Prepaid debit cards offer a new way to fund employee expenses

PEX Card is a prepaid debit card that allows business owners to maintain complete control over their expenses by monitoring company funds that employees have access to at all times. Simply put, the company helps streamline employee expenses for business owners. CBO spoke with PEX Card CEO and Founder Toffer Grant about the business model and how it could be beneficial for construction business owners. In addition to having a standalone product offering, PEX Card is also partnered with Sage Software in an agreement in which the company white-labels the PEX Card for Sage. For construction companies, the PEX Card product line is broken into two basic parts: local contractors and commercial contractors. Larger contractors often have a lot of travel and purchase responsibility. An example of this type of contractor is a municipality that lays fiber-optic cable in remote areas in the U.S. That type of work requires frequent travel and purchase authority out in the field, where it may be inconvenient for business owners to be present every time a purchase takes place. “The business owner has to say to himself, ‘What are my choices when it comes to expenses?’” Grant said. “I could provide a credit card to each of my employees and cosign as a guarantor, but that would leave my personal assets tied to the business and the employee.” On the other side of the fence, Grant said, are employee expense reimbursements. Without a credit card, the employee is expected to spend money out of pocket and then wait for reimbursements. “Another facet we provide a solution to is contract labor expenses,” Grant said. “Contract labor employees are not regular employees – so we want to provide a solution in which the business owner can feel comfortable issuing a card to an employee who they would usually not feel right about doing that.” Through PEX Card, the business owner has controls via a web application and a mobile application, where he or she can monitor employee spending and cards, such as activating and deactivating employee cards in real time. The employee can call in and state their budget, and the business owner can either dispute it or agree to the amount and fund the card. This way, the employee is also involved in the process and constantly thinking about the cost side of the business, too. For more information, visit PEX Card.