FOSTER CITY, Calif.—Visa has announced a partnership with payments technology firm Viewpost to expand the availability of virtual credit cards, already used by large corporations, to smaller companies via a network that allows electronic invoicing, payments, and real-time cash management, The Street reported.
"Our collaboration with Viewpost gives small-to-medium sized businesses comprehensive financial management tools in a single portal – right where they bank," Vicky Bindra, Visa's global head of products, said in a statement. It will "make our customers' lives easier by significantly reducing time, cost and friction around payment."
“The virtual credit cards allow businesses to make payments with a secure single-use account number rather than worrying about security risks associated with a physical card. While large organizations have had the money to implement virtual card payments already, smaller firms have been daunted by the time and the cost required to make accounting systems changes, coordinate with banks and obtain payee data for each supplier,” The Street reported.
"We make it easier for everyone: the customer of the bank, the bank, and the vendor of the bank," Max Eliscu, Viewpost CEO, told The Street. "This partnership between Visa and Viewpost, in collaboration with leading financial institutions, will remove costly implementation and technology barriers to virtual card payments that historically have prevented small and midsize businesses from benefiting."