With the ever-advancing technology, businesses are adopting digital ways of running operations including how they receive payments from customers.

This has been helped by the increasing tech-savy population, high mobile penetration and the rising banked population.

The Covid 19 pandemic also accelerated the shift to digital payments as businesses shunned cash transfer to curb the spread of the virus.

While mobile-money transfers is the popular digital payment system in Kenya, card payment is also gaining popularity with 80 percent of digital platforms in Africa offering customers the option to pay via card. 

Some of the benefits of paying via card are convenience, ability to monitor expenditure, and fast access to cash, among others.

In a bid to help businesses scale, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya in partnership with Visa launched innovative business cards aimed to simplify business payments in Kenya.

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The cards, which include Debit Card, Credit Card, and Pre-paid Business Cards target Medium and Small Business Enterprises, Cooperative Societies, and Corporate Institutions.

The lender notes that the cards can be used both locally and internationally, enabling customers to separate business expenses from personal expenses.

“Customers can make payments directly from their business account, access interest-free credit to manage cash flow, digitize and track office and travel expenses while enjoying business-centric discounts from selected Visa merchants globally,” Co-op stated.

The cards are available to existing Co-op Bank customers and non-customers and can be obtained from any Co-op Bank branch countrywide. Their features are:

Business Debit Card

• Enables businesses to make payments directly from their accounts.
• Provides tools to track and manage expenses.
• Allows management to allocate spending limits to individual accounts.

Business Credit Card

• Offers flexibility for employees to purchase goods and services.
• Facilitates cash flow management with benefits tailored to businesses.
• Businesses can set overall credit limits and allocate sub-limits for employees or departments.

Business Prepaid Card

• Allows businesses to pre-load funds for controlled spending.
• Empowers employees to make necessary purchases without handling cash.