Spend management provider Spendesk has raised €2 million (US$2.2 million) from angel investors and pilot
customers. Adding to its virtual card product suite that is backed by
MasterCard, the startup has launched a mobile app and a reloadable plastic card
targeted at travelers.
The French company, which launched
in June, will use the funds to expand its workforce, especially the marketing
and sales departments, from its current 15 employees, according to Spendesk chief
marketing officer Yasmine Guyot. Its more than 300 corporate clients in Europe
process more than 3,000 transactions a week, and the company plans to expand to
the U.S., "but that will take some time," she said.
Spendesk offers single-use
MasterCard virtual cards and reloadable virtual cards for regular monthly
payments like software subscriptions.
The company also just introduced a
third payment tool, a reloadable plastic card for offline expenses like hotels,
meals and taxis. Card managers can load or unload funds as needed and configure
Spendesk to automatically approve requests under a certain amount or requests
from certain employees. The mobile app alerts the traveler that the card was
used and prompts him or her to photograph and upload a receipt. Spendesk
piloted the offering with more than 250 users from October through its launch this
week.
Built-In Approval & Tracking
Through the Spendesk platform, travelers
can request a virtual card or funds to be added to a reloadable card. Once
approved, the administrator triggers the system to send the virtual card
details to the traveler or the funds to the card.
The platform also tracks spend for
the administrator. "The idea is that all the payments made with the card are
then centralized on the dashboard that the CFO or accountant can follow in real
time, and they can see who's made what payments and when and whether an invoice
is missing," Guyot said. Airfare has been one of the biggest spend
categories, according to Guyot.
A company using Spendesk pays a
monthly fee that depends on the number of users and the volume of spend
processed a month. It's not a credit solution but instead uses a company's own
funds, and therefore it targets small- and midsize businesses. Clients include music-streaming
service Deezer, media company Webedia and Hostmaker, which manages Airbnb
apartments in London.
"We're working with a lot of SMBs and
growing companies that find themselves in need of a simple solution to handle
travel and expenses quickly," Guyot said. "Since the money is taken
from the account of the company, the employee doesn’t have to advance the money
and get reimbursed so it cancels the need for expense reports or having to
advance the money and get it back two months later."