Must-have corporate cards RFP template in 2025

Corporate cards are no longer just a way to pay for expenses — they’re a strategic finance tool. In 2025, finance leaders rely on them to enforce spend policies automatically, gain real-time visibility, integrate seamlessly with accounting, and scale globally.

The wrong provider creates manual reconciliation headaches, exposes your business to fraud, and wastes hours of finance time chasing receipts. The right one prevents out-of-policy spend before it happens, automates categorization into your general ledger, and gives employees easy, secure access to funds when they need them.

To choose wisely, many companies anchor their process with a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP helps you define your requirements, ask consistent questions across vendors, and evaluate how each solution will support your business today and as you grow.

In this guide, we outline the eight major areas to evaluate when selecting a corporate card provider, along with questions to include in your RFP. Plus, we’ve put all the questions together in a downloadable template so you can start evaluating quickly and effectively.

1. Spend controls and policy management

Strong spend controls reduce waste before it happens. A modern corporate card should let you configure policies by role, team, location, or budget — and automatically enforce them at the point of purchase.

For example, Rippling ties card controls directly to your HR system of record. When someone changes departments, their card policies update instantly without manual intervention. That means budgets are always accurate, approvals are always routed correctly, and finance teams don’t have to chase employees after the fact.

Questions to ask:

• What types of spend controls can be applied (per transaction, category, department, or vendor)?

• Can policies be tailored automatically by employee role, location, or team?

• How quickly can spending limits be updated or revoked?

• Do policy violations trigger automatic alerts or require approval before posting?

2. Real-time visibility and reporting

Finance leaders need instant insights — not end-of-month surprises. 

The right provider gives finance leaders real-time dashboards to see spend as it happens, flag anomalies, and drill down by employee, department, project, or vendor. 

Poor solutions silo card data, leaving leaders to patch together reports across systems. 

With Rippling, every transaction appears instantly in your finance dashboard, automatically tagged to the right employee and GL category. This means finance always knows where money is going and can adjust proactively, instead of firefighting after the close.

Questions to ask:

• Does the platform provide real-time visibility into all transactions?

• Can spend reports be customized by category, department, or project?

• Does the system automatically detect and flag unusual or out-of-policy transactions?

• Can reports be exported or integrated into BI tools for deeper analysis?

3. Integration with expense management and accounting

Disconnected systems force finance teams into manual work. A best-in-class card integrates seamlessly with your expense management, ERP, and accounting platforms so every swipe is categorized correctly in real time.

Rippling cards connect natively with your GL, automatically coding transactions to the right account. Receipts can be captured via mobile and auto-matched, so by the time books close, the work is already done.

Questions to ask:

• Which expense management and accounting/ERP platforms do you integrate with natively?

• Can transactions auto-code to the general ledger based on merchant, category, or policy?

• Does the system support receipt capture and auto-matching?

• Can custom fields (e.g., project codes, cost centers) be synced automatically?

4. Employee experience and card distribution

Adoption suffers when card programs are clunky. Traditional programs often take weeks to issue physical cards and don’t offer virtual cards on demand. Employees end up sharing cards or using personal spend. 

The right system should make distribution effortless: auto-issuing cards during onboarding, supporting both virtual and physical formats, and giving employees full self-service controls. 

Rippling issues virtual cards instantly, ships physical cards within days, and lets employees manage spend, lock cards, and upload receipts — all from a single mobile app.

Questions to ask:

• Can physical and virtual cards be issued instantly?

• Do employees have self-service access to request or manage cards under policy rules?

• What mobile app capabilities are available (e.g., lock card, upload receipt, view spend)?

• Can cards be provisioned automatically during onboarding?

5. Global support and multi-currency capabilities

As companies scale internationally, they need corporate cards that work everywhere. 

Yet many card programs don’t support multiple currencies or localized compliance, leaving distributed teams with inconsistent policies and hidden FX fees. 

A robust provider supports global issuance, transparent FX, and built-in compliance reporting. 

Rippling enables companies to issue cards across multiple countries with local currency reconciliation, ensuring employees transact seamlessly worldwide. 

Questions to ask:

• Can employees transact in local currencies worldwide?

• How are FX fees and conversion rates handled?

• Does the provider offer localized compliance and tax support?

• Are there country-specific restrictions or limitations on card issuance?

6. Security and fraud prevention

Corporate cards process sensitive financial data, and weak fraud protections can expose companies to major risks. Some providers only offer basic alerts, leaving admins reactive. 

A modern provider should include AI-driven fraud monitoring, real-time alerts, customizable approval workflows for high-risk spend, and enterprise-grade compliance certifications. 

Rippling delivers all of this, with the ability to instantly lock or reissue cards from the dashboard, while maintaining PCI DSS and SOC 2 compliance. This ensures your team can trust the system and respond instantly to threats.

Questions to ask:

• What fraud detection and monitoring tools are included?

• Does the platform support customizable approval workflows for higher-risk transactions?

• Which security certifications and compliance standards (e.g., PCI DSS, SOC 2, GDPR) are met?

• Can compromised cards be frozen or reissued instantly?

7. Implementation and customer support

Card programs that take months to roll out delay adoption and ROI. 

Look for providers with clear timelines, dedicated support, and strong SLAs. The best solutions launch quickly, with prebuilt integrations, dedicated implementation managers, and responsive support. 

Rippling cards can be deployed in days since they’re built on your employee system of record — no extra integration needed. Dedicated implementation managers and strong SLAs ensure smooth rollout and ongoing support.

Questions to ask:

• What is your average implementation timeline for mid-sized and enterprise clients?

• Do you provide a dedicated implementation or account manager?

• What SLAs are offered for support response times?

• What training or enablement resources are available for admins and employees?

8. Cost transparency and rewards

Hidden fees erode ROI and create budget surprises. Traditional card providers often tack on FX, replacement, or platform fees, while rewards programs vary in complexity and actual value. 

The right provider should be upfront about fees and deliver clear, competitive rewards that finance can reinvest into the business. 

Rippling Corporate Cards come with no hidden fees and offer 1.75% unlimited cashback across all spend. (Subject to Rippling’s corporate card approval, you’ll earn cash-back rewards on eligible transactions. 1.75% cash-back is subject to eligibility based on minimum spend commitments. Learn more here.) Combined with automated reconciliation and policy enforcement, this drives measurable savings on both direct costs and finance time.

Questions to ask:

• What fees are associated with the card program (FX, late payment, replacement, platform)?

• Are there any hidden fees not included in standard pricing?

• What types of rewards or cashback are offered?

• Are rewards category-based, flat-rate, or customizable to business needs?

How Rippling helps enterprises

Rippling’s spend management software unifies corporate cards with HR, payroll, and finance in one platform — so spend is no longer a silo. With Rippling’s corporate cards, enterprises can:

• Issue physical and virtual cards instantly during onboarding.

• Enforce spend policies automatically, tied to your employee system of record.

• View transactions in real time, with instant reconciliation to your GL.

• Support global employees with multi-currency cards and localized compliance.

• Lock and reissue cards instantly with AI-powered fraud monitoring.

• Eliminate hidden fees while earning competitive cashback rewards.

• Consolidate spend management, HR, and payroll into one system, reducing admin time and costs.

With Rippling corporate cards, finance leaders spend less time chasing receipts and more time driving strategy.

Rippling RFP for corporate cards example

Ready to evaluate vendors?

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of August 29, 2025.