Purchasing card
Efficient, controlled buying power for your staff
- Ideal for urgent, frequent and high-volume purchases
that can be made in person, over the phone or online - Detailed Management Information reports for greater visibility
and monitoring of spend - Significant cost savings with the elimination of manual invoice settlement and the reduction of administrative overheads
- Helps with the enforcement of your corporate policies
and improves negotiating power with suppliers
Overview
How purchasing cards help your business
Visa purchasing cards can help your company make significant savings by streamlining purchase processing, with staff and suppliers reaping the benefits too.
Employees are empowered by the ease of paying for equipment, materials, temporary staff, office supplies and other business expenses at any of the 27 million locations around the world that accept Visa cards.
Faster and more efficient purchase processing
Using purchasing cards can lead to significant savings and improved efficiency by:
- Driving significant cost savings within Accounts Payable by eliminating manual invoice settlement, credit checks and other operations
- Reducing administration overheads
- Removing the need to raise purchase requisitions or approve individual purchase orders manually on low value items
- Electronically processing and consolidating VAT invoices into reports that are accepted by HM Revenues and Customs for easier VAT reclaim
- Combining individual payments to suppliers into one simple, monthly payment to us
- Reducing the cost of storing, retrieving and securely disposing of paper-based records
- Integrating data directly into your financial Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and e-procurement systems
Easier to monitor and track
Thanks to the use of Embedded Supplier Cards, diversion account functionality and other industry-standard controls, you'll be able to ensure that employees spend in ways that support the business, and are deflected from spending in ways that don't.
Analysing how your Visa purchasing cards were used is easy with our in-depth Management Information (MI) reports. They consolidate information about where, how and by whom purchases were made, helping you plan, budget and simplify your entire corporate buying process.
Conveniently, these secure MI reports are available, with real-time access, through our online services. This increased visibility could also help improve your negotiating power with suppliers.
Convenience and flexibility for staff
By simplifying your procurement systems, employees:
- Are empowered, with the means to make purchases quickly and decisively when the need arises in line with your procurement policies
- Can use their card anywhere in the world that accepts Visa payments
- Are free to make purchases face-to-face, online and over the phone
On-demand financing
Purchasing cards can be used as an on-demand, unsecured financing product that's interest-free for up to 38 days. As such, they offer your chief financial officer and accounting team a powerful and flexible tool that could free up working capital.
Benefits your suppliers
- With a shorter purchasing cycle, suppliers spend less time issuing and chasing invoices.
- They are able to receive payments online, over the phone or in person.
- Their paperwork is reduced when they set you up as a customer.
- Your Visa payment reaches them in as little as 3 days, up to 60 days earlier than usual payment terms, with no extra financial burden on your company.
Terms and conditions apply
View purchasing card terms and conditions PDF
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Fraud and Protection
Purchasing cards can be used with confidence, thanks to measures we've put in place to protect your organisation.
Barclaycard Secure
When making online payments, Barclaycard Secure works with Verified by Visa so a secure password is needed, for increased security.
Cardholder Misuse Insurance
In the unlikely event that an employee uses their card inappropriately and you can't get reimbursed, you could be covered for up to £15,000 per cardholder and up to £1,000,000 each year for the business as a whole.
Our policy covers both permanent and temporary staff, reimbursing you for all fraudulent transactions that took place up to 75 ays before discovery, and up to 14 days after the fraud was reported to us.
Card Protection Plan
Your cardholders can register personal and business cards, passports and driving licenses with our Card Protection Plan.
For just £29 a year for each cardholder or £70 for 3 years, we give you the following support:
- All business and personal cards are registered and covered.
- Any missing cards are reported on your behalf and replacements organised.
- Access to emergency cash advances of up to £3,000.
- Arrangements are made for emergency travel documentation and travel tickets.
Terms and conditions apply
View all purchasing card insurance benefits and exclusions
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Fees and charges
Purchasing card fees
| Purchasing card | |
|---|---|
| Annual fees | £32 |
Cash withdrawals
Provided your account administrator allows a cardholder to withdraw cash, purchasing cards can be used at any ATM or bank that accepts Visa cards.
All transactions in foreign currency have foreign exchange fees applied, and any cash withdrawn abroad incurs both a handling charge and foreign exchange fee.
| Purchasing card | |
|---|---|
| Maximum daily withdrawal (subject to cash limit) |
£500 |
| Handling charge | 3% (min £3) |
| Foreign Exchange fee | 2.99% |
Interest charges
Enjoy the flexibility of up to 38 days of interest-free credit, provided your balance is paid in full.
If you miss your payment date, interest is charged at 2% per month, calculated daily from the date of your statement until the balance and any charges are repaid in full.
Payment of bills
Payments are made by direct debit, so bills are usually settled in full within 7 days of your statement date.
Penalties and late payments
If your account is not paid in full at the end of your interest-free period or your limit's been exceeded, there will be additional charges to pay.
| Purchasing card | |
|---|---|
| Late payment | £25 a month |
| Returned payment | £25 a month |
| Exceeded limit | £25 a month |
Receipts and statements
Any charge for a copy of your transaction receipt will be refunded, if it was requested to settle a transaction dispute that was found in your favour.
Management Information and Reporting
A range of Management Information and Reporting is provided at no extra cost, online. There may be separate fees to pay if you'd like us to develop bespoke reporting for your business. Please contact us to discuss your needs.
| Purchasing card | |
|---|---|
| Regular statements to the company and cardholders |
Free |
| Copies of previous statements | £3 for each statement |
| Copy of a transaction receipt | £5 |
Extra benefits
Visa purchasing cards come with additional discounts on business products and services.
Redstone Telecom
With exclusive discounts on landlines, broadband and networking, mobile telephony, conferencing, webhosting and more, staff can stay connected to your business when working remotely.
Travelex
Employees going abroad benefit from foreign currency services, travellers cheques and advice about restrictions.
Reed Learning
As a Visa purchasing cardholder, you get a 25% discount on any of their 170 training courses, if paid for by your card. Should a trainee leave your company within 6 months, Reed Learning will train their replacement for free.
Overseas VAT Reclaim
According to research, about 80% of companies fail to claim back foreign VAT they're entitled to. We help you reclaim VAT on overseas expenses such as hotel accommodation and other travel and entertainment expenses.
