A Question for Small Business Owners Regarding Their Experiences with Business / Corporate Credit Cards?

L[Deactivated] on 17/10/2020 - 22:12

Hey guys,

I work as a PM at a fintech startup in the US and we're looking to expand to Australia and create a credit card product designed around small businesses. The company is experienced with small business lending and lines of credit, so products of that nature will be launched in parallel. However on the topic of credit cards, we're looking to create something that actually works for Australian small businesses. Everything I've seen so far is the usual, business credit card with some reward points and that's it. It also seems to be quite difficult to get approval for, especially during covid.

There are products like Brex (https://www.brex.com/) in the US that offer a credit card for startups, but they require at least $100K in collateral (so only funded startups) without the need for a personal guarantee, which is uncommon here in Australia.

My question is, what do you feel is missing when it comes to business/corporate credit cards in Australia? I like to keep the question clear from any bias so I won't suggest any products or features that I think would work.

Thanks in advance!

Financial Credit Card

Comments

  • bemybubble on 17/10/2020 - 22:21
    +1

    what do you feel is missing when it comes to business/corporate credit cards in Australia?

    Everything that a personal credit card offers. Especially when it comes to fees

    • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2020 - 22:23

      I see. Do you currently use a personal credit card instead of a business card for this reason?

      • bemybubble on 18/10/2020 - 07:28
        +1

        Absolutely. In fact I rotate between 4 of them

        • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2020 - 11:01

          Damn, you've learnt the art of churning well :)

          • bemybubble on 18/10/2020 - 11:44

            @[Deactivated]: Not churning. Have had them for 10 years.

            Each has a different purpose. From no international fees to extra warranty on purchases.

  • Switchblade88 on 17/10/2020 - 23:38
    +1

    Are you offering:
    (A) credit (requiring credit checks, P&L's, balance sheets) under a variety of Australian laws, or
    (B) bonus features like cashbacks, rewards, discounts
    (C) banking functionality/UX improvements that's not common in most banking apps, services, accounts?

    (A) means having a financial licence, assets etc for regulatory compliance
    (B) is the same features as existing cards.
    (C) is a rarity that I've only encountered in local fintechs e.g. Up Bank now offers an API for read-only transaction data, which will likely expand to actual spending in the near future - THAT'S a killer feature that businesses could actually capitalise on.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2020 - 23:55

      Hey! It's cool to get a post from someone who is as detailed as yourself about the space as well. My response:

      a) Fortunately, the business is already capitally geared for this as the expansion has been set in motion already. We have the right pieces in place already - raised equity, raised debt, covered compliance and we have the tech stack in place for our existing product lines. I won't divulge much here but the product is already live in Aus.

      b) I'm in full agreement with you here, these are really what we call 'table stakes' and by credit card issuers, it really isn't hard to spin up consumer/business credit cards with bonuses, point schemes and etc

      c) As per b), what we're looking to do is provide a software stack on top to recreate the credit card experience. I'll take a look at what UP offers and what hackers/makers have come up with and see if I get inspired in any way.

      Thanks for the input!

  • daft009 on 18/10/2020 - 06:08
    +1

    Amex platinum without a Forex fee would be awesome

  • Platinumtelecom on 18/10/2020 - 07:41

    What is actually missing in my opinion is a product that includes an accounting software built in. Rather than having to pay $20-50 per month, it would be great if banks/financial institutions could provide a built in software at no cost.

    A good example is this upcoming business Neo bank https://www.parpera.com/
    They are building features such as invoicing etc…

    • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2020 - 11:04

      Thanks! Do you currently use any accounting software?

  • Destin on 18/10/2020 - 10:09
    +1

    Cashbacks. Cold hard cashbacks… I'd use it

  • justdigi on 18/10/2020 - 10:31
    +1

    I use a personal card as I have no annual fee and rewards on it. I can download transactions easily enough in a useful format, but would prefer API access. The bank stores scans of receipts against transactions and these can be downloaded along with the transaction data. The app allows me to take a photo of the receipt.These are all features missing for the small business card I previously had. Oh and also fee free international transactions. The only thing missing is airport lounge access, but That would be expecting too much with no annual fee.

    • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2020 - 11:25

      Thanks! The points you make are definitely helpful

  • SelfMade on 18/10/2020 - 11:15
    +1

    A card where we can pay overseas suppliers in USD or other major currencies without getting slugged exorbitant fees or currency conversion charges.

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