HSBC Adds More Currencies For EU Commercial Cards

HSBC has added six foreign currencies supported by its commercial card products in Europe in support of corporates operating across borders in the region.

In a press release sent to PYMNTS on Thursday (Aug. 8), HSBC announced that the six additional currencies — Czech koruna, Danish krone, Norwegian krone, Polish zloty, Swedish krona and Swiss francs — join the commercial cards’ existing support for euros, pound sterling and U.S. dollars.

HSBC said the expansion aims to enable businesses to more easily manage payments to vendors in other markets, or to manage employee expenses as they travel to new markets on behalf of their companies.

“We aim to support our clients by providing the products that they need in the locations where they need them,” said Brian Tomkins, HSBC‘s European head of commercial cards, global liquidity and cash management in a statement. “We now offer a full range of commercial card products to clients across 26 countries in Europe and 43 countries globally, with the same core capabilities in each market. This will help clients achieve greater visibility and control over spending and to effectively manage working capital.”

The cards are issued on the Mastercard network and enable managers to gain visibility into employee spend when their staff uses the cards to pay suppliers or make payments while on a business trip.

“Commercial cards are increasingly popular among clients wanting an efficient and secure way to manage their day-to-day expenditure,” added HSBC European Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management Philip Fellowes in another statement. “Cards remove the need for petty cash and checks while providing an alternative way to pay suppliers without impacting precious cash flow.

“In addition,” he continued, “the automated reporting of card transactions means business travelers don’t have to manually upload expense claims while purchasing and treasury teams can use the same data to monitor spending, policy compliance and drive more effective sourcing from suppliers.”