Member Article

SMEs losing £1bn on corporate cards

UK Businesses could be losing out on up to £1 billion each year by sending employees overseas with traditional corporate cards.

New research indicates that there are around 1.3 million UK SMEs doing business abroad and if you count up the money being wasted using traditional corporate cards, it would show that £1 billion is being wasted.

According to Caxton FX, businesses could save more than £700 annually by issuing employees with a prepaid currency card for overseas trips.

Rupert Lee-Browne, CEO of Caxton FX, said: “Every time you use a traditional corporate business payment card, you will incur a charge whether it’s paying your hotel bill or visiting an ATM.

“The economic situation is particularly tough at the moment, especially for SMEs, and any savings that can be made should be welcome by businesses of any size.”

Some banks issue an annual fee for issuing the card and withdrawing money whilst abroad, but this can add up quickly. Likewise, corporate debit cards often draw funds directly from the business which means that expense money is not easily controlled.

Rupert Lee-Browne said: “Simply put, prepaid currency cards are the smart way for business travellers to pay for expenses and not only will businesses save on foreign exchange fees but they are a great way for financial directors to actually control spend when employees travel abroad.

“Prepaid currency cards also offer security and convenience as business travellers won’t need to carry as much cash around and can be used the world over wherever you see the Visa or MasterCard signs.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .