Why 2025 Could Be the Year of the Virtual Card

According to the 2025 Amex Trendex: B2B Payments Edition survey by American Express, one-quarter (26%) of business decision-makers cite late or slow payments as a common reason for having stopped working with a buyer or supplier. Another study shows that nearly half of all business-to-business (B2B) invoices in North America are paid late. This is a testament to the legacy of paper payments, like checks, as well as the manual processing of payments—both of which remain persistent sources of delays, fraud and errors in B2B transactions.

Virtual cards offer a compelling solution to manual payment challenges for both buyers and suppliers. By automating payments through a tokenized process that eliminates physical cards, they not only remove delays and frictions but also can help improve security for every transaction. The B2B virtual card market is on track to skyrocket fourfold in the next seven years, offering significant growth opportunities across industries. According to PYMNTS Intelligence data, more than three-quarters of middle-market CFOs express high interest in accepting virtual cards to ensure timely payment. However, less than half of companies worldwide say they currently use virtual cards.

In this edition, we explore the obstacles—and misconceptions—limiting virtual cards’ current use. Moreover, we explain why indicators show that 2025 could be a breakthrough year for virtual card adoption.

In 2025, Payment Shortcomings Persist

Digital Dividends: Virtual Cards’ Clear Advantages

Outlook on Adoption: Obstacles and Solutions

An Insider on How Companies Can Boost Virtual Card Adoption

Turning Plans Into Reality: The Virtual Card Imperative in 2025

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In 2025, Payment Shortcomings Persist

Manual payment processing is not yet a thing of the past. Its delays, errors and cash flow complications still impede businesses’ long-term growth.

Late payments can lead to severe cash flow crunches.

A 2025 Ignition survey found that 63% of marketing, branding, design, creative, digital and advertising agencies in the United States reported having unpredictable cash flow. The biggest culprit? Late payments. Ninety-seven percent of agencies said they contend with late payments, with 65% reporting that at least 25% to 30% of their invoices are paid late.

97%

of marketing and creative agencies are dealing with late payments in 2025.

This tardiness is likely due, in part, to a reliance on manual payment processes. According to the Amex Trendex survey, only 17% of businesses say they have fully automated their payments, indicating many business leaders are not taking advantage of the benefits of doing so. Another study by American Express found that 59% of U.S. businesses link poor cash flow and forecasting to outdated manual accounts receivable (AR) methods.

Cash flow unpredictability can have considerable downstream consequences. In fact, 81% of agencies in the Ignition survey said they have postponed or canceled strategic business initiatives because of it.

Late payments are hitting small businesses hard in 2025.

Small businesses, in particular, struggle with the repercussions of late payments. According to a study by Intuit Quickbooks, 73% of small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are negatively impacted by late payments. These delays can lead to critical cash flow problems, impeding daily operations, timely supplier payments and the ability to invest in growth.

The monetary cost of these payment delays is substantial. Small businesses estimate an average annual loss of $39,406 due to late payments—and 9% lose $100,000 or more. Nearly one-quarter of these businesses consider their cash flow unstable, and 29% feel less financially secure than they did a year ago.

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Digital Dividends: Virtual Cards’ Clear Advantages

Virtual cards offer powerful advantages over manual payment processes, including greater efficiency and security. These features help mitigate risk and cash flow disruptions arising from traditional B2B payments.

Virtual cards put an end to payment delays.

46%

of financial leaders already using virtual cards cite improved security and reduced fraud risk as the primary benefit.

Virtual cards are increasingly recognized as a solution to these recurrent cash flow issues. Virtual card solutions eliminate the problem of late payments by automating the entire transaction process from generation to reconciliation, bypassing the manual steps and potential inefficiencies of traditional payment methods. They provide real-time tracking and straight-through processing that accelerate payments, reduce errors and free up finance teams to focus on strategic work rather than chasing invoices or tracking manual data entries.

Virtual cards’ one-time tokens help protect against fraud and unauthorized use.

In addition, virtual cards address the increasingly vital issue of ensuring payment security. American Express reports that 65% of surveyed businesses have been victims of actual or attempted payment fraud, mostly via checks. Moreover, according to the Amex Trendex, four in five business decision-makers say a single fraud incident relating to payments could significantly impact trust in their relationships with buyers (82%) and suppliers (82%).

Virtual cards offer superior fraud protection. These dynamic payment solutions function like traditional 16-digit credit or debit card numbers—but without a physical card. Each card is generated digitally with unique details for a single transaction, utilizing a tokenized, one-time-use version of a physical card number.

This design enhances security and reduces complexity, as merchants do not need to handle sensitive payment data from buyers. Virtual cards also include an expiry date, cardholder name and security code to further bolster defense. These features make them significantly safer than checks, which remain vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. According to a recent study, 46% of virtual card users cite improved security and reduced fraud risk as the primary benefit.

Virtual cards allow for better spend control, efficiency and supplier relationships.

Virtual cards offer additional control by allowing users to restrict spending by a specific amount, date range or even merchant, with any transactions attempted outside these preset limits automatically declined. This functionality provides an array of benefits, including streamlined invoicing and expensing. The cards also enable smoother transaction processes across various B2B applications, such as supplier payments, employee expenses and cross-border transactions.

Furthermore, virtual cards help improve supplier relationships by ensuring on-time payments and offering greater payment method flexibility. However, despite these distinct advantages, virtual card adoption still faces a few hurdles.

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Outlook on Adoption: Obstacles and Solutions

Although virtual cards’ advantages are obvious, they remain underutilized, with misconceptions largely at the root of hesitation to implement them. However, new data indicates a growing momentum toward virtual card adoption.

Current usage does not match the high level of interest in virtual cards.

In the 2024 Certainty Project Report by PYMNTS Intelligence, 78% of middle-market CFOs said they were highly interested in accepting virtual cards to facilitate automated invoice approval and timely payments. However, according to a Conferma poll, while 88% of financial leaders across the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates said they were either considering or actively embracing virtual cards, just 48% said they were currently using them. One reason for this disconnect is that certain misconceptions must be dispelled to clear the path for wider acceptance.

88%

of global financial leaders are either considering or actively embracing virtual cards.

Some suppliers hesitate to accept virtual cards—though they benefit just as much as buyers.

One barrier is the common misperception that buyers’ and suppliers’ needs don’t always line up. Contrary to this belief, however, virtual cards can foster a positive, symbiotic relationship between the two, according to Widad Chaoui, Senior Vice President, Corporate and B2B Solutions Product Management, Global Commercial Services, at American Express. In a recent PYMNTS interview, Chaoui explained that virtual cards offer clear advantages to both sides: Buyers benefit from simplified transactions, enhanced payment automation and cost savings, while suppliers receive faster payments and spend less time chasing invoices than with traditional methods.

Some suppliers hesitate to adopt virtual cards due to perceived complexity, Chaoui noted. Overcoming this requires educating them on how virtual cards accelerate payments and reduce days sales outstanding (DSO). As awareness grows, she expects virtual card adoption and integration to rise, unlocking opportunities for bottom-line improvements and greater scalability.

Momentum for virtual card adoption is growing.

One projection sees the B2B virtual card market quadrupling from $14.65 billion in 2025 to $61 billion in 2032, representing a growth rate of 23%. Meanwhile, American Express predicts a transaction volume of 174.3 billion by 2028, up from 35.8 billion in 2023. Conferma found that 82% of current users plan to expand their use of this method in the next year, with virtual cards’ share of all payments projected to rise to 57%. By every measure, virtual card use is growing by leaps and bounds.

Chaoui said healthcare and construction are leading the way in virtual card use, but she predicts far greater expansion.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth in virtual cards over recent years,” she said. “We’re seeing significant adoption in these sectors, but I expect other industries to catch up as suppliers become more educated on the benefits.”

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An Insider on How Companies Can Boost Virtual Card Adoption

PYMNTS Intelligence interviews Dean M. Leavitt, Founder & CEO, Boost Payment Solutions, on how companies can overcome complexity concerns to boost virtual card adoption.

Virtual cards empower suppliers by providing them with a simpler, smarter and safer option for accepting payments. We’re thrilled to team up with American Express to provide suppliers with an innovative payment tool to accept Amex B2B virtual cards.”

Dean M. Leavitt
Founder & CEO, Boost Payment Solutions

Virtual cards address the most significant pain point in the B2B payment process: manual processing.

Manual processing remains one of the biggest bottlenecks in B2B payments—introducing inefficiencies, errors and delays, Leavitt told PYMNTS Intelligence in a recent interview.

“Virtual cards, especially when paired with automation like Boost Intercept, help eliminate these frictions,” he said. “By removing the need for manual entry and reconciliation, our multi-patented technology enables straight-through processing that accelerates cash flow, reduces human error and enhances security.”

Moreover, he added, virtual cards also offer rich remittance data and fraud protection through tokenization and one-time-use credentials.

“The result? A faster, safer and more transparent payment experience that benefits both buyers and suppliers,” Leavitt said.

Adoption of virtual cards still faces some obstacles, however.

For buyers, Leavitt observed, the biggest hurdle in virtual card adoption often stems from perceived complexity—concerns about integration, supplier acceptance and internal change management.

“Many assume virtual card programs are difficult to implement or require significant IT resources,” he explained. “At Boost, we’ve proven otherwise. Our solutions integrate quickly with existing systems and workflows, often going live in days.”

Another challenge he noted is supplier enablement.

“Buyers worry suppliers won’t accept cards, but with Boost’s supplier-centric ‘acceptance on your terms’ approach coupled with automated processing, we remove friction on both sides,” he said. “Education and the right technology partner are key—once buyers see the operational and financial upside, adoption accelerates.”

According to the Amex Trendex: B2B Payments Edition, 91% of business decision-makers say that easy, streamlined and secure payments drive business growth. Payments automation with virtual cards—with offerings like Boost’s straight-through-processing for Amex-accepting suppliers—enhances the payments experience on both sides of the transaction, which ultimately helps drive business forward.”

Kymberly Cantrell
Senior Vice President & General Manager, B2B, Merchant Acquisition & Supplier Enablement, American Express

Removal of friction fortifies buyer-supplier ties.

Leavitt has seen firsthand that virtual cards, when automated with true straight-through processing, strengthen buyer-supplier relationships by removing friction.

“Suppliers get paid faster, with full remittance data in formats that can easily be ingested into ERP platforms, and without the burden of manual processing,” he explained.

Buyers can also utilize virtual cards as a key tool in their working capital toolkits, allowing them to pay suppliers sooner while extending their own days payable outstanding (DPO). They also benefit from enhanced control and visibility and significantly decreased fraud risk.

“Both buyers and suppliers enjoy reduced administrative overhead and accelerated cash flow and working capital expansion via the credit extension associated with the card product,” Leavitt said. “It’s a win-win that fosters trust, collaboration and long-term partnership.”

Increasing virtual card adoption is on the horizon.

Does Leavitt see virtual card adoption growing in 2025?

“Absolutely—momentum continues to build for virtual card adoption,” he stated. “According to the latest Amex Trendex: B2B Payments study, eight in 10 U.S. businesses plan to improve their payments processes in 2025. Virtual cards are central to that transformation.”

Leavitt sees CFO offices prioritizing automation, security and supplier enablement—and virtual cards check all those boxes. With his own product, he said, buyers can implement virtual card programs quickly and at scale, without disrupting existing workflows.

“The key is to partner with providers who simplify integration and deliver measurable ROI. As digital-first finance becomes the norm, virtual cards are no longer just a nice-to-have—they’re strategic,” he concluded.

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Turning Plans Into Reality: The Virtual Card Imperative in 2025

The B2B virtual card market is expanding quickly in 2025 as companies look for secure, efficient and automated ways to manage payments, improve transaction processes and minimize fraud. Industry leaders like American Express and Boost Payment Solutions are at the forefront, introducing virtual card solutions that provide real-time tracking, flexible spending controls and integration with corporate financial platforms. This rapid growth suggests that now is the time for companies to overcome any hesitations and adopt virtual card solutions without further delay.

PYMNTS Intelligence offers the following actionable roadmap for companies to make 2025 their year of virtual card adoption:

Examine existing payment workflows to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks caused by paper checks and manual reconciliation.

Set strategic goals around improving cash flow, enhancing security and reducing administrative burdens.

Educate suppliers on the operational and financial benefits of virtual cards, including faster payments and reduced DSO.

Partner with solution providers that enable fully automated virtual card processing and simplify supplier onboarding.

Track performance improvements across key metrics following implementation and refine payment strategies accordingly.

By embracing these steps, businesses can improve working capital, reduce friction in their payment processes and strengthen buyer/supplier relationships—helping them compete and scale with confidence in 2025 and beyond.