• Expense cards available to businesses in 37 countries including UK, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and countries across Europe

• Wise Business further boosts account functionality with new ‘Preparer’ role for Business users

Wise Business, the business account for going global, has today announced the launch of its new employee expense card, which is set to save businesses and their employees time, hassle and money on their expenses.

The new card is among the cheapest options available to businesses. To activate the feature, businesses need only pay a one-time fee of £16 to open bank details followed by £3 per employee card, with no additional monthly subscription fees, making the card more than 10x cheaper than other options, like Pleo and Soldo, to activate.* 

In addition, Wise Business customers benefit from being charged only the real exchange rate and no hidden fees, adding further savings throughout. On average, transfers with Wise are 8x cheaper than traditional banks. 

Available both digitally and physically, the cards can be used by a business’ employees to make company payments wherever they may be in the world.

To aid budgeting and control, businesses can set spending limits for each user, and will receive notifications for major account moments, such as an employee requesting a card or reaching 80% of their spending limit. Employees at businesses that use Xero can also attach receipts to their expenses for auto-reconciliation with the accounting platform, thus further reducing the hassle that comes with manual expense management.

At launch the card is available to all Wise Business customers in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan.

The card launch comes as small businesses have outlined their frustrations towards the payments solutions that are traditionally available to them. 

Recent research, commissioned by Wise and undertaken independently by YouGov, has shown that managing payments is a major headache for MSMBs worldwide. Of those operating abroad, 44% said challenges associated with international payments have made it harder to work internationally over the past five years, and only two-in-ten (21%) of these businesses believe banks offer value for money.

The research showed that 44% of MSMBs that operate abroad use cards for international payments, 41% of these businesses say international payments costs are too high and 34% experience confusing costs and fees.

With Wise, business customers can tap into the company’s industry-leading international payments network and infrastructure to access cheaper, faster and more convenient payments at the real exchange rate. 

James Bell, Head of Wise Business, said:

“Wise Business is on the side of small businesses. We understand the importance of saving businesses time and money - so they can focus on growing. It’s why we’ve worked hard to make our employee expense card as affordable and easy-to-use as possible. The new card service is streamlined, cost and time efficient, and allows businesses and their employees to be as international as modern business demands. 

“Whether you’re making online transactions - such as paying for online advertising or paying suppliers - or travelling overseas, this card will make life easier. Businesses can retain control, while their employees are able to quickly and affordably make payments. Small businesses are becoming more international, meaning solutions like this go a long way.” 

‘Preparer’ role added

Wise Business has also launched a feature in  the account itself called the Preparer role. This allows designated users to set up a payment but not execute it, with the payment requiring final sign off from  within the business. Companies can set their own threshold amounts, at which point a Preparer needs sign off for a purchase. There is no limit on the number of Preparers that can be set.