Business Expense Cards: A Better Alternative to Corporate Credit Cards

Business expense cards are prepaid corporate cards that can be assigned to individual employees, with built-in controls to simplify expense management.

Unlike traditional business credit cards, where teams share a few cards and only see the complete statement at the end of the month, expense cards offer a transparent and manageable alternative. Each employee or department gets their own card, and all transactions are tracked in real time on a centralized dashboard.

But does giving out more cards and more autonomy actually improve expense control, or open the door to overspending?

In this blog post, we’ll explore how business expense cards work and whether they’re a smart upgrade for your company.

What Is a Business Expense Card?

A business expense card is a prepaid card that companies give to employees to pay for work-related costs like travel, meals, or supplies. 

Each card has spending limits and rules set by the company. This makes it easier to track where money is going and avoids the need for employees to pay first and get reimbursed later.

Here’s how it compares against traditional corporate cards and reimbursement models. 

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How Do Business Expense Cards Work?

Business expense cards are designed to make company spending easier to manage without compromising control. Once in place, they make spending and tracking expenses much easier for everyone involved—employees, managers, and finance teams.

1. Cards With Custom Limits

Each employee or team gets their own card, with spending limits and rules based on their role. For example, someone handling office supplies may be restricted to specific vendors, while a salesperson will have more flexibility in terms of travel.

With Pluto, you can issue unlimited physical and virtual cards, each with configurable controls regarding spending limit, category, vendor, and more, to prevent corporate card misuse. 

• For employees: They don’t need to use their personal money or wait for card access.
• For managers: They control who gets a card and how much they can spend.
• For finance: They know exactly how company money is being distributed.

2. Built-In Spending Controls

Companies can set limits per day, month, or transaction. You can also block certain categories—like entertainment or fuel—if they’re not needed for that employee. 

Pluto also allows you to set up auto-freeze cards capability in case of policy violation, ensuring complete control without consistent oversight.  

• For employees: No guesswork on what’s allowed
• For managers: Less risk of misuse
• For finance: Fewer surprise expenses or policy violations

3. Approval Workflows

You can set rules so that small expenses go through automatically, but larger or unusual purchases need approval from a manager.

Pluto provides a simple, no-code approval workflow builder, allowing you to create workflows without requiring any technical expertise. You can create departmental, vendor-based, or even parallel approval workflows. 

• For employees: No unnecessary delays for everyday expenses
• For managers: Stay in control of big spends
• For finance: Confident that spending follows policy

4. Simple Receipt Submission

Employees can upload receipts directly on the platform with all the details to avoid paper-based expense reports. 

With Pluto, employees are notified to upload the receipt after each transaction, which they can add directly via WhatsApp. The optical character recognition (OCR) captures all the information, avoiding manual data entry. The system matches them automatically to the right transaction.

• For employees: No more chasing old receipts
• For managers: Ensures receipts are collected without nagging
• For finance: Reduces errors and speeds up checks

5. Real-Time Tracking

Every time a card is used, the transaction shows up instantly on the dashboard. This allows everyone to see how budgets are being utilized without waiting for the month end.

• For employees: No need to manually report every spend
• For managers: Live visibility into their team’s spending
• For finance: Easier to monitor patterns and spot issues early

6. Faster Reconciliation and Reporting

All data flows directly into the company’s accounting system. This cuts down the time spent at month-end reconciling statements or chasing missing information. 

Pluto integrates with major enterprise resource planning (ERP) and accounting tools, including NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Xero, while also providing insights into expense trends. 

• For employees: No more expense forms
• For managers: Clear view of department-level spending
• For finance: Cleaner books, faster reporting, fewer headaches

Success Story: How Platinum Heritage Simplified Spend Management with Business Expense Cards

Platinum Heritage—a luxury desert safari company in Dubai—was unable to manage company spending, which had become increasingly complex as the business expanded. 

Between petty cash transactions and shared corporate cards, the team struggled with delayed visibility, manual receipt collection, and an overwhelming reconciliation process.

The company needed a better solution—something that offered both control and real-time insight. That’s when they adopted Pluto’s business expense card system, a turning point that changed their finance operations in just six months.

1. Card-Level Control Instead of Shared Corporate Cards

Previously, multiple employees used a single corporate card, which made it difficult to track individual spending. Pluto’s physical and virtual business expense cards changed that.

Each employee received their own card with role-based limits. Whether it was an operations executive paying vendors or a field team member booking travel, every card had its own budget and rules.

2. Real-Time Receipt Capture via WhatsApp

Previously, employees collected paper receipts and submitted them in batches, usually at the end of the week. Pluto changed that with WhatsApp-based receipt capture, prompting users to upload receipts promptly.

This small shift significantly reduced errors, missing receipts, and time spent reconciling expenses. Platinum Heritage eliminated guesswork and started managing spending by person, category, and purpose.

3. Real-Time Spending Visibility 

Pluto didn’t just eliminate the need for physical cash—it digitized the entire petty cash experience. Teams could now track every transaction, link it to a specific employee, and ensure it followed internal policies—all in one platform.

4. Better Spend Discipline, Without Bottlenecks

With clearer accountability and real-time approvals in place, Platinum Heritage saw a noticeable improvement in how teams managed expenses. Every swipe was tied to a person, a limit, and a purpose—bringing context to every transaction.

Platinum Heritage’s move to business expense cards reduced friction and boosted compliance. It provided the finance team with the visibility they needed, proving that better spend control doesn’t have to come at the cost of speed or flexibility.

What Is the Real Cost of Smarter Business Spending

Many businesses assume that dedicated business expense cards must come with high fees or lengthy approval cycles. And with traditional banks, that’s often true.

Bank-issued corporate cards usually come with rigid eligibility—you may need to show audited financials, maintain high minimum balances, or have an existing credit relationship. On top of that, they charge:

• Annual card fees (typically AED 200–500 per card)
• Foreign transaction fees (2–3% per purchase abroad)
• Card issuance or replacement charges
• Penalties for low usage or delayed payments

And despite these costs, you're still stuck with shared cards and end-of-month statements.

Pluto Keeps It Simple—and Free

Pluto offers prepaid business expense cards without the paperwork, hidden charges, or complex requirements. You get:

• Unlimited physical and virtual cards with built-in spend controls (Free for up to 10 users)
• Zero annual or setup fees
• No FX fees with global usage across 200+ countries
• No minimum revenue or credit checks

You can issue a card in minutes, assign limits instantly, and start tracking expenses in real time—without any surprises on your billing statement.

With Pluto, smart spend management doesn’t come at a cost. It’s built to work from day one, without making you qualify for it.

Sign up today for Pluto corporate cards and make spend management effortless from day one.

Modern Spending That Works for Everyone

Business expense cards aren’t just another payment method—they’re a practical shift in how modern companies manage spending. Instead of chasing receipts, deciphering shared statements, or reacting to overspending after the fact, teams get the clarity and control they need upfront.

Employees don’t have to pay out of pocket or wait for reimbursements. They get their own card with set limits, so they can make approved purchases without delays.

Managers no longer have to ask who spent what or dig through spreadsheets. They can see every transaction as it happens and step in only when needed.

For finance teams, there’s less paperwork and no more chasing receipts at the end of the month. 

All expenses are consolidated in one place, complete with attached receipts and notes, ready for review and closure. With fewer steps, fewer surprises, and increased visibility from day one, business expense cards help take the stress out of managing company finances.