For Small Businesses
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American Express® Corporate Purchasing Card
Simplify spending and negotiate preferred rates.
Keep business payments in one place so you can track your spending, simplify reconciliation and negotiate better rates with suppliers.
An easy way to streamline your purchasing process
An American Express Corporate Purchasing Card lets you consolidate regular payments to vendors and suppliers within a single account, set limits on how and with whom your employees can spend, and gain insight into your spending patterns so you can negotiate rates with preferred suppliers.
Help drive savings and efficiency with a Corporate Purchasing Card
Control spending
Assign parameters for where and how Cards are used and how much can be spent.
Gain insights
Receive detailed transaction information and data analysis to help inform decision making.
Streamline operations
Simplify payment and reconciliation processes whilst helping ensure compliance with company policies.
Manage cash flow
Take advantage of your payment terms to extend Days Payable Outstanding (DPO).1
How does a Corporate Purchasing Card work?
Set up your program
Determine which of your expenses to convert to a Corporate Purchasing Card and which controls can offer the most value. Your dedicated Account Manager will work with you every step of the way.
Spend on your Card
Employees can spend within the limits you’ve set, including preferred suppliers, transaction and account limits, and purchase types.
Review and reconcile
Use the American Express @ Work® program to oversee policy compliance, identify opportunities to drive savings, and promptly pay your vendors—extending your DPO to up to 44 days.1
Analyse and save
Take advantage of rich data from the American Express @ Work® platform to leverage purchasing volume with preferred suppliers so you can maximise rebates and drive meaningful savings.
Case study: a national consulting firm finds a dual solution
The Challenge: A national consulting firm needed to update their expense management system to serve their central office and multiple field teams while driving compliance and cost reductions.
The Solution: The firm opted for a dual solution: a virtual American Express Corporate Purchasing Card at the central office and one physical Card each for the field teams. Each set-up allowed Program Administrators to set specific blocks and limits on transactions, which helped remove the need for manual approvals in the purchasing process. Across the company, employees were able to spend less time manually inputting data into spreadsheets and more time innovating for success. Additionally, the program generated rich data fields that the firm could integrate with their ERP to further streamline processes and find more efficient ways to spend.
Start your American Express Corporate Purchasing Card application
Fill out the form to request a call back from a Specialist, or reach out to us at 1300 729 483, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.
Not an American Express Card Member?
Sign up for an American Express Corporate Card program to open up a world of perks, tools and opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Corporate Purchasing Card complements your company’s Corporate Card program by allowing you to consolidate regular payments to vendors within a single account, set limits on how and with whom your employees can spend, and gain insight into your spending so you can negotiate rates with preferred merchants.
Both “pcard” and “p-card” are abbreviations of “Purchasing Card,” which is itself a slight abbreviation of “Corporate Purchasing Card.” You may hear these terms used interchangeably by professionals, but they all mean the same thing.
When you sign up for an American Express Corporate Purchasing Card, you can choose to issue physical Cards or virtual Cards (in the form of Virtual Account Numbers) to your employees. Physical Cards are designed for staff who work away from the office and ideal for all business-related expenses. Virtual Cards are helpful to lodge with a preferred supplier or in a procurement platform, or for central use by a department within a company that does not want to issue physical Cards to multiple employees. From the American Express @ Work digital platform, you can set and enforce limits on which companies your employees can spend with, as well as how much they can spend.
While Purchasing Cards and Credit Cards can be used similarly, there are a few key differences between a Purchasing Card and a Credit Card. With an American Express Corporate Purchasing Card, you can have a virtual account option available for use with online suppliers. Rather than assigning each Card to a single person, you can assign your Corporate Purchasing Card to a department within your company for use by multiple team members. You can also issue an account in a supplier’s name for use with a key supplier who has recurring invoicing requirements for ease of reconciliation.
Most companies use a Purchasing Card program to supplement their Corporate Card program. If you make large or frequent business purchases, or have multiple employees making purchases on behalf of your business, you may be able to take advantage of a Purchasing Card to set spending limits, track company-wide spend and negotiate with preferred suppliers.
Find more ways to streamline business spend
Buyer Initiated Payments
Optimise your working capital and maintain control of your supplier payments.
American Express vPaymentTM
A virtual payment solution assigning a specific-use account number and pre-authorised amount per transaction.
Terms & Conditions
1. Extend your Days Payable Outstanding by up to 44 days: Depending on when you make a purchase, when your statement is issued and whether or not you are carrying forward a balance on your account from your previous statement period.