Provider-Friendly Virtual Expense Cards Save Time and HassleProvider-Friendly Virtual Expense Cards Save Time and Hassle

An expense card designed for medical practices uses employee- and vendor-specific virtual cards to streamline purchasing, thwart fraud, and rack up rewards. Part of a comprehensive spend-management platform, the card also offers top-notch customer service and training benefits.

John Jesitus

October 30, 2024

3 Min Read
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An expense card designed for medical practices uses employee- and vendor-specific virtual cards to streamline purchasing, thwart fraud, and rack up rewards. Part of a comprehensive spend-management platform, the card also offers top-notch customer service and training benefits.

Olansky Dermatology and Aesthetics in Atlanta, Ga., has used the Nitra Visa Business Card by Nitra (New York, N.Y.) since May 2024. According to project manager Elaine Benuck, Olansky Dermatology and Aesthetics signed on after hearing a glowing review from another dermatology practice. She said it saved her so much time, and customer service was excellent. It is Nitra’s customer support that has impressed Ms. Benuck most. “When we started the integration, I had three people on Zoom sharing my screen,” she commented. “They were so hands-on and patient and walked me through it twice to make sure I was comfortable. That made me feel confident in them.”

Card holders can generate virtual cards for employees and vendors, the benefits of which are numerous. Traditional business cards typically use the same card number for all purchases, so at the end of the month, Ms. Benuck had to spend time scouring statements to allocate each charge to a specific vendor. “But with Nitra, it is broken down by vendor,” she noted.

Virtual cards for vendors have unique card numbers that connect with Nitra’s expense management software, allowing users to segment expense data. Virtual cards also provide owner oversight and reduce risk of fraudulent use. Taking advantage of these benefits, Ms. Benuck has generated one for each of three Olansky Dermatology department managers. “What I like about the virtual card is that I do not have all these cards floating around to different people.”

Virtual cards save both time and aggravation, she added. Previously, managers had to ask Ms. Benuck to place all orders. Because she is not in the office daily, an order might not arrive for a week. Now, once she enters the virtual card information into the online wallet associated with a particular vendor, anyone ordering from that vendor can click on the card and place the order themselves. “So, it is taking a load off me,” she highlighted.

Additionally, she receives a text message every time someone uses one of the virtual cards. “I can immediately tell whether that was an authorized charge or not,” explained Ms. Benuck. The card also allows dynamic limits, which permits users to set a specific limit for each vendor or employee, and any purchases beyond that amount will be declined.

Also important are Nitra’s higher cashback rewards – 5% on the first $100,000, then 2.2% on medical and other supplies – versus 1.5% across the board for a competing card. “It is pretty big savings, especially on my big-ticket items, which are all medical,” Ms. Benuck stated.

Now that she has first-hand experience with the card’s benefits, Ms. Benuck is transitioning all the practice’s purchasing to Nitra and adding more virtual cards. “Technology is not very easy for me, so I wanted to try one step at a time,” she admitted. Her advice? “Try to get virtual cards on as many vendors as you can, if not all of them, because that makes purchasing a lot easier.”

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