The usage of corporate cards is becoming more common, but not as common as some people might think. According to new data from Juniper Research, there will be 66 million corporate payment cards in use globally by 2030, up from 55 million in 2026. That’s 19% growth in just four years.
At first glance, that looks like widespread adoption. Yet the reality is more complicated than that, as the report also estimates there will still be only one corporate card for every 6.7 businesses worldwide. For a product that has been around for some time, that is, in fact, quite a low adoption rate.
According to the same report, one of the main reasons is that many business card products have traditionally been built for larger organisations. More often than not, they come with fees, spend requirements, lengthy onboarding processes, and approval flows. These are all more suited to established companies than sole traders, freelancers, or companies with just a handful of employees. So many small business owners continue to use personal cards for business expenses.
Why Small Businesses Are Different
For larger organisations, corporate cards are already part of everyday operations, helping to manage employee expenses, software subscriptions, travel spending, procurement, operational costs, and more.
But small businesses often start somewhere else. The founder pays for software, books travel, covers advertising costs, and buys supplies. In the early stages, using a personal card feels faster and easier than setting up dedicated business payment tools.
The problem appears later, as companies grow. It simply becomes harder to separate company spending from personal spending. When software subscriptions accumulate or team members need purchasing authority, what started as a convenient workaround gradually becomes an operational headache.
“One thing that surprises me,” says Mattia Piazzano, who leads Wallester’s Client Success Team, “is how many owners still operate their businesses with personal cards without seeing the problem. When only one or two people are making purchases, using a personal card feels perfectly manageable. The challenge appears gradually: a few software subscriptions become ten, new employees need access to company funds, and suddenly, nobody has a complete picture of where the money is going. That’s usually the point where businesses start looking for a better system.”
A Simpler Route Into Corporate Cards
Juniper expects virtual cards to play a decisive role in increasing adoption among microbusinesses. The prediction is linked to how businesses use payment products. While traditional corporate card programmes involve paperwork, waiting periods, and physical card distribution, virtual cards remove much of that friction.
A business owner can issue a card instantly, add it to a digital wallet, assign it to a project or subscription, and start using it immediately. And for many small businesses, that simplicity matters more than advanced spend management features.
“What often drives the switch isn’t the card itself but the moment owners realise they’re spending too much time managing expenses manually. Once spending is properly accounted for and every transaction is visible in one place, they usually wonder why they waited so long. The goal isn’t fighting complexity; it’s having enough visibility and control without creating redundant, menial work,” Piazzano says.
The Opportunity Ahead
There is still plenty of room for growth, then. If there will still be only one corporate card for every 6.7 businesses by 2030, it suggests that millions of smaller companies remain underserved by existing products. The next phase of growth is unlikely to come from convincing large enterprises to adopt corporate cards, because most already have them.
It will come from building products that make sense for smaller businesses. That means simple onboarding, low barriers to entry, transparent pricing, and tools that solve everyday operational problems without introducing new complexity.
What This Looks Like in Practice
The findings align closely with what we see among Wallester Business clients. Many companies are not looking for another complicated financial product. They simply want an easy way to separate business spending from personal spending while maintaining full visibility and control.
Wallester Business provides:
- 300 free virtual Visa cards – issue cards instantly for departments, vendors, employees, campaigns, or subscriptions
- Custom spending limits – set limits by card, employee, category, or use case
- Live transaction tracking – monitor every payment from one central dashboard
- Free expense management tools – organise company spend without extra software
- Free 24/7 currency exchange – exchange funds across 10 currencies with no service fees
- Xero and QuickBooks integrations – sync transactions directly with your accounting tools
- Payroll and team payments – process up to 1,500 transactions in one click
- Fast remote KYC – onboarding is typically completed within hours
For small businesses, freelancers, and growing teams, that means getting the benefits of a corporate card programme without the complexity traditionally associated with corporate banking.
The Juniper forecast suggests that corporate cards are still in the early stages of adoption among smaller businesses. But as products become simpler and easier to access, that gap is likely to close quickly. Wallester Business is built for companies ready to make that shift now.
