Prepaid Business Cards UK: Overview of Providers

Controlling spend is a necessity for UK businesses, especially in the current economic scenario. This control includes monitoring employee spending while still allowing essential expenditure.

Prepaid business cards let businesses do this easily, and if you want to use this tool it’s essential to choose the best provider. Keep reading to discover the top prepaid business card providers in the UK and find out what they have to offer.

📝 Table of contents:
What are prepaid business cards? How do prepaid cards work? Best business prepaid cards UK Manage expenses with Wise Business

What are prepaid business cards?

You can use prepaid business cards to control spending in your company. You simply load money into the card in advance and your employees can then use the card to make purchases and withdraw cash from an ATM.

This system means you’re always in control. For example, you top a card up with £100 and your employee uses the card to buy train tickets to attend a sales meeting. The process is simple and means employees can’t overspend.

Prepaid business cards vs Credit Cards or Debit Cards

There are three types of business cards you can use for employee spending. Your options are a business debit card, business credit card, and prepaid business cards. In simple terms, using a corporate credit card involves a credit agreement, debit card payments come from your business bank balance, and prepaid card payments come from the balance on the card.

Take a look at the table below for a comparison between the three types of cards.

Prepaid cards	Credit cards	Debit cards
Payments made from the balance on the card	Payments made according to the agreed credit limit with repayments made monthly	Payments made from the positive balance on a business bank account or an agreed overdraft
Fees can apply	Fees can apply	Usually there are no fees, except when using overdraft limit
Prepaid card accounts are easy to open and usually there are no credit checks	Business credit cards are not easily available and businesses need a good credit rating to get one	Business bank accounts usually come with a business debit card
Spend is managed and controlled by the business	If high spending happens repayments can be difficult to manage and charges can mount up	There’s a possibility of unauthorised overdrafts happening that can be costly
Does not build the business’ credit rating	Builds a business’ credit rating when used responsibly	Does not build a business’ credit rating

How do prepaid cards work?

If you’re wondering how do prepaid cards work, the good news is that the process is simple. You apply for the account online, or using an app, and you’ll need to provide id. You don’t normally need to pass a credit check.

Once you’ve applied, approval normally takes a few minutes and physical prepaid corporate cards arrive in a few days. Most providers give you virtual card details to use straight away so your employees can make online purchases.

Payment processors like Visa or Mastercard power your cards and your employees can use them like they would a credit or debit card. They can buy goods or services online or at a shop, and they can withdraw cash from an ATM.

You top each card up by a certain amount and purchase amounts come off the balance. If the balance is not sufficient, your employee can’t make the purchase.

You can see the balance available on the card by using connected software. If you want to top the balance up, you use the methods allowed by the provider. These methods can include:

• online transfer from your business bank account
• using the provider’s app or website
• depositing cash at a post office or shop that uses a PayPoint service
• Receiving deposits from someone else

Pros and cons of using prepaid cards for business

If you’re thinking of using corporate prepaid cards, have a look at these pros and cons.

✅ Pros:	🚫 Cons:
Costs are under your control so you can reduce the risk of employee overspending. There’s no need for a business or personal credit check when you apply. Giving a prepaid business card to each employee who needs one makes it easy to split expenses.	Direct debits and standing orders are not usually available when you use a prepaid card account. There’s no overdraft feature which can cause problems in emergency situations. There are usually fees associated with using prepaid business cards.

Alternative to prepaid business cards - Wise Employee Expense Cards

If you are not sure prepaid business cards are the right option for your company, using Wise Employee Expense Cards can be an effective alternative.

With Wise Business Cards you can effortlessly manage employee expenses. You don’t need to worry about subscriptions or foreign transaction fees. Simply pay £3 for each business debit card and set a limit before giving them to your employees. You can then track spending on each card by linking your Wise Account to your accounting software.

These cards are easy to use and control, even when you’re dealing with foreign currencies. Plus, there are no foreign currency fees attached. You also get the benefit of a mid-market exchange rate, the same conversion rate you find on Google.

So, you get an easy to manage employee spending solution without worrying about fees. This applies whether you’re dealing with GBP or other currencies.

Best business prepaid cards uk

When you’re finding the right prepaid card solution for your business, it helps to have all the information you need. The following top UK business prepaid card providers give good value across various areas including:

• issuing fees,
• top-up fees,
• ATM withdrawal fees,
• currency exchange rates, and
• cashback or rewards.

These best business prepaid cards uk all have aspects that are more positive. Looking at these different aspects will help you decide which one is the best choice for your business.

Soldo

The Soldo spend management platform gives you an automated way to manage your business finances. You get control over spending, approvals, and accounting integrations.

The platform currently has 1,410 reviews on Trustpilot with 74% of reviewers giving the highest 5-star rating and 13% of reviewers giving the lowest 1-star rating.¹

Services	Fees
Plans²	Pro - £6 per user/month (minimum of 3 users) Premium - £10 per user/month (minimum of 3 users) Enterprise - custom pricing
Issuing fees³	Plastic card: £10 for Pro plan and £6 for all other plans Virtual Card: £2 for Pro plan and £1 for all other plans
Top-up fees³	USD bank transfer: £10 Inter Soldo accounts: free
ATM Withdrawals fees³	1% of the amount
Currency exchange rates³	Variable Mastercard exchange rate + 2% for Pro plan or 1% for all other plans
Cashback or rewards	None

Pleo

The Pleo system is simple to use and helps you control the expenses for your business. You issue prepaid cards to your employees and every time they spend they capture the receipt, so you see every pound spent on behalf of the business.

It’s as simple as that. This provider currently has 431 reviews on Trustpilot with 88% of reviewers giving the highest 5-star rating and 4% of reviewers giving the lowest 1-star rating.⁴

Services	Fees
Plans⁵	Starter - free. Up to 3 users. Essential - £35 per month for 3 users. Additional users available at an added cost. Advanced - £65 per month for 3 users. Additional users available at an added cost.
Issuing fees⁵	Included in plan fees.
Top-up fees⁶	Free by bank transfer, debit or credit cards.
ATM Withdrawals fees⁶	£5 for Starter plan. Free for all other plans.
Currency exchange rates⁵	Basic account: 2.49% Essential: 1.99% Advanced: 1.99%
Cashback or rewards⁵	Starter: none Essential: 0.5 % cashback (on yearly plans) Advanced: 1 % cashback (on yearly plans)

Equals Money

Taking back control of your business expenses is easy with Equals Money. You get prepaid cards that you can top up quickly and give to your employees. Once you’ve issued the cards, you can track spending and produce reports using integrated accounting tools.

Employees can use cards across the world with excellent rates and low fees. Equals Money currently has 150 reviews on Trustpilot with 91% of reviewers giving the highest 5-star rating and 1% of reviewers giving the lowest 1-star rating.⁷

Services	Fees
General cost⁸	£50 annual platform fee
Issuing fees⁸	£10 + VAT
Top-up fees⁹	Free for sterling card transaction
ATM Withdrawals fees⁹	£1.50 for ATM cash withdrawals. £10 to unload funds back to a bank account.
Currency exchange rates⁹	1,5%
Cashback or rewards¹⁰	Up to 3.5%

Card One Money

Using Card One Money allows you to stay on top of incoming and outgoing payments by using company cards. You can do this using one simple account so you have more time to deal with other aspects of your business.

This provider currently has 529 reviews on Trustpilot with 86% of reviewers giving the highest 5-star rating and 8% of reviewers giving the lowest 1-star rating.¹¹

Services	Fees
General cost¹²	£12.50 per month and a £55 one-off application fee for companies with a turnover of less than £2 million. Custom pricing and a £55.00 one off application fee for companies with a turnover of £2 million or more.
Issuing fees¹²	FREE
Top-up fees¹³	£5 for top-up via CHAPS
ATM Withdrawals fees¹³	£1.50 ATM charge in the UK £3.00 + 2.75% of the transaction value ATM charge outside of the UK
Currency exchange rates¹³	2.75%
Cashback or rewards	None

Manage expenses with Wise Business

Managing expenses is simple and transparent using a Wise Business Account. You can easily manage your daily business expenses and those of your employees.

You also get 0,5% cashback when you use Wise Business Cards to make payments. Having such a straightforward expense solution in place means you can spend more time concentrating on the performance and growth of your business.

Get started with Wise Business

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Managing expenses for your business is an essential task. Using a prepaid business card provider like those in this article, or a Wise Business Account makes your job easier and gives you more time to concentrate on other areas of your business.

Taking a look at the aspects of each provider allows you to choose the best one for your organisation. You can then apply for a prepaid card account or a Wise Business Account and start the simplified process of managing your daily business expenses.

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Sources:

1. Trustpilot - Soldo Review
2. Soldo pricing
3. Soldo GBP fees summary
4. Trustpilot - Pleo Review
5. Pleo pricing
6. Pleo - Master Service Agreement
7. Trustpilot - Equals Money Review
8. Equals Money pricing
9. Terms and Condition - General Terms - Equals Money
10. Equals Money - Homepage
11. Trustpilot - Card One Money Review
12. Card One Money pricing
13. Terms and Conditions - Card One Money

Sources last checked January 16, 2023