Walmart Business+ Takes the Temperature on Healthcare Procurement

Business credit card issuers are working with major retailers online and in-store to capture and add value to business spend with flexibility and rewards aligned for business users.

The latest development along these lines is healthcare spend management platform Nitra offering doctors who use its card for expenses a six-month free trial to Walmart Business+, the annual subscription-style upgrade to the Walmart Business offering launched in January.

According to a Thursday (April 20) press release, Nitra is providing its cardholders with a free trial of Walmart Business+ for which the annual fee is $98, and through which physicians and practices receive benefits including free shipping with no minimums, free pickup and delivery from stores on orders of $35 or higher, 2% cash back rewards on orders of $250 or more, and savings of 5% on eligible items under the subscription.

At the launch of Walmart Business and Walmart Business+, the retailer said, “Our focus is to remove complexity in purchasing, lower costs, and give our customers more opportunities to serve their customers and communities. Walmart Business is built to leverage the very best of Walmart — our unmatched operating scale, our proximity within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population, and the very best of our eCommerce, fulfillment, and delivery technologies.”

With its Nitra Visa Business Card, that platform “offers unlimited 2% cash-back rewards on practice purchases, discounts at medical suppliers and business-friendly features such as automatic reconciliation, in-depth spend analytics and insights and unlimited virtual cards.”

The program is not unlike The Amazon Business American Express Card, which offers 3% back or 60-day terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com, and Whole Foods Market, and 5% back or 90-day terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership.

Business Card Benefits

Business card programs help in various areas of spending management and provide valuable data to businesses on where they’re spending and the savings they can realize.

In the case of Amazon Business, the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card offers enhanced data views so users can see Amazon Business purchases listed item by item in a downloadable file from an online statement.

Cash-back rewards generated by these cards can be used to make additional business purchases, which creates an extra incentive to use dedicated business cards instead of regular credit cards.

In its announcement of the Walmart Business+ offer, Nitra founder and CEO Jonathan Chen said, “Walmart is one of the biggest retailers in the world, and we are proud to be working together. Walmart Business’s goal of supporting small enterprises aligns well with Nitra’s mission to build a simpler, smarter way for healthcare practices to manage their expenses and create time for what matters.”

The use cases for these types of cards are clear. As the Amazon Business site says, “Whether shopping for home or work, people value Amazon for its convenience, selection, and value. But businesses and organizations — from sole proprietorships to large enterprises, governments, schools, and healthcare organizations—have different needs than individual buyers.”

As a form of business payments digitization, dedicated cards have ancillary benefits. PYMNTS reported that “91% of CFOs across many sectors said payment process digitization improved business efficiency, and another 84% said it improved management of working capital. Greater transparency is a key reason for digitization efforts, according to 56% of CFOs surveyed.”