HSBC & Conferma expand virtual cards for suppliers

HSBC and Conferma have expanded their virtual card partnership into supplier payments in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, extending a relationship that began with corporate travel payments.

Businesses in the three markets will be able to use HSBC Virtual Cards within enterprise resource planning, procurement and accounts payable systems. This allows payments to be initiated and managed within existing finance workflows rather than through separate processes.

The collaboration began in 2011 with virtual card use in corporate travel. It is now being applied to a wider range of business spending as finance teams seek tighter control over expenditure and less manual reconciliation.

Embedded payments are becoming a growing focus for finance departments across Asia Pacific as companies digitise back-office operations. Businesses increasingly want payment tools to sit within the software they already use, rather than relying on standalone systems that add extra steps for staff.

Under the expanded setup, virtual card payments can be built into procurement, travel and supplier workflows. Businesses can settle transactions from within their operating environment while capturing transaction data for reconciliation and spend tracking.

The model is designed to reduce manual intervention in payment processing and improve visibility over spending. It also reflects a broader shift in business-to-business payments, with virtual cards moving beyond travel and expenses into supplier payments.

Research cited by the companies suggests embedded payments are becoming a sizeable market, with total transaction value projected to reach USD $228 billion by 2028. That growth is being driven by organisations looking to remove manual processes, improve transparency and manage working capital more closely.

Regional shift

The development highlights changing demand in Asia Pacific, where finance and procurement teams are rethinking how payments are approved, executed and matched against invoices. In many organisations, supplier payments still involve separate banking steps, file uploads or manual matching, slowing processing and adding operational risk.

Virtual cards offer an alternative by generating card numbers for specific transactions or suppliers that can be used within existing software workflows. In practice, this can give companies more detailed transaction-level information and greater control over how funds are used.

Manchester-based Conferma works with banks, travel management companies and businesses on virtual payment systems. HSBC, one of the world's largest banking groups, has been expanding its commercial card and digital payments services in response to changing corporate payment habits.

"Businesses across Asia are rethinking how they manage spend as digital transformation accelerates. Our collaboration with HSBC helps more businesses reduce manual intervention, improve reconciliation, and gain greater visibility over spend across both supplier and travel payments - all without disrupting existing processes," said Adam Williams, Head of Commercial, APAC at Conferma.

Beyond travel

The expansion underlines how virtual cards, once largely associated with travel bookings and expense management, are being used more widely in procurement and accounts payable. For banks and payment technology providers, that opens a larger share of corporate spending traditionally dominated by bank transfers and other account-to-account methods.

For businesses, the appeal lies in keeping controls within existing finance systems while reducing the need for staff to switch between tools. This can be especially relevant for large organisations operating across several markets, where standardising payment processes is often difficult.

The three markets in the rollout are among the region's major commercial centres, with many multinational companies using shared service centres and centralised finance teams. Embedding payment functions in finance software could therefore appeal to firms trying to manage supplier spending across complex regional operations.

"Across Asia Pacific, customers are looking to modernise supplier payments to reduce manual processing, strengthen control, and optimise working capital. Virtual Cards are becoming a mainstream B2B payment method, extending well beyond T&E spend. By working with Conferma, we enable clients to embed automated Virtual Card payment workflows into their existing ERP, procurement, and AP platforms-improving straight-through processing and visibility," Erika Yeung, Head of Commercial Cards, Asia Pacific at HSBC, said.