In growing companies, speed matters — but waiting for manual approvals can be both slow and frustrating.
For finance teams, approvals are a common bottleneck. Financial leaders want to give employees the freedom to spend, and handing out business credit cards seems like an easy fix. It speeds up purchasing and keeps business moving. But it also leaves room for unwelcome surprises, like unapproved expenses and budget overruns.
By the time the credit statement finally arrives and the finance team gets involved, the money’s already spent — and you’re left staring at expenses that don’t line up with expense policy or budget.
That’s why many CFOs are turning to modern business expense cards. These prepaid cards for businesses offer employees autonomy without sacrificing visibility. Finance teams can see transactions as they happen and even apply controls in advance, so spending aligns with policy from the get-go.
This guide covers what expense cards for employees do and how they compare to traditional business credit cards. But the first step is understanding what expense cards are and how they work.
What are business expense cards?
Business expense cards, also known as corporate debit cards, are company-issued payment cards linked to a business account. Unlike a corporate credit card, they don’t operate on a line of credit. Instead, finance teams allocate funds to each card, based on the company’s total budget and the employee’s work responsibilities. When the account balance hits zero, transactions are automatically declined, helping companies stay within budget.
Expense cards let finance teams embed budget rules — like merchant category restrictions and daily or monthly limits — before spending happens. Plus, every transaction is visible instantly, so finance teams don’t have to wait for expense reports or card statements to find out where money went.
How expense cards work
Expense cards are like debit cards for businesses, and they function a lot like personal debit cards. The only difference is that expense cards are strictly for work-related transactions. Here’s how they work:
- An employee receives either a physical or virtual expense card, depending on the needs of their role.
- The card is linked directly to the company’s account or an allocated budget.
- When the employee makes a purchase, the card automatically checks the transaction against balance and expense policy rules.
- If everything lines up, the payment goes through.
Expense cards also mitigate the risk of fraud. Every transaction is authorised against both balance and policy, so any suspicious activity gets either flagged or blocked instantly. Finance doesn’t need to wait for a month-end statements to discover misuse; visibility comes as soon as a payment is attempted.
And if you link expense cards to an expense management platform, the platform logs each purchase automatically. It captures receipts and categorises transactions in real time, speeding up month-end reconciliations and saving hours↗ of paperwork.
Expense cards vs. business credit cards: A detailed comparison
Companies use different types of cards to manage spend:
- Business credit cards draw on a line of credit set by the bank, allowing companies to carry balances to the next cycle. This facilitates short-term cash flow, as teams can access funds even when budgets are tight. But it also introduces risks: late fees, interest charges, and less control over how much money is being spent.
- Purchasing cards↗ are business credit cards that don’t allow balance carryover. If companies fail to pay the dues on time, they lose card privileges and it affects their credit rating.
- Expense cards for employees operate with allocated funds. Every purchase is preapproved, either through balance limits or policy settings. Proactive spending allocations reduce overspending or misuse.
While business credit cards remain popular because they provide flexibility in terms of balance payment, each card option has its benefits.
Control, liability, and financial visibility
Traditional business credit cards offer teams more spending flexibility, but that comes with more liability — high interest rates and delayed visibility.
Finance teams using business credit cards only see the full picture at the end of the billing cycle, increasing the risk of noncompliant purchases. But with expense cards, spending doesn’t go unnoticed until month-end. Every attempted payment is visible in real time.
Here’s how expense cards compare to business credit cards:
Category | Expense cards | Business credit cards |
Features | Preset budgets per employee; physical and virtual cards; merchant category controls; real-time tracking | Single shared line of credit; higher spending flexibility; monthly statements for reconciliation |
Risks and control | Funds preallocated; out-of-policy transactions blocked automatically; immediate visibility for finance | Risk of overspending; fraud harder to detect until statement arrives; oversight comes later |
Rewards | Savings through controlled spending | Cashback, loyalty points, travel perks, and insurance options |
Cost and fees | Funds are company-owned so no interest charges | Interest and late fees apply if the company fails to clear balances on time; potential annual card fees |
Ideal users | Growing small and medium-sized businesses that prioritise control, compliance, and efficiency | Businesses that prioritise liquidity or frequent travel, and are comfortable with delayed visibility |
Automation and visibility | Integrates with accounting systems; spend visible instantly; receipts collected at point of purchase | Limited automation; spend only visible after the billing cycle closes |
Moss corporate cards↗ combine the advantages of a business credit card, such as cashback, with the guardrails of an expense card. Accounting departments can establish limits in advance and monitor every transaction in real time.
For scaling businesses, this balance of flexibility and oversight mitigates risk of noncompliance without slowing down day-to-day operations.
What types of rewards and perks can credit cards offer?
Credit cards advertise attractive perks, such as cashback on transactions, loyalty programmes, airline miles, and bundled travel insurance. These corporate card benefits make sense for companies with staff that travel frequently or spend inordinate amounts in specific categories.
But these benefits rarely outweigh the administrative drag of late payments or the cost of carrying a balance.
Expense cards don’t offer traditional perks because their advantage lies elsewhere — less fraud risk, fewer errors during reconciliation, and a faster close. For many CFOs, this efficiency is far more important than any rewards programme.
Moss combines the oversight of modern expense cards with the advantage of a corporate credit card. Companies can choose to fund their Moss Mastercard↗ either through a debit wallet or use it like a credit line that’s repaid in full at the beginning of each billing cycle — and with no interest applied.
What makes Moss different is that finance leaders can build controls into the card itself:
- Set individual budgets and merchant rules.
- Automate receipt capture and spend categorisation.
- See live transactions through dashboards.
- Integrate card data with accounting and ERP systems.
For U.K. finance leads, this means no more waiting multiple pay periods for reconciliation.
Moss corporate cards simplify financial management
For small to medium-sized businesses looking to grow without letting spending get out of hand, Moss offers the best solution. Moss’ corporate cards give teams the freedom they need to spend while ensuring finance teams retain control.
With automated reporting and built-in spend controls, Moss helps CFOs manage company money easily and confidently. Take control of your company spending — explore Moss’ corporate cards↗ today.
