Small businesses make up more than 35 percent of total B2B commercial card spending in the U.S., which accounts for nearly $500 billion in value.¹ These facts demonstrate the growing popularity of commercial cards amongst smaller enterprises—a trend that’s expected to continue as more businesses continue to digitize their payments.

From paying for corporate travel and lodging to settling supplier invoices, commercial cards provide a quick and easy way to make B2B payments. Card programs also help create more value for businesses and their suppliers. From optimizing working capital and making faster payments to creating more efficient accounts payable processes, here are three ways businesses like yours can generate more value.

How commercial cards help optimize working capital

One commonly cited advantage of commercial card programs is the ability to optimize working capital by extending the business’ days payable outstanding (DPO), which is the average number of days that a company takes to pay its bills and invoices to the supplier. Like a consumer credit card, the payment acts as a form of short-term lending and helps maximize the available float during the billing cycle. When a business extends its DPO, it’s not at the expense of the supplier and doesn’t impact the business’ DPO ratio.

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