A virtual card is a digital payment method issued via a website or an app from your financial institution. Companies use virtual cards in a variety of ways, such as paying suppliers, or enabling employees, contractors, and job candidates to pay for expenses through a more secure, easily controlled method.

Entrepreneurs looking to safely make one-time or recurring purchases without worrying about fraud.

Small Businesses wanting a simple way to provide a card to employees or contractors while still maintaining control.

Corporations seeking a more efficient payment and reconciliation process, as well as better cash flow management when paying suppliers.

Virtual cards help you manage business travel spending by:

• Reducing fraud risk: The Visa Virtual card provides the ability to control where, when, for how long and the exact value for which a card can be used, preventing improper use.
• Making it easy to set and adjust limits: Set firm controls on spending and have the flexibility to adjust as needed in near real-time, no matter where your employees are traveling.
• On-demand issuance: Provide temporary cards with robust controls to employees who have ad-hoc travel expenses or who are infrequent travelers. Instant issuance to digital wallets also allows employees to hit the road and start tapping immediately.
• Simplifying expense reporting: Reduce time spent managing expenses by employees when you assign virtual cards to specific trips, making it easier to group expenses and complete expense reports.

Virtual cards help keep contract workers on task and on budget by:

• Issuing cards instantly: Avoid long lead times associated with having a physical card mailed to contract workers by immediately issuing the Visa Virtual card to their mobile wallet.
• Keeping workers focused: Widely accepted, quick and secure, the Visa Virtual card lets contractors easily make purchases and get back to the task at hand — helping stay on schedule and on budget.
• Controlling purchases: Strict controls eliminate occurrences of unauthorized purchases and the complications associated with them, greatly reducing the risk of fraud.
• Reconciling easily: When a job is complete, the card expires and the transactions are directly synced with the company’s accounting software, saving administrative time and costs.
  

Yes, virtual cards can be used to make international business transactions, and they help simplify the process by:

• Making payments faster: Traditional wire transfers are slow, expensive, and lack transparency. Visa’s virtual cards can authorize in near real-time, letting you complete transactions faster.
• Adding transparency to global payments: The Visa Virtual cards take the guesswork out of cross-border payments. Virtual cards pay suppliers in their preferred currency and can be single-use, so each virtual card payment corresponds to a specific invoice.
• Securing your supply chain: Quick payment using the Visa Virtual card can help in building a strong relationship with suppliers, which can be beneficial for negotiating terms in the future.

Virtual cards help make payments seamless, simple and secure.

• Increased controls to prevent fraud: The Visa Virtual card is issued instantly and protects the underlying account. An array of controls, like Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) and amount, is also available. As a result, fraud risk is greatly reduced.
• Simplified reconciliation: With embedded finance, invoices and payments are all in one place, making it easy to track purchases and view spend in accounting systems.
• Working capital extension: The Visa Virtual card delivers extended Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) for buyers and can reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) for suppliers, enabling better working capital and cash management.
• Improved processing speed: Suppliers receive payments faster via straight-through processing (STP).² Data-rich transactions reduce reconciliation time. Embedded finance transforms payments for businesses and suppliers alike.

Yes, a virtual card can help you manage your company’s fleet and mobility spend in several ways:

• Get on the road faster: Instantly issuing the Visa Virtual card gets your drivers on their routes faster, helping generate more revenue.
• Authorize purchases: Track and restrict purchases to specific categories or locations to reduce the risk of fraud in your fleet.
• Gain higher satisfaction: By catering to small, medium and large business needs, the Visa virtual card can help increase client satisfaction to create longer lasting relationships.
• Adjust limits easily: Visa is widely accepted around the globe, allowing fleet managers to easily adjust spending limits for unexpected expenses like emergency vehicle repairs.
• Utilize the latest technology: From security measures to ease of use, the Visa Virtual card adds new levels of efficiency and protection to your fleet’s finances.

Yes, paying invoices with virtual cards is a great option for most businesses.

• Optimize working capital: With the Visa virtual card, a company can extend its Days Payables Outstanding (DPO) and reduce supplier Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), improving cash flow, offering strategic investment opportunities and mitigating short-term liquidity risks.
• Reduce fraud: The Visa Virtual card greatly reduces fraud risks by incorporating payment controls such as time, amount and Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) to mitigate potential compromise.
• Pursue investment opportunities: Reduce the need for high-interest loans by leveraging the working capital benefits of the Visa virtual card to invest in strategic endeavors like buying inventory, facility renovations or business expansion initiatives.
• Reduce workload: By seamlessly integrating into a company’s accounting system, the Visa virtual card can help reduce Accounts Payable processing efforts.¹
• Improve reconciliation: Adopting the Visa's Virtual card improves efficiency of paying invoices and reduces associated costs by having single-use payments that match with individual purchases.

You can use virtual cards to securely streamline the way your business transacts:

• Optimize cash flow: Hold onto your cash longer to better manage and retain your company’s valuable cash flow. By using credit for purchases, your business has the entire credit payment period to pay.
• Better control funds: Issue a single-use, virtual card to employees as needs arise to reduce the risk of physical cards being misused or misplaced.
• Reduce admin workload: Having Visa's virtual cards assigned to specific transactions reduces administrative time for reconciliation. Additionally, eliminate the need for employees to use personal funds to make everyday purchases.
• Secure purchases: Get better security for online and in-person transactions with accounts that expire after they are used for a specific purpose or used within a specific time period.
• Transact where you operate: Visa's virtual cards seamlessly integrate into accounting software, meaning you and your employees can pay without having to leave your software portal.¹