American Express

American Express Corporate Purchasing Card

Simplify the procurement process and negotiate preferred rates.

Keep business payments in one place allowing you to track your spending, simplify reconciliation and help negotiate better rates with suppliers.

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Streamline your Purchasing Process

An American Express^® Corporate Purchasing Card is an expense management solution that allows you to consolidate regular payments to vendors and suppliers within a single account, set limits on how much and with whom your employees can spend, and gain insight into your spending patterns.

Help drive efficiency with a Corporate Purchasing Card

Control spending

Assign parameters for where and how Cards are used, and how much can be spent.

Streamline operations

Simplify payment and reconciliation processes while helping ensure you’re in compliance with your company payment policies.

Gain insights

Receive detailed transaction information and data analysis to help inform spend decision-making.

Manage cash flow

Take advantage of your payment terms to extend Days Payable Outstanding (DPO)*

*DPO extension may vary depending on when in the billing cycle the payment is made.

How does an American Express Corporate Purchasing Card work?

Set up your program

Determine the mix of physical Cards and virtual accounts required and then decide which of your expenses can be converted to a Corporate Purchasing Card and which controls can offer you the most value. Your dedicated American Express Business Specialist will work with you every step of the way.

Onboard Suppliers

Our dedicated supplier management team can help with enrollment strategy, maximize adoption, and provide ongoing support.

Use your Card

Employees can spend within the limits you’ve set, while you use the American Express @Work^® program to oversee policy compliance, identify opportunities to drive savings and efficiently pay your vendors.

Analyse and save

Take advantage of the data we provide to better understand your purchasing volume with preferred suppliers so you can take advantage of any offers those suppliers may offer.

Case study: a national consulting firm finds a two-pronged 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 with company policies and cost reductions.

The Solution: The firm opted for a two-pronged solution: a virtual American Express Corporate Purchasing Card account at the central office, and one physical Card each for the field teams. Both the virtual account and physical Card allowed their Program Administrators (PAs) 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.

Time-saving tools meets white-glove service

Help put time on your side with comprehensive digital account-management tools and world class customer service from American Express.

American Express @Work

American Express @Work lets your Program Administrator (PA) manage all your company Card accounts from one convenient location.

Search accounts by Cardmember name, Card number, employee ID, cost center, payment status, and more.
Search and sort transactions by date range, Card type, Cardmember, account number, transaction status, and more.
Replace, transfer, suspend, un-suspend, or cancel Cards or groups of Cards.
Monitor spending and payments at the Card, Account, or company-wide level.
Generate Card reports and data files, customized reporting, and business travel reports.

Start your American Express Corporate Purchasing Card application

Call 1-877-891-0821 and speak to a rep immediately. Or, fill out the form by clicking on the button below and a representative will contact you within 2 business days.

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Not an American Express Cardmember?

Sign up for an American Express Corporate Card program to open up a world of perks, tools and opportunities.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Corporate Purchasing Cards are designed to help your company with expense management for supplier and vendor payments. It allows 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.

When you sign up for an American Express Corporate Purchasing Card, you can choose to issue physical Cards or virtual accounts to your employees. Physical Cards are designed for employees who work away from the office and are ideal for business-related expenses. Virtual accounts are better suited for placing remote orders with a preferred supplier or in a procurement platform. Virtual accounts can also be used as a central form of payment 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.

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 and track company-wide spend. A Corporate Card can be used for similar types of purchases but is better suited to be tied to a single employee’s business or travel purchases. Many companies choose to use both Corporate Purchasing Cards and Corporate Cards to meet the full range of their business spending needs.

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Buyer Initiated Payments

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American Express vPayment^TM

A virtual payment solution assigning a specific-use account number and pre-authorised amount per transaction.