Around 1.2 billion dollars of business expenses go unclaimed every year by sole traders who feel overwhelmed by financial admin, but world-leading innovation from Hnry looks set to change that as the fintech adds debit cards to its arsenal.
The Hnry Visa Business Debit Card can be used anywhere that accepts Visa in-store and online. Every expense is automatically logged via the Hnry App – it’s the only business debit card for sole traders to be offered directly by any accounting service in the world. After a successful trial with hundreds of users in Australia, the first cards will be available to Kiwis in the next few weeks, and Hnry customers can join the waitlist from today.
Hnry CEO James Fuller says customer feedback has helped develop the debit cards. Research from Hnry’s Sole Trader Pulse in March showed 53% of sole traders were not claiming all the expenses they were entitled to – forgoing up to $5,611 of business expenses each year, totalling more than $ 1 billion.
“People aren’t claiming their expenses because they don’t want the hassle. If you have to keep track of a huge stack of receipts to hand over to your accountant at the end of the financial year – as well as having to reconcile and classify things yourself in accounting software – you’re not going to do it. It gets put into the too-hard basket, which is a shame because claiming expenses can make a huge difference, especially when we’re dealing with inflation and a cost of living crisis.”
The Hnry Visa Business Debit Card is linked to a customer’s existing Hnry Account. Every time the card is used to purchase a business expense, the transaction is automatically recorded in the Hnry App. A new expense is raised, then reviewed and claimed to offset tax in real-time as customers spend. Fuller says Hnry will also store the information long-term, eliminating the need for the mountain of receipts.
“At a time when sole traders are facing mounting pressures, this is about finding a solution to make sure people aren’t missing out on expense claims they are entitled to – but without all that manual data entry and reconciliation,” he says.
Hnry Visa Business Debit Cards are the next step for the award-winning fintech business, which has been drawing on Kiwi ingenuity and innovation since 2017. They’re working with Novatti – one of the world’s leading payments companies – to deliver the new offering.
Commenting on the partnership, Novatti CEO Mark Healy said, “Novatti and Hnry are united by a shared goal to create innovative payment solutions which make people’s finances easier and more accessible. We are excited to showcase our expertise in card issuing through the Hnry Visa Business Debit Card and support Hnry on its ambition to make earning an independent income simpler for all.”
Fuller says in launching the card, they want to create an attitude shift in the way people look at their business expenses.
“Working with Novatti has allowed us to create something we are excited to bring into the New Zealand market; we are already seeing a really positive response from the trials in Australia,” he says.
There are no additional fees to use the Hnry Visa Business Debit Card, which can also be added to any digital wallet. Hnry customers can now join the Hnry Visa Business Debit Card through the Hnry app.
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