American Express has expanded virtual card capabilities for US commercial customers through its @ Work platform and an extended relationship with Conferma.
The company has introduced new ways for American Express Corporate customers and Business Travel Account (BTA) users in the US to create, manage, and use American Express Virtual Cards within the financial software platforms they already use. The update is aimed at simplifying payment processes while giving businesses more visibility and control over spending across employee expenses, supplier payments, and business travel.
Virtual cards embedded in existing business software
Virtual cards generate unique digital card numbers for individual transactions or defined periods, allowing businesses to set adjustable spending limits and reduce reliance on shared or physical card numbers. According to American Express, virtual cards represent a growing segment of commercial payments, used for purposes ranging from supplier payments and everyday purchasing to travel expenses, including for contractors, interns and other authorised users who do not hold a traditional Corporate Card.
Amex Corporate customers can now create and manage Amex Virtual Cards directly within @ Work, the platform businesses use to manage Corporate Card applications, track employee spending and generate reporting, including integration with enterprise resource planning and expense management systems. Within @ Work, eligible customers can extend virtual card access to employees, contractors, and other authorised users for a range of expense types, and can apply custom spending limits, timeframes and restrictions based on country and merchant category codes. The feature is currently available to select US-based American Express Corporate Program customers, with American Express noting that further availability is planned.
Extended collaboration with Conferma for travel-related payments
For customers using BTA, a centrally billed account for business travel payments, American Express has extended its collaboration with Conferma, a virtual payments technology provider, to broaden the use of Amex Virtual Cards. Eligible BTA customers can now generate Amex Virtual Cards through the Conferma mobile application for point-of-sale travel expenses such as meals, retail purchases, car rentals, and rideshares. This complements BTA's existing central billing function, which is used for higher-value expenses such as airfare and hotel bookings, by extending virtual card coverage to costs incurred directly by travellers.
The companies stated that the collaboration includes spending controls allowing businesses to set transaction amounts and time limits on virtual cards, along with multi-level approval workflows for card issuance through Conferma. Additional functionality includes transaction data reporting, customisable expense reporting and digital receipt capture within the Conferma application, intended to reduce manual reconciliation. American Express said the arrangement is also designed to extend virtual card access to infrequent travellers and employees who do not hold a Corporate Card.
American Express Virtual Cards with Conferma are currently available to US-based American Express BTA customers, with Conferma acting as a third-party token facilitator for card distribution. American Express noted that the availability and functionality of capabilities provided through Conferma may be subject to change.
The expansion reflects a broader industry trend toward embedding virtual card issuance within existing expense management and travel booking software, as businesses seek more granular control over spending without adding separate payment interfaces. American Express has cited its fraud rate performance among major card networks over the past 19 years as a factor relevant to the security profile of its virtual card offering.
