66 Million Corporate Payment Cards to Be in Use by 2030

A new study from Juniper Research has found that there will be 66 million corporate payment cards in use globally by 2030. However, this represents only one payment card per 6.7 businesses on average, reflecting low adoption of cards for B2B payments by small businesses.

Despite this low adoption, the figure represents a 19% growth from the 55 million in use in 2026, indicating that cards are becoming more relevant for small and microbusinesses. The report identified a lack of card products aimed at smaller businesses as a major limiting factor, with specialised cards often carrying higher fees and spend requirements than consumer cards; incentivising sole traders and microbusiness owners to use their personal cards for business expenses.

The report predicted that virtual cards will be key in growing the adoption of corporate cards. Virtual cards allow sole traders to use business cards in their personal digital wallets, providing a familiar and convenient way to make business payments. The key challenge for business-specific corporate card providers is convincing individuals to move from using personal payment cards to specialist business ones.

“Microbusinesses do not need the full spend management solutions demanded by larger businesses; making the priority for cards targeted at this group convenience and reward versus the cost of access. Corporate card issuers must create targeted reward schemes and cash flow tools that enable small businesses to tackle their commercial challenges effectively, or they will fail to gain traction with this important demographic,” said report author Michael Greenwood.