In the UK alone, unclaimed employee expenses total more than £140 million each year, not to mention hours of lost time chasing receipts and processing reimbursements.
According to new ExpenseIn research, the problem persists:
49% of employees still front their own money for work purchases.
38% are frustrated by this outdated process.
1 in 10 finance teams chase missing receipts daily.
It’s no wonder finance leaders are turning away from reimbursement and legacy corporate card models.
The alternative? Company expense cards – built for real-time visibility, smart controls, and better compliance from day one.
What are Traditional Corporate Cards vs Company Expense Cards?
Traditional Corporate Cards (aka Company Credit Cards)
A traditional corporate card is a credit card issued by a financial institution to a business, typically suited to larger organisations with robust credit.
Key features:
Centralised credit line
Rewards or perks (e.g. cashback, travel points)
End-of-month statements
Often requires credit checks or guarantees
Limitations:
Low visibility until statements arrive
Manual reconciliation
Limited controls or policy enforcement
Finance teams often chase employees for receipts
Company Expense Cards
Company expense cards are modern, flexible payment tools – typically prepaid or debit – issued to employees for specific business purchases. They’re often integrated into expense management platforms.
Key features:
Issue cards to any employee or department
Real-time tracking + auto-receipt capture
Predefined spend limits and category restrictions
Seamless syncing into accounting software
Where traditional corporate cards are simply payment tools, company expense cards are smart expense solutions that combine payment, tracking, and policy enforcement in one streamlined system.
Corporate Card vs Company Expense Card: Quick Comparison
Modern expense cards are gaining traction among finance teams for one simple reason: they solve the problems that traditional corporate cards and manual reimbursement systems create.
Let’s compare the two models:
Curious how company expense cards work in practice? Book a free demo and see it live.
Why Finance Leaders Are Ditching Reimbursements for Expense Cards
1. Real-time control & oversight
Modern expense cards offer live dashboards that display who spent what, where, and when.
No more waiting for month-end statements – finance teams can respond instantly to out-of-policy spending or budget overruns.
2. Automation that ends receipt chasing
Forget messy spreadsheets and inboxes full of reminders. With company expense cards:
Transactions auto-populate with merchant data and spend category
Employees are prompted to snap a receipt at the point of purchase
The system automatically matches receipts to transactions
Finance teams spend less time chasing receipts and correcting reports and more time focusing on strategic work.
3. Built-in policy compliance
Set spend limits, restrict categories (e.g. travel only), and automate approvals.
Policy breaches are caught upfront – no awkward conversations or surprise expenses at month-end.
4. Improved budgeting & insights
With all spending data in one place, you can easily break it down by team, project, or location.
Expense cards turn expense data into a strategic asset.
5. Stronger security
Lost card? Freeze it instantly. Need to restrict a user’s spend? Do it in seconds.
And because each card is employee-specific, with predefined rules, fraud risk is dramatically reduced, even if something goes wrong.
6. Better employee experience
No more paying out of pocket, hoarding paper receipts, or waiting weeks for reimbursement.
Company expense cards empower staff to spend for work easily while staying within guardrails.
How to Choose the Right Expense Card Provider
Not all expense card programs are created equal. When evaluating providers, look for:
1. User experience that works in the real world
A powerful, intuitive mobile expenses app should be non-negotiable. Look for solutions that make it easy to:
Pay with the card
Snap a receipt immediately after the transaction
Get real-time alerts and prompts to categorise and submit expenses
Access reports and dashboards from anywhere
2. Customisable spend controls
The provider should let you define exactly how your company expense cards are used. Make sure you can:
Set daily, monthly, or project-based spend limits per user
Block or allow specific merchant categories (e.g. no personal retail or gambling)
Control where and when a card can be used (e.g. country or time restrictions)
Require approval for high-value transactions
Control who has access to issue, pause, or manage cards
3. Support & transparent pricing
It should be easy to understand how you’ll be billed – whether it’s per card, per transaction, or a flat monthly fee.
Equally important: support. Can you reach someone when it matters? Look for responsive, expert help via phone, chat, or email – not just a chatbot.
Pro tip: Book a demo before committing. See how the platform works day-to-day.
4. Accounting & system integration
Your expense card program should work hand-in-hand with your existing finance stack. Look for seamless syncing with platforms like:
The goal: No more exporting spreadsheets or reconciling manually. Every transaction should flow straight into your accounting platform.
Why Finance Teams are Choosing ExpenseIn’s Company Expense Card
At ExpenseIn, we set out to create more than just a company card – we built a fully integrated, end-to-end expense management platform that solves the everyday headaches of business spending.
Our Expense Card, issued by Stripe, combines powerful expense management software with the simplicity that finance teams and employees actually want. It’s not just about paying – it’s about managing spend, policy, and reporting in one place, in real time.
Here’s what our users love most:
1. All-in-one platform
Unlike disconnected systems, ExpenseIn brings cards, employee expenses, approvals, and reporting together.
Every card transaction instantly appears in the ExpenseIn dashboard, prefilled with merchant details and spend category.
No need to match statements later – it’s all done in real time.
2. Instant notifications & automatic draft expenses
Every time a card is used, the cardholder gets an instant notification to remind them to upload the corresponding receipt.
The system then automatically creates a draft expense, linked to the transaction, ready to be completed, cutting down admin time and making reconciliation effortless.
3. One central pot: No more card-by-card top-ups
With ExpenseIn’s single issuing pot, you don’t need to preload individual cards.
Funds are centrally managed, giving you flexibility and reducing the admin burden of juggling balances.
4. Powerful, flexible spend controls
Set custom spend limits by role, department, or individual. Block certain merchant types or require approvals over a threshold.
Finance teams love how easy it is to adjust limits on the fly, and even reduce card access if someone hasn’t submitted their expenses on time.
5. No more out-of-pocket spend
Employees no longer need to front their own cash.
Every approved purchase is made with a company-issued card, improving cash flow, boosting morale, and eliminating reimbursements completely.
6. Easy access to card & expense details (without bugging Finance)
Cardholders can manage their own corporate expense cards via the ExpenseIn web portal – check limits, view transactions, and upload receipts without contacting finance.
It’s intuitive, empowering, and reduces questions for the finance team.
7. Close the books, fast
With instant transaction capture, auto-drafted expenses, and built-in policy enforcement, ExpenseIn helps finance teams close the books faster, without chasing receipts or cleaning up messy reports.
Smarter Business Spending Starts with the Right Expense Card
If you’re still relying on traditional corporate cards or manual reimbursement, you’re sacrificing control, efficiency, and employee satisfaction.
Today’s expense card solutions like ExpenseIn offer:
Real-time control and insights
Automated processes
Reduced admin burden
Stronger compliance
And a better experience for everyone involved
ExpenseIn’s integrated expense card is built for finance teams who want smarter spend, not just another credit card.
Ready to see ExpenseIn in action? Book your free demo now and see why teams are switching.
