card. Up to 50 Tide prepaid cards per account

Account fee: Free (£0), Smart (£12.49), Pro (£24.99), Max (£69.99)

Fees: £5 for each additional card

Accounting integrations: QuickBooks, Xero and Sage

Features: 

• Set individual spending limits with instant editing from the Tide app
• Scheduled payments
• Scan and upload multiple receipts at once
• Transactions itemised by employee and spend category

Open a Tide business account

Card One Money

Number of cards: Not stated

Account fee: £12.50 fee per month, with one-off £55 application fee

Fees: UK cash withdrawals cost £1.50. Cash advances from NatWest for £5. First card free, each additional is £5 per month and can be pulled directly from your balance. Replacements are £3.95

Accounting integrations: N/A

Features: 

• Up to 3.5 per cent cashback at selected retailers
• Cards can be loaded online or through the app
• Max limit is £5,000
• Foreign currency transactions charged at 2.75 per cent

ANNA Money

Number of cards: Between one and unlimited cards, depending on the package

Account fee: Pay as you Go, Business (£14.90 per month +VAT), Big Business (£49.90 per month + VAT)

Fees: £1 withdrawals depending on the package, £1 outside those limits, extra cards cost £3 per card per month

Accounting integrations: N/A

Features: 

• Sign up for an expense card within 10 minutes and receive the card in the post in a few days
• Set spending limits
• Automatic spend categorisation
• 1 per cent cashback when you pay for expenses like travel and office supplies

Wise Business

Number of cards: Not stated

Account fee: £45 opening fee

Fees: Add unlimited users for a flat £3 per person

Accounting integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent

Features: 

• First £200 withdrawals are free, once you’ve paid the opening fee
• Spend in over 40 currencies in more than 160 countries
• You can add expense cards with no monthly fees
• 0.5 per cent cashback on eligible transactions

Expend

Number of cards: Unlimited

Account fee: Expend Entry (£33 for three users per month), Expend Essential (£36 for three users per month), Expend Everything (request pricing)

Fees: ATM withdrawals will set you back from £1 in the UK or £2 outside the UK, expense management £11 – £14 per person

Accounting integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent

Features: 

• Smart company cards with individual budgets and limits
• 30-day free trial
• Organise employees into teams
• Dedicated account manager

Volopa

Number of cards: Unlimited

Account fee: Cards Account (£20), Bespoke Business Account (request a quote)

Fees: ATM transactions start at one per cent of the amount with a minimum fee of £2

Accounting integrations: Xero and Quickbooks

Features: 

• Supports 14 different currencies
• Free top-ups and replacements
• Real-time visibility and control of employee spend – allow or disable certain transactions in real time
• Make payments across 180 countries

How do I find the right prepaid business card?

There are a few things to factor in when looking for prepaid business cards, such as what sector your business is in, how many people there are in your company and how you’ll be affected by fees. If in doubt, do a free trial if there is one or speak to an accountant.

See also:

5 Best business expense management solutions – Expenses are something that, big or small, every business needs to deal with at some point. Business bank accounts offer a variety of features and security measures that allow many business owners to utilise a single account solution