Funding Societies has announced the launch of Elevate, a virtual card solution for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Singapore. This will close the 80% corporate credit card gap in the country’s MSME sector, which currently sees many business directors take on personal liabilities on their own credit cards in order to unlock cash flow for the company.
Elevate is enabled by Banking-as-a-Service provider, MatchMove, and developed in partnership with Mastercard®. As an expense card for growing businesses, it entails Mastercard privileges such as a Corporate Liability Waiver feature that protects MSMEs against unauthorised charges being made to their business card accounts.
The introduction of Elevate comes as MSMEs still face difficulties in obtaining a corporate credit card from traditional financial institutions due to their substantially lower spending and the need for customised credit terms, despite being the largest contributor to Singapore’s economy, comprising 99% of total enterprises and contributing 70% of total employment in 2020.
“In an environment where traditional providers issue corporate lines to only large businesses with a strong credit track record, or offer debit cards with deposit accounts, Funding Societies’ Elevate serves an urgent and important need of micro and small businesses in Singapore who need flexible credit to pay for their expenses,” said Shrawan Saraogi, Funding Societies, Group Head of Strategy, New Business.
“When business owners do not take on personal liability on their own credit cards, their business becomes more sustainable.”
