Global payroll provider RemotePass is moving beyond salaries. The company today unveiled SpendCards, a corporate card product built specifically for distributed, cross-border teams—making it the first global payroll platform to issue expense cards directly to international employees and contractors.
Trusted by brands such as Spotify, Tabby, and Logitech, RemotePass is betting that finance leaders are ready to retire reimbursement spreadsheets—and the tax headaches that come with them.
Why This Matters Now
Managing global talent is no longer exotic. It’s standard operating procedure. But while hiring has gone global, corporate card programs haven’t kept up.
Most traditional expense card offerings are designed for centralized, local teams. Distributed workers—particularly contractors and remote employees outside headquarters markets—are often excluded. The result? They front business expenses out of pocket and wait for reimbursement.
That workaround creates three persistent problems for finance teams:
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Zero visibility into spending until after the fact
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Hundreds of monthly reimbursement claims across currencies
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Cross-border tax exposure that can trigger compliance risks
“Finance teams process hundreds of reimbursement claims across countries and currencies every month, with no oversight until the money is spent,” said Kamal Reggad, Founder and CEO of RemotePass. Meanwhile, remote employees effectively subsidize company cash flow—and may face local tax complications tied to reimbursements.
In short: global hiring may be frictionless, but global spend management is not.
What SpendCards Actually Do
SpendCards aim to eliminate reimbursements altogether.
Companies can:
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Instantly issue corporate cards to team members in 150+ countries
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Set automated spending limits, category restrictions, and approval workflows
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Track transactions in real time with automatic expense categorization
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Reduce or eliminate tax complications linked to cross-border reimbursements
Employees get zero out-of-pocket expenses, global acceptance in any currency, and digital wallet compatibility via Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The differentiator isn’t just the card—it’s the integration. SpendCards plug directly into RemotePass’s Employer of Record (EOR) and contractor management infrastructure, creating a unified system for HR, payroll, and spend management across more than 150 countries.
That consolidation could resonate with CFOs fatigued by stitching together payroll vendors, EOR platforms, and separate fintech tools for expense management.
The Hidden Tax Problem Most Platforms Ignore
Here’s where things get thorny—and where RemotePass sees an opportunity.
In several countries, expense reimbursements can be treated as taxable income if local tax authorities do not recognize specific expenses as deductible—even when receipts are submitted. That means well-intentioned reimbursements can inadvertently create income tax liabilities for employees or contractors.
For global companies scaling quickly, these compliance blind spots compound fast.
By shifting from reimbursement to pre-approved corporate card spending, RemotePass says companies can avoid triggering certain cross-border tax complexities altogether.
In an era of heightened global tax enforcement and contractor classification scrutiny, that positioning is more than a feature—it’s risk mitigation.
A Strategic Expansion Beyond Payroll
RemotePass entering the corporate card market mirrors a broader fintech convergence trend. Payroll platforms are expanding into adjacent financial workflows—benefits, embedded finance, cross-border payments, and now spend management.
The playbook is clear: own more of the financial stack for distributed work.
Rivals in the global employment space have been expanding aggressively, but most still rely on third-party integrations for expense cards or focus primarily on domestic corporate card markets. RemotePass’s claim to be the first global payroll platform issuing expense cards directly to international workers could give it an early-mover advantage in this niche.
For companies managing hybrid workforces that include full-time employees and contractors across multiple jurisdictions, consolidating payroll and expenses into one system reduces vendor sprawl and simplifies compliance oversight.
And as remote-first hiring stabilizes into long-term strategy rather than pandemic necessity, tooling built specifically for cross-border operations—not retrofitted domestic solutions—may become table stakes.
Deployment and Availability
SpendCards are available immediately to all RemotePass customers. Activation takes minutes, and companies can begin issuing cards right away.
That speed matters. Finance teams don’t want another six-month implementation cycle. They want fewer spreadsheets, fewer surprises, and fewer tax consultations.
The Bigger Picture
Remote work solved access to talent. It did not solve operational friction.
By embedding global expense cards directly into its payroll and EOR platform, RemotePass is addressing one of the more stubborn pain points in distributed workforce management: visibility and compliance in cross-border spending.
If adoption follows the trajectory of global payroll and EOR platforms over the past five years, corporate cards purpose-built for international teams may soon shift from novelty to necessity.
And for finance leaders still reconciling reimbursement reports from five continents? That shift can’t come soon enough.
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