It Takes Two (Or More) To Tango With A Commercial Card

Commercial cards are all about collaboration. They’re a corporate product that requires companies, their accounting departments, and card issuers all to link up. Depending on the need of the business, commercial cards may also need the extra partnerships with service providers for procurement officials or fueling stations for fleet managers.

This past week, the latest developments in the world of the company credit card were all about these collaborations and how players in the space are forging stronger ties with their partners. PYMNTS dives into the deals.

Banking Ties

Commercial card veteran TSYS revealed last Wednesday (Sept. 23) that it is expanding existing ties with ING Bank to enhance payment processing of transactions made by ING Bank business clients with corporate cards over the TS2 processing platform.

“The commercial payments space is an important sector for TSYS,” said TSYS International President Gaylon Jowers in a statement, “as companies continue to look to work across different countries and need a solution to support their growth.”

The expansion of these businesses also means the need for more sophisticated commercial card solutions, and TSYS also said that it will be providing ING corporate customers with additional support with their commercial cards, like fraud management and customer service, reports said.

Pay It Forward

Meanwhile, Payment Data Systems rolled out a new solution with MasterCard that hands businesses the power of the prepaid debit card. PDS subsidiary FiCentive rolled out the Stream Prepaid MasterCard tool on Thursday (Sept. 24) in an effort to streamline companies’ ability to issue disbursements.

It’s a solution that takes into account businesses’ own collaborations and partnerships, too. According to FiCentive, the new prepaid card helps companies disburse funds to individual employers or part-time contractors. FiCentive even said it sees potential for the solution to be especially crucial to the crowd-sharing economy; for example, businesses that provide on-demand services can easily pay their employees, even though workers operate on an inconsistent, on-demand basis.

A Fleet Of Partners

Fleet cards come with an entirely separate set of partnerships that players have to ink. Fleet card conglomerate WEX said last week that it would be strengthening its own ties, this time with gas giant British Petroleum, making it easier for fleet drivers using WEX commercial cards to fuel up at BP gas stations.

WEX and BP have been partners for some time now, allowing corporate vehicle fueling to take place at BP-owned ARCO gas stations across the Pacific Northwest. Reports on Wednesday (Sept. 23) said that the expanded partnership means fleet managers can now allow their drivers to fuel up at more than 200 stations in the region, plus access the data analytics on fuel usage and driver mileage provided by WEX fleet cards.

In a statement, BP West Coast Retail Business Chief Donna Sanker said the deal will “improve the fueling experience in Washington and Oregon, and it will provide regional fleet managers with additional tools and insights to make better business decisions.”

On the other side of the globe, Citibank unleashed its own intriguing solution for businesses in Singapore. The financial institution said it has struck a partnership with EZ-Link, a service that provides contactless payment solutions for transportation and connects users of its corporate card solutions into the system.

The collaboration means corporate users of Citbank cards can more efficiently manage their fleet vehicles and the charges they procure on the road via tolls and other sources through EZ-Link. The bank said it will also automatically top up commercial cards when funds run low.

“Our customers, especially those maintaining a large fleet of vehicles, will find this service beneficial in helping them to better streamline their business operations and manage their cash flow and expenses,” said Citibank Singapore Chief Executive Han Kwee Juan, according to reports by The Straits Times published Friday (Sept. 25).

The solution can link up with the Electronic Parking System and Electronic Road Pricing fees that are charged through the EZ-Link system, reports added.

Whether it be between a payment processor or a fueling station, the commercial card issuers can’t provide their business clients with the services they need without a partner. In such a complicated and innovative space, though, we’re sure these players wouldn’t want to go it alone, anyway.