Helping business flourish

Business credit cards are a fairly new addition to the credit card industry in the UAE. Some international and a few local banks offer these cards, which are mainly targeted at the growing number of small and medium enterprises (SME) in the country.

These cards effectively manage the payment of all of the business expenses by controlling and tracking company spending while sizeably reducing administrative costs.

According to a study commissioned by Barclays the market size for this segment consists of around 125,000 customers in the UAE.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) is a leading issuer of corporate cards and its Visa Gold Corporate Card is one of the most sought-after products among the corporate in this region.

"Our card comes with all the standard features expected from a corporate card such as consolidated and individual statements/limits plus attractive discounts at merchant outlets servicing businesses," says Farman Ali, Senior Manager, NBAD Cards.
"Further, this year we have launched a corporate card product co-branded with ADCCI (Abu-Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

ADCCI card which functions as the membership card of ADCCI, eGate card facilitating quick check-in and check-out at all UAE airports and a Visa Corporate card. ADCCI co-branded card is growing at an exponential rate," says Ali.

Unique functions

Barclays has introduced the Barclayscard Business, which comes bundled with various benefits. The new cards' credit limits are based on the turnover of the company. While the credit limit can be split among partners or employees in the company, the facility is offered based on the track record of the companies applying for this facility.

The card is offered in three packages ranging from zero lifetime membership fees to up to Dh950 annual membership fee, depending on the choice of package. The new card comes in three bundles. The basic 'Elegant' bundle is a card free for life but comes with features such as free roadside assistance, free employee insurance and discounts on business insurance.

The 'Elite' and 'Esteem' packages offer a host of additional benefits and discounts on travel, dining and shopping and come with annual membership fee of Dh550 and Dh950, respectively.
"Our new card's objective is to provide a revolving line of credit to small and medium enterprises in the UAE," says Rana Zeeshan Saleem, Head of Cards and Retail Assets of Barclays in a recent press release.

"Under this scheme, companies have the flexibility to use the credit line for various purposes ranging from executive travels, purchases and short-term cash management. The new card packages offer all these along with a host of extra benefits."

The new card offers up to Dh200,000 on a single card. However, a single company can get up to Dh750,000 credit line to its various partners or key employees, depending on the size of its business.

The credit limit is determined by a host of factors such as the size of operations, number of years in operation, profitability of the business, vulnerability of business to changing economic conditions.

Business-centric benefits

The 'Gold Business Credit Card' of Standard Chartered is co-branded with Singapore Airlines and delivers business-centric benefits such as automatic membership to KrisFlyer - the award-winning loyalty programme of Singapore Airline.

It also has the flexibility to convert Business Rewards from the credit card to KrisFlyer miles, preferential rates and offers from leading international hotels and discounts on office supplies, equipment and courier services.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) offers a Business Credit Card that makes a lot of business sense. The ADCB Self Employed Business Credit Card offers a smart alternative to cheques and cash for day-to-day transactions. Besides giving a much-needed credit line to run businesses, it also simplifies accounting and administration and saves money on regular business expenses.
Packed with a host of features and benefits, HSBC Commercial Cards come in a choice of Standard and Gold Cards designed to suit business, travel and entertainment needs.

With wide international acceptance at more than 26 million outlets worldwide, HSBC Corporate Cards help cardholders manage business, travel and entertainment expenses efficiently. The Cards also enable them to reduce the administrative costs while increasing their ability to manage employees' spending on dining, travelling and other related expenses.

HSBC Gold Corporate Cardholders are now offered Priority Pass Cards and Membership free of charge, allowing them access to more than 500 airport VIP lounges worldwide regardless of their choice of airline and class of travel.

This means that even when travelling on Economy class passengers can relax and unwind in VIP lounges by simply presenting Priority Pass Card.
HSBC Purchasing Cards offers a unique payment mechanism that enables members to carry out procurement transactions through a cost effective yet controlled process. With these they can now pay etisalat, Dewa and e-government bills online at the click of a mouse.