Excessive Commercial Card Fees Caught In FTC Crosshairs

Commercial card innovation continues to explore ways to expand the value proposition for corporate spenders and the businesses they pay. But this week’s top corporate card story centers on a new FTC lawsuit taking aim at a not-so-valuable feature: excessive fees.

FTC Sues FleetCor Over Fees

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly sued fuel card firm FleetCor for excessive hidden fees. According to an administrative complaint filed by the FTC, FleetCor has charged “hundreds of millions of dollars” in “mystery fees” to fleet customers via its Fuelman brand and other co-branded cards. Reports said the FTC is accusing FleetCor of falsely advertising to customers that it would not charge any unauthorized or hidden fees like transition or membership fees. “FleetCor fleeced its customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars through its dishonest practices,” said Samuel Levine, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will do everything it can to get money back to FleetCor’s business customers and unsuspecting fuel card users by refiling this complaint administratively. We will also continue to work with Congress on a broader legislative solution following the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG, which has hindered our ability to recover redress for families and honest businesses.”

Read More: FTC Sues FleetCor Over Fuel Card ‘Mystery Fees’

Corserv Collabs With Boost On Commercial Card Offerings

Corserv is pairing up with Boost Payment Solutions to expand the ability of financial institutions to offer more robust commercial card solutions to their own clients. Corserv, which offers card program solutions for financial institutions, is working with Boost to expand acceptance of virtual card payments, the companies said. Specifically, Boost will integrate its technology that facilitates straight-through processing of virtual card payments. Corserv’s bank customers that operate as suppliers accepting cards can take advantage of the technology to ease the friction of card acceptance in accounts receivable.

Brex Acquires API Firm Weav

Corporate card startup Brex, which connects startups to business card technologies, has reached a deal to acquire Israel-based Weav. The $50 million takeover will see Brex able to expand into Israel to fuel global growth, as well as take advantage of Weav’s universal API technology that supports integrations and connectivity. That functionality will be critical for Brex as it expands beyond commercial cards to round out its business offering, introducing a variety of other financial tools within the Brex platform.

U.S. Bank acquires Bento Technologies

U.S. Bank is making a significant investment in commercial card FinTech through the acquisition of Bento Technologies. Bento, which operates Bento for Business, offers small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) debit card solutions with integrated expense management capabilities. Bento also offers SMBs an account powered by a Visa debit card, which allows firms to store and manage funds. U.S. Bank said it plans to close the deal some time next month, through did not disclose financial details of the takeover.

Read more: US Bank to Buy Debit Card-Based Biz Expense Management Platform Bento Technologies

Visa Fast Track Welcomes Centime

Visa’s Fast Track program welcomed its newest FinTech to its ranks, according to a recent announcement. Centime offers a cash flow management solution for SMBs, with features like automated reminders for customers to pay their bills. Collaborating with Visa will allow Centime to integrate commercial card capabilities, connecting SMBs to lines of credit. “Working with bank partners and empowered by Visa’s network, our clients can now easily access cost-effective credit to meet their working capital needs,” Centime Founder and CEO BC Krishna said.