US: Visa, Plastiq team on supplier payments

Commercial bill pay company Plastiq has announced that starting on Wednesday, August 21, US Visa commercial cardholders will be able to use the Plastiq to pay vendors, even if they don’t accept credit cards, the company said in a release.

According to the Credit Research Foundation, fewer than 12% of business-to-business (B2B) payments are done with a card. With the new initiative, Plastiq said, it’s giving businesses more control over their own finances.

The US Bank Business Leverage Visa Signature was recently created by US bank, with the purpose of serving specifically as a small business credit card. The card rewards customers where they spend the most every month, be it in construction materials, medical supplies or marketing.

Now, those cardholders can use Plastiq with the card to get even more rewards and have access to a greater threshold of capital.

“Business owners know how to run their businesses efficiently,” said John Steward, president of US Bank Retail Payment Solutions. “We worked closely with owners to develop the US Bank Business Leverage card. One of the messages we heard loud and clear is they want maximum value on spend they’re already making. Now with Plastiq and Visa, our cardholders have expanded options to use their cards with more vendors and earn rewards on more purchases than they would with other forms of payment.”

For a lot of businesses, commercial cards are the easiest way to get financing, and the cards allow for instant capital when needs arise. Plastiq lets businesses pay for a majority of business expenses with a card, and lets them better manage cash flow as well as reap the rewards of using a credit card.

“Plastiq lets us pay for commercial inventory and logistics with company credit cards — expenses totaling millions of dollars that we used to pay by check,” said Sherman Chang, CEO of Trekology. “The Plastiq platform helps us better manage our cash flow, is very user friendly and saves us both time and money. Plus, we use points earned to offset travel expenses.”