Global financial platform Loop launched a corporate credit card solution for Canadian small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that manage cross-border purchasing.
Launched in collaboration with EQ Bank, the Loop Global Visa Card enables these SMBs to spend and settle credit balances in multiple currencies, the company said in a Wednesday (Dec. 11) press release.
“With this card, we empower companies to operate almost anywhere with local currency cards that both reduce costs and the complexity of managing a globally connected business,” Loop CEO Cato Pastoll said in the release.
By enabling businesses to manage purchasing in Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars, euros and British pounds, and use the same local currency to settle statement balances, the Loop Global Visa Card helps companies manage their foreign currency exposure and avoid foreign exchange costs, according to the release.
The card also provides optimized conversion, custom spend controls and employee misuse protection, the release said.
It can be set up to make purchases with local vendors or any merchant that accepts Visa credit cards, includes no annual fees, and is built into Loop’s financial platform that includes treasury management, foreign exchange management, and foreign exchange and global payments solutions, per the release.
“Canadian businesses should have a mechanism to have more control and flexibility in the way they pay, and this product provides that,” Chris Ferron, vice president of FinTech partnerships at Visa, said in the release.
Mahima Poddar, senior vice president and group head of personal banking at EQ Bank, added: “This collaboration will enable businesses to navigate cross-border transactions with greater ease and confidence.”
Loop raised 6.4 million Canadian dollars ($4.5 million) in September to expand its financial management platform for SMBs, saying it works with these businesses to address high banking fees, time-consuming payment processes, trouble navigating cross-border money movement, and other pain points.
“Although most U.S. and Canadian exporters are SMBs, they are grossly underserved by the large banks, especially in cross-border banking,” Raif Barbaros, whose Mistral Venture Partners took part in the funding round, said at the time in a press release.
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