In a world witnessing a profound transition toward entrepreneurship, it’s no surprise that innovative business solutions are capturing widespread attention. Corporate cards are valuable business tools that captivate the business community with their sophisticated attributes and unparalleled advantages.
What are corporate cards?
A corporate card is a business financial instrument like a credit or debit card. It can come in both virtual and physical forms, depending on the preference of the business. Unlike traditional personal cards, corporate cards are designed to streamline expense management, optimize cash flow, and facilitate transactions within the dynamic landscape of modern enterprises. Every employee can be given a corporate card to make purchases on behalf of the company. The amount would be deducted from the company’s account rather than an employee’s account, which means the employee won’t have to file for reimbursement.
A corporate card comes with several advantages, such as reduction or elimination of reimbursement processes, greater financial efficiency, access to rewards and points, and enhanced convenience. Out of these advantages, rewards will be our topic of focus for this write-up.
Rewards that you can get with a corporate card:
- Cash Back: Cashback is a reward credit or debit card companies and other financial institutions offer to incentivize purchasing through a card. The incentive usually involves giving the credit card holder a percentage of the purchase price as a cash reward. They work similarly for corporate cardholders as they work for personal cardholders. Cash backs can benefit a company in several ways:
- Cost saving: When a business receives a cashback on the purchases made by the employees, the overall cost of business expenses is reduced. That results in lower overall expenditure and higher profitability.
- Enhanced expense management: When employees notice that they’re receiving cashback on their purchases, they’re more likely to keep using the corporate card for future purchases. That ensures compliance with expense policies and increases the adoption of efficient management practices.
- Covering the card fees: Corporate cards may come with annual maintenance or transaction charges. The cashback can help cover the cost of these fees.
- Air Miles: Airline miles are a loyalty program that airlines offer customers. They are designed to incentivize travelers to choose a specific airline for their flights. When a person purchases a flight ticket or uses a certain service offered by an airline or its partners, they earn a certain number of airline miles. In simpler words, they get a discount on the flight ticket based on the amount they’ve spent. Air miles can also be earned when a person purchases using cards. Redemption of air miles can have several advantages for a business, such as:
- Cost saving on travel: Redeeming air miles earned through corporate card spending can significantly reduce the cost of business travel if the business prefers to fly for business trips. Similarly, if a business operates internationally, air miles can reduce the cost of travel between countries.
- Increased travel budget: If a company frequently hosts business trips, air miles can help increase the overall travel budget, enabling employees to experience additional travel opportunities. This can, in turn, result in increased employee satisfaction.
- Gift Cards and Merchandise: Similar to cashback, gift cards and merchandise are rewards a person gets when purchasing a certain amount. When employees use corporate cards to make purchases on behalf of the company, they can receive gift cards and merchandise, which can be beneficial for the business in several ways:
- Increased employee engagement: Businesses can give out merchandise and gift cards to employees for their achievements and hard work, boosting morale and increasing employee engagement. A direct result of increased engagement is increased productivity and higher profit generation. Gift cards and merchandise can also be utilized to host giveaways during celebrations and promotions, improving employee team spirit.
- Market research incentives: Most companies with a product or a service often conduct market research and surveys that involve collecting feedback from the public. In return, businesses can incentivize survey participants with gift cards and merchandise. Conducting periodic surveys can help businesses improve the quality of their products or services.
- Start customer loyalty programs: The gift cards from corporate cards can be used to start a loyalty program, where a business can give out gift cards to encourage customers to return.
To conclude, corporate cards have various incentives, including rewards. Rewards earned from corporate cards can be utilized to foster a culture of appreciation, enhance client-business relationships, and optimize financial strategies with greater savings through rewards.
