Business virtual cards: 4 options for smarter expense management
Last update: 2 Jul 2025
Virtual cards are becoming an essential part of how modern businesses manage their spending. Whether you’re paying for Meta ads or working with suppliers across Asia, virtual cards offer a faster, safer and more flexible way to control business payments.
Virtual cards work just like a physical cards – minus the plastic. You can assign cards to specific workflows, projects or team members and track spending as it happens. No more waiting on post, chasing receipts or trying to decipher lump-sum expenses at month-end.
But not every virtual card is built with growing businesses in mind. Some add complexity instead of clarity, bringing hidden fees, restricted features and dashboards that create more work than they solve.
If you’re a Singapore-based business making frequent online payments – in SGD or across multiple currencies – choosing the right virtual card can help you stay in control of cash flow and streamline your operations.
In this guide, we’ll walk through what to look for in a virtual card, how the World Card from WorldFirst stacks up, and a few alternatives available to Singaporean businesses.
We’ll cover:
- What is a virtual card, and what problems does it solve?
- What you need from a business virtual card
- Why WorldFirst’s World Card is a top choice for your cross-border business
- How a World Account can help with global business spend
- How does the World Card compare to traditional bank options in Singapore?
Open your World Account for free and start using the World Card today.
What is a virtual card, and what problems does it solve?
A business virtual card is a digital-only payment card that you can issue instantly from your corporate bank account. It functions just like a traditional debit or credit card – complete with a card number, expiry date and CVV – but it exists entirely online. That means it’s ready to use as soon as you generate it, and lives on your phone or desktop, not in your wallet.
Here’s how virtual cards solve common business payment challenges:
- Lost or delayed cards: No more waiting for plastic cards to arrive in the post – you can generate and start using virtual cards instantly, which is especially useful for time-sensitive campaigns or last-minute subscriptions.
- Fraud and misuse: Keep your main account details safe by issuing unique cards for specific platforms or users. You can freeze or cancel cards at any time, reducing the risk of fraud or unauthorised charges.
- Unclear spending: Assign virtual cards to different team members, projects or spend categories. For example, you can issue one card for Google Ads, one for Meta and one for Shopify subscriptions – making it easier to track and control spend.
For Singapore-based businesses juggling paid ads, subscription tools or overseas suppliers, virtual cards are a powerful way to simplify payments, tighten budget control and reduce risk.
However, different cards from different providers have their own strengths – and you’ll need to pick the best one for your business.
What you need from a business virtual card
As a business owner, your virtual card should simplify spend management – not add more admin to your day. Whether you’re running a lean team or scaling across platforms and providers, here’s what to look for when choosing a business virtual card:
- Instant card creation and easy management: You should be able to generate virtual cards instantly from your corporate account and manage them just as easily. That means creating, freezing or cancelling cards in a few clicks – without needing to call support or wait for approval.
- Spending controls and card limits: The best virtual cards give you the flexibility to set limits that work for your business. That might mean capping ad spend, blocking certain merchants, or issuing a card that’s only active for a specific campaign window.
- Multi-user functionality: Whether you’re working with full-time staff, freelancers or external partners, the ability to assign individual cards makes it easier to delegate spend without losing oversight.
- Real-time tracking: Look for a virtual card that syncs automatically with your business account, so you can track and categorise transactions as they happen – not just at month-end.
- Secure online payments: Most virtual cards reduce the risk of fraud by generating unique card details for each use. That means you never have to share your main account or reuse the same card for different platforms. As such, look for a card that lets you generate and disable virtual cards whenever it suits you.
- Low rates for international payments: If you make payments in foreign currencies – for example, paying USD for ad platforms or GBP to a consultant – your card should offer competitive FX rates and global reach without hidden fees.
- Multi-currency support: Choose a provider that lets you pay in a wide range of currencies, or at least the specific ones you use most – such as SGD, USD, GBP or EUR.
The more flexibility and control your virtual card offers, the easier it is to keep business spend secure, compliant and on track.
So, how does the World Card stack up against these factors? In the next section, we share why the virtual card from WorldFirst is the best choice for cross-border businesses.
Why WorldFirst’s World Card is the top choice for your cross-border business
If you’re managing spend across teams, platforms, or currencies, the World Card is a smart, modern way to stay in control – without the friction of traditional business cards.
It’s built specifically for businesses that are online-first and global, and are looking for better ways to manage costs, reduce risk and gain clarity over spend.
You can get a World Card as soon as you’ve set up a World Account. This is WorldFirst’s multi-currency business account, designed to support fast-growing companies with international ambitions.
With a World Account, you can receive and hold 20+ major currencies – including SGD, USD, MYR, THB, CNH, EUR and more – all in one account. Plus, you can pay suppliers in over 100 more. The account also connects directly to major e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, so you can manage incoming and outgoing payments without switching tools or losing visibility.
Together, the World Account and World Card offer an all-in-one solution for smarter global money management. Here’s what makes it a strong contender for Singapore-based businesses:
1. Pay in 15 currencies without FX fees and earn cashback on purchases
One of the biggest advantages of using the World Card is how seamlessly it integrates with your multi-currency World Account.
Instead of relying on one central currency and paying unnecessary conversion fees, you can hold and spend from 15 local currency wallets, including SGD, USD, CNH, EUR, GBP, AUD and more. That means you can:
- Make payments directly from local currency balances, avoiding mid-transaction FX fees
- Top up your account in SGD, then convert to other currencies when the rate is right
- Use firm orders or forward contracts to lock in FX rates or target specific exchange rates
- Save with highly competitive exchange rates compared to traditional banks or platforms like PayPal
Whether you’re paying Meta ads in USD, buying inventory from 1688.com or sending MYR to a freelancer in Malaysia, WorldFirst gives you more control over currency costs as well as the ability to optimise your margins across markets.
2. Reconcile expenses from multiple cards within one platform
With WorldFirst, managing multiple team cards is simple and secure. Every transaction made on a World Card is recorded instantly in your World Account dashboard – tagged by user, card and purpose – so you can reconcile spend in seconds.
Whether you’re reviewing agency fees, software subscriptions or marketplace charges, it’s all there in one view:
- Filter and review transactions by card, campaign or vendor
- Add notes, custom labels or categories to each payment
- Export clean, categorised data for accounting or reimbursement
3. Customise your cards to set spending limits and freeze cards if necessary
With WorldFirst’s virtual World Cards, you’re always in control of how and when your business funds are used.
- Set specific spending limits per card – by transaction, day or month – to ensure budgets stay on track. This is especially useful for high-risk or variable expenses like paid ads, where overspending can happen quickly if platform limits are missed or reset.
- Pause cards instantly if a device is lost, then unfreeze them when recovered. If a team member misplaces their phone or leaves the company, you can suspend access in a click and reactivate it just as easily later, without needing to issue a new card.
Together with built-in 3D Secure authentication, these features help protect your business from fraud and keep your team in control without compromising flexibility. If a transaction looks suspicious or needs verification, a six-digit code will be sent by SMS (or email) before it goes through.
- Open 20+ local currency accounts and get paid like a local
- Pay suppliers, partners and staff worldwide in 100+ currencies
- Collect payments for free from 130+ marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, Etsy, PayPal and Shopify
- Save with competitive exchange rates on currency conversions and transfers
- Lock in exchange rates for up to 24 months for cash flow certainty
How a World Account can help with global business spend
The World Account is only available to customers with a World Account, a multi-currency business account designed for global e-commerce.
This gives you access to:
- Local receiving accounts in major currencies like USD, GBP, EUR, CNH and more – so you can collect earnings from global platforms like Amazon, Shopee or TikTok Shop, even if your business isn’t based in those countries
- Fast, low-cost payments to international suppliers or service providers – including seamless integration with Chinese platforms like 1688
- FX at competitive rates, helping reduce the cost of exchanging funds between currencies
Together, with a World Account and World Card, Singapore-based business owners benefit from a more agile, cost-effective way to operate across borders – without opening multiple bank accounts or juggling different tools.
And importantly, there are no monthly fees for the World Card. You only need an active World Account to get started.
How does the World Card compare to traditional bank options in Singapore?
If you’re exploring virtual card providers, you’ll likely come across traditional banks like DBS, OCBC and HSBC. While these institutions do offer corporate virtual cards, they’re typically built with larger enterprises in mind – and may not suit leaner, fast-moving businesses or international sellers.
Let’s break down the differences:
1. DBS Bank
DBS offers virtual cards as part of its corporate solutions, mainly designed for larger businesses. Key features include:
- Real-time spend authorisation
- Integration with procurement and expense platforms
- Customisable limits and batch issuance
However, DBS’s corporate virtual cards are primarily designed for enterprise procurement, and setup often requires onboarding to multiple other DBS services. FX support and multi-currency functionality are limited unless you opt into additional services.
2. OCBC Bank
OCBC provides a virtual card product via its corporate banking arm. It’s typically aimed at mid-sized businesses looking to digitise procurement and travel expenses. Useful features include:
- Real-time spending controls
- Travel spend categorisation
- Authorisation workflows for employee purchases
While it does offer some controls, OCBC’s card is typically linked to a single SGD account, meaning international payments incur standard FX fees.
3. HSBC Singapore
HSBC’s virtual card offering focuses on large-scale procurement and T&E (travel & entertainment) use cases. Key features include:
- Integration with ERP systems
- Batch card issuance for campaigns or vendors
- Spending controls across departments
This card isn’tbuilt for SMEs or online sellers – it’s better suited to organisations with finance teams managing thousands of transactions across a global workforce.
Why WorldFirst stands out for SME and digital-first businesses
If you’re a small business or an e-commerce entrepreneur in Singapore, you need tools that keep up, not slow you down. Traditional banks may offer virtual cards, but they often come with corporate red tape and systems built for enterprises, not agile teams.
That’s why growing businesses are turning to solutions designed specifically for the pace and complexity of online commerce.
WorldFirst’s World Card is designed for SMEs, startups, e-commerce sellers and digital-first businesses who want to manage online spend without the friction. Whether you’re paying for Facebook ads, managing SaaS subscriptions or settling invoices in USD, GBP, EUR or SGD, the World Card gives you:
- Instant setup with no monthly fees
- Real-time tracking and spending controls
- Secure payments with unique card details
- Zero FX fees in 15 major currencies when you hold a balance
- Full integration with the World Account’s multi-currency capabilities
And because it’s connected to your World Account, you get one unified platform to collect, hold and spend globally – with no need to switch between providers.
Ready to streamline your business spending? Open a World Account today, and start using the World Card in minutes. Get real-time visibility, competitive FX rates, and smarter control – all in one platform designed for modern businesses.
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