Natwest has introduced Approval2Buy, a virtual card payment tool for business expenses, leveraging Mastercard’s mobile virtual app card and tokenisation technology.
With Approval2Buy, businesses can quickly generate virtual cards for online transactions and ‘Tap and Go’ payments through digital wallets. This new service enhances flexibility and control over corporate card usage, allowing companies to set budgets, time limits, and specify where employees can use the cards by identifying particular merchants and locations.
The virtual cards also provide a solution for temporary workers, infrequent travelers, and new recruits, enabling them to pay for corporate travel and unexpected supplier costs without needing to rely on personal cards or cash. This reduces the complexities of pre-paying for business purchases.
Moreover, the service aids in reducing administrative time spent on reporting and reconciling expenses, thanks to the feature that pre-populates expense data.
Andrew Harrison, NatWest’s managing director for customer goals and journeys, highlights the potential of new payment technologies to drive business growth. “Virtual cards are a great example,” he says. “Businesses can now use them for point-of-sale transactions through mobile phones. This feature opens up new use cases and expands the market, particularly for contingent labor and temporary staff, as cards can be issued for specific durations, whether it’s a day, week, or month.”