Visa Adds Receipt-Capturing Tech To Biz Reporting Tool

Visa, the payments company, announced Monday (March 5) that it is bringing new capabilities to its Visa Business Reporting tool, which is a service that helps issuers assist their small business customers in tracking their spending.

In a press release, the payments company said the new app-based features include the ability for small business owners to remove paper, thanks to receipt-capturing technology. With the VBR Receipt app, enrolled small business owners can use their phone to capture an image of a paper receipt following the transaction. The receipt image is sent to Visa Business Reporting as well as Intuit Quickbooks Online — or Xero, if the customer chooses that.  “Visa is constantly trying to improve the digital payments experience for small business owners, and this new capability is one step in moving them towards a paperless world where business management information is at their fingertips,” said David Simon, Visa’s global head of small and medium enterprises, in a press release announcing the new feature. According to Visa, a study by Phoenix Synergistic found that 71 percent of business credit card prospects want to have a mobile receipt management tool. Other new features include near-real-time transaction notifications, which Visa said can give business customers peace of mind.

Visa said the new capabilities are available to business owners via participating issuers that offer VBR to their small business card holders. The company noted that VBR is a simple but powerful financial tool that enables enrolled Visa business cardholders to manage expenses and access graphical charts and reports that give them insights and greater control over their business’ finances.  VBR provides convenient access to Visa transaction data, enabling enrolled small businesses to track and analyze spending and stay on a budget, Visa noted in the press release.