Best prepaid business cards in Europe

Prepaid cards especially for businesses should offer all of the convenience attributes that all prepaid cards provide, with certain special features that simplify the issuing, control and accounting. As well, out of preference, they should be chosen according to the expectations of regular use, such as currency options, ability to tie into the company’s own bank account which allows topping-up directly, and the range of countries of expected use so that currency conversion costs are minimized.

 

Corporate online debit card with IBAN

The main advantage of debit cards over prepaid cards lies in minimizing administration and accounting effort, and for this to happen, associating the debit card with an IBAN account is essential. In the case of prepaid cards, there has to be some degree of manual intervention (in maintaining the card balance and tracking usage) whereas for debit cards, this is not required as long as one IBAN number is associated with the individual card. This facilitates the automatic processing of payments between different countries and accounts, and allows for automatic debits/transfers.

Pros and Cons of Prepaid Debit Cards

  • Pros
    • Prepaid business debit cards require no credit check but they also do not help you build credit.
    • The cards are a convenient way of accessing cash.
    • There is generally no fee associated with reloading your card but your bank may charge for the service.
    • When using a prepaid debit card your spending is limited to the amount you have preloaded on the card.
    • As the amount loaded onto the card is finite in the event of loss or theft your losses are limited.
    • As of April 2019 registered prepaid accounts have federal protections as with standard credit cards and checking accounts.

    Cons

    • Prepaid cards do not come with the same cash-back programs or rewards that credit cards can have.
    • Some cards have a maximum balance; daily load limit or daily spending limit.
    • Not all prepaid debit cards allow for cash withdrawals.
    • Some prepaid debit cards offer multiple copies of the card for use by more than one employee.
    • Prepaid debit cards do not automatically include all bank services and features.
    • With one of these pay-as-you-go debit cards you can only use the money you have loaded onto the card and not funds in your bank account unless you link the card to your business checking account.

Best prepaid cards for small business

Wherever possible, the choice of prepaid card should be made based on the expectations of regular use. If the card is going to be used outside the Euro zone regularly, then a bank that allows for multicurrency cards, together with zero currency conversion rates, is preferable. As well, wherever possible, keeping the card’s association with the business’s own banking account is preferable unless that card carries some negative features such as high costs, restrictive terms etc. If this facility is not offered by your bank, the larger card issuers usually provide the better service. Revolut in the UK offers the widest range of currency options and allows for free withdrawals up to €400. Payoneer, although based in the USA, allows for individual accounts in € (Germany), $ (USA) and £ (UK). Offers special flexibility for business, as it allows customers to deposit directly and also facilitates charges to Paypal.

Business prepaid debit cards for employees

A prepaid card used for the purpose of paying employees is known as a payroll card. The employee does not need to have a bank account and does not have to pay any fees to access the money. Each pay period, the card balance is automatically credited with the employee’s net pay. The cards can be used like ordinary debit or prepaid cards to make purchases and withdraw money from an ATM.

Can I get a prepaid or debit card for my business?

Most banks offer both prepaid and debit cards. A strong advantage for cards is whether the bank allows for the allocation of a virtual IBAN to each card. This simplifies accounting, auditing and tracking. It is worth checking out the costs relating to issuing, monthly fees, currency conversion etc. since there may be cheaper options available in the market.

No limit prepaid business debit cards

Most prepaid cards impose some limits on the total amount that the card can carry, the maximum value of transactions each day, and the maximum daily ATM cash withdrawals. If the standard limits do not meet your requirements, you may be able to negotiate special conditions either with the existing card issuer, or to find an alternative but there are likely to be some penalties in terms of costs.

Employee expense cards

Rather that issuing fully-functional credit cards to employees to cover regular business expenses like travel, accommodation and entertainment, as well as company-related purchases, companies can choose to use prepaid debit cards. The advantages of this are that the tracking of card usage is highly automated, and the possibility of overspending is eliminated since money can be allocated only as needed and approved.

Which prepaid card has the highest limit?

Since the card limit is related to the total amount that has been pre-loaded, it is usually the available balance on the card that imposes the limit on total usage. Almost all cards, however, set a daily limit on ATM cash withdrawals, which is one way to minimize the result of card loss or theft.

From our research, we find that Kalixa Pay prepaid MasterCard available in the UK and many Eurozone countries has no spending limit (up to the card balance), allows for £9,000 balance and £300 ATM cash withdrawals daily.

Is there a limit on prepaid or debit cards?

Debit cards can have some daily spending limits and ATM withdrawal limits, but the basic limit for total spending relates to the company’s associated bank account balance, not to the card itself. Prepaid cards also have some daily spending and withdrawal limits, but the total amount that can be spent has to be pre-loaded onto the card.

Best prepaid business debit cards

Businesses that need to conduct frequent transactions for settlement with cards, or that have to support high-value transactions, should negotiate with their own bank to allocate individual Virtual IBAN numbers to each card. This simplifies account and administration. If this facility is not offered by your bank, the larger card issuers usually provide the better service. See above for Revolut in the UK and Payoneer in the USA. Paysera from Lithuania issues cards in US Dollars, EURO and Swiss Franks, and allows charges to Paypal.

Payroll card providers

The most important features to look for in card providers for employees is the degree of integration offered with your company’s accounting and payroll systems, and the level of integration with your company’s own bank. As well, you should ensure that the issuer does not require employees to have their own bank account. Take care to ensure that the card issuer has the required authorizations and that the cards have a wide range of spending and cash withdrawal options.

How to Load a Business Prepaid Debit Card?

If you are unsure of which debit card is right for your business or if prepaid debit cards are the right choice for you then feel free to consult with us.

Recommended for you

Navigating the iGaming Landscape: Key Challenges and Strategies for Success
08.07.24
Strikingly, the current failure rate for startups is 90%. In other words, 9 out of 10 new companies entering any given market will fail. The ones that remain share the secrets of success. The same is true for the iGaming industry. In this piece, we take...
EMIs and Customer Trust: Building a Reliable Digital Finance Ecosystem
08.07.24
How people perceive banking and payments in a digital-first world changes every couple of years. Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) are central to this transformation. Yet, when any change happens, one thing remains vital—maintaining customer trust.   In this article, we explore how EMIs use several...
Interview with: Alexander Persidskyi - Head of Operations, PayDo
08.07.24
Interview with: Alex Persidskiy PayDo is an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) regulated in the UK and a licensed Money Services Business (MSB) in Canada. We provide financial services tailored to businesses, including multi-currency IBAN accounts, global payment processing, merchant services, mass payouts, and corporate card...