❓Pemo General FAQs

What is Pemo?

Pemo is an innovative financial solution for businesses in the Middle East and Africa region that makes expense management easy and automated. The magic happens by using Pemo corporate cards for your company spending. All transaction information and receipts are automatically collected and synced with your accounting software. No more petty cash, expense reports, sharing cards, or lack of visibility!

Pemo corporate cards and software enable you to:

• Issue physical or virtual corporate cards powered by Visa whenever and as much as you need.

• Track all card transactions live on desktop and mobile

• Assign cards to your team members, control their individual spending limits, and block cards in a click whenever needed

• Sync company expenses with your accounting software of choice instantly. Pemo integrates with Quickbooks, ZohoBooks, Tally, Dynamics 365, and many more.

Welcome, better control, better efficiency, and automated reconciliation. With Pemo, spend management has never been that easy!

What are the challenges that Pemo can solve?

Pemo is a financial technology company that helps businesses in the MEA region manage their expenses. Pemo offers corporate cards and expense management software.

The Pemo software helps companies automate expense reporting and streamline their accounting processes. The corporate cards enable employees to make purchases on their company's behalf without using their own personal funds or the company’s petty cash.

With Pemo, businesses can keep track of their spending in real time and use the data to make smart decisions about their budgets.

Uncovering the top 5 challenges that companies in the MEA region are solving with Pemo:

Challenge #1 - Manual work

Creating expense reports can be a tedious task. A task that employees generally dislike.

For finance professionals, reviewing expense reports often means spending a lot of time on manual work, like data entry and correcting errors. Many finance teams still rely on old-fashioned methods, such as excel spreadsheets, that are time-consuming and inefficient.

The Pemo solution:

Pemo provides smart corporate cards that enable employees to make purchases on behalf of their company. These cards are linked to the company's Pemo account, which can be managed using Pemo's expense management software.

When an employee makes a purchase with a Pemo card, the transaction data is immediately sent to the Pemo app and software. The employee can add a note to the transaction to provide additional context and capture a picture of the receipt via the Pemo app.

The software then automatically categorizes the transaction based on the merchant and the type of purchase and allows the finance team to review, approve and sync the expense with their accounting software of choice - in seconds.

Challenge #2 - Card sharing and lack of transparency

Tracking expenses made using a corporate card shared amongst different team members is a hustle for finance teams.

Also, finance teams don’t become aware of transactions until the corporate card statements come in at the end of the month, which limits their ability to deliver accurate reports and forecasts.

The Pemo solution:

With Pemo, you can issue a corporate card to each team member while allowing you to maintain full control over each person's spending. This leads to more accurate expense tracking and a better employee experience.

Also, real-time visibility into transactions allows the finance teams to check reports and conduct analyses anytime, not just at the end of the month. They can be aware of the purchases made and upcoming requests, preventing duplicate spending.

Managers and employees can also benefit from real-time visibility; they can see what purchases have been made and add custom tags to each expense to classify and monitor them better.

Challenge #3 - Petty cash is a nightmare

Using petty cash can be a nightmare to track business spending because it is a small amount of cash often used for small expenses and does not require a formal approval process. Petty cash is easily accessible and can be used for personal expenses if not managed correctly. It is also common for petty cash to be managed manually, making it challenging to track and account for every transaction.

The Pemo solution:

Pemo enables you to assign a company card to every team member while retaining complete control of their expenses. You have the flexibility to establish monthly spending caps for each employee or card, limit transaction amounts, and restrict card usage to specific vendors or expense categories. This results in improved expense monitoring and a more positive work environment for your staff.

Challenge #4 - Chasing receipts is frustrating and time-consuming

The finance teams spend a lot of time hunting for receipts and other information, and they frequently end up recording transactions using their best guess instead of verified data. The process is manual, not enjoyable, and can lead to many discrepancies.

The Pemo solution:

Pemo makes collecting receipts smooth and easy for your team!

When an employee makes a purchase with a Pemo card, all transaction information is immediately sent to both the Pemo app and software. The employee may add a note to the transaction to provide further details and is prompted to take a snapshot of the receipt using the Pemo app.

Next, the software automatically classifies the transaction according to the vendor and/or expense category and allows the finance team to review, approve and sync the expense with their accounting software of choice - in seconds.

Challenge #5 - Random and disorganized spending habits

When employees use both shared corporate cards and personal cards, finance teams can struggle to control spending. They only find out about purchases when they receive the company's corporate card statements and expense reports at the end of the month, which don't show who made each transaction.

Without clear controls, unexpected and unapproved spending can happen, putting finance teams in a difficult situation. They may have to reimburse purchases that weren't allowed or deny reimbursements, leading to uncomfortable conversations with employees. This can create friction between finance and the rest of the company.

The Pemo solution:

Pemo offers a solution for assigning an individual corporate card to each team member, which enables better control over spending while improving the employee experience.

Additionally, with real-time transaction visibility, finance teams can review reports and analyze spending at any time, not just at month-end. A great way to stay on top of upcoming expenses!

Real-time visibility also benefits managers and employees by allowing them to view purchase activity and apply custom tags to expenses for improved classification and monitoring.

With Pemo, you can tackle these common business challenges and streamline your day-to-day operations.

How to sign up for a Pemo account?

Getting started with Pemo is easy. To create an account, simply sign up on our platform and follow these steps:

Step 1: Sign up with your work email

To sign up, go to our website and click on the sign-up button or use this link 👉 https://app.pemo.io/auth/sign-up/. You'll need to enter your name, email address, phone number, and basic company information. Please ensure the information you provide is accurate to prevent verification problems.

After signing up, you'll receive an email with a link to verify your account.

Step 2: Let’s verify your company

Once you sign up, you will need to complete a company verification process to be able to issue Pemo corporate cards. This process consists of providing the Pemo compliance team with some documents and information about your company, its activity, and its shareholding structure. These documents may include your trade license, memorandum of association, the ID of each shareholder and director, and other similar documents. Click here for more details on the required documents.

Step 3: Your company is verified

Once you have submitted the required documents, our compliance team will review your company’s information and might get back to you with clarifying questions if needed.

After compliance review, your company will get fully verified and approved! This process typically takes between two and ten business days.

Step 4: Let’s get your company up and running

Once your company gets verified, you will be able to:

• Invite your team to your Pemo account

• Verify your identity inside the Pemo app

• Issue your first virtual or/and physical card(s)

• Fund your Pemo virtual wallet via a bank transfer

🙌 You are ready to start experiencing the magic of Pemo!

In summary, creating a Pemo account is easy. To avoid delays, ensure your information and documents are accurate. If you encounter any problems during sign-up, please get in touch with our customer support team at [e-mail], or through the app's support chat.

What is the company verification process?

Before you can start spending with Pemo corporate cards and enjoy all the benefits and features of Pemo, our compliance team will need to verify your company.

Why does Pemo need to verify your company?

Pemo is a financial services company that follows the UAE Anti-Money Laundering regulations. We need to verify your company's legitimacy by verifying the ownership structure and management control. We are not a bank, but we have similar KYB (Know Your Business) regulations. We require documentation to ensure your company is real.

How does the company verification process work?

Step 1: Sign in to your company account on Pemo and click “Settings”

Step 2: Access the company verification process page to get started

Under "Your Company Needs to be Verified," click "Let's go" to start the verification process.

Step 3: Complete the verification form

Fill out the company verification form with accurate information and required documents. Please ensure that the required documents uploaded need to be valid (not expired). These documents include:

• Trade/Commercial License

• Memorandum of association (MoA) OR Certificate of incorporation

• Recent three-month bank statements OR bank reference letter OR latest audited financials

• Passport or Emirates ID of:

  • All shareholders owning more than 10% of the company

  • All directors and/or signatories

Note:

• If the address of your company does not appear in any of the documents provided (trade license, MoA, bank statements, or bank reference letter), you will need to provide us with proof of address (tenancy contract, lease agreement, utility bill, any government issued document).

• It is required to create a shareholder profile on the company verification form for each shareholder owning 10% or more of your company.

Step 4: Submit your verification form 👊 Team Pemo will contact you within 48 hours!

Once your company verification form is complete and includes the relevant information and the required documents, please submit your application. Pemo's compliance team will review your submission and either validate your company verification directly or get back to you with clarifying questions. The process typically takes between two and ten business days.

If you have any inquiries or need support throughout the company verification process, reach out to [e-mail]. We are here to help!

Can Pemo cards be used everywhere?

Pemo cards are pre-funded debit cards that run on the Visa Network. Visa allows electronic transactions between banks, merchants, and cardholders in over 200 countries and territories. This means that the Pemo cards can be used to make purchases online, pay at a store, or withdraw cash at ATMs in most countries worldwide.

Before you can spend on Pemo cards, you will need to fund your Pemo account (also referred to as your virtual “Wallet”). You can do so by making a bank transfer from your company’s bank account to your Pemo account using the IBAN provided for your account.

How to fund my Pemo corporate card?

When you use a corporate card with Pemo, the funds typically come from your company's bank account. The company will have set up an account with Pemo and deposited funds into its digital wallet, the “Pemo Wallet”. This digital wallet acts as an escrow account held at our partner bank (Mashreq bank).

This means that your funds are securely held, separate from Pemo's or their financial partners' business bank accounts and assets. Pemo does not receive, hold, transfer, or come into possession of your funds at any point in time.

When you make a purchase with the Pemo corporate card, the transaction is processed through the Pemo platform, and the funds are deducted from your digital wallet, the “Pemo Wallet”. Your company will then be able to download a monthly statement from Pemo detailing the transactions made with the card.

In addition, Pemo provides a centralised dashboard that allows companies to track and manage employee spending. Employees can use the Pemo app to take photos of receipts, add notes, and categorise expenses, which streamlines the expense reporting process. Pemo also offers automated expense reconciliation and reporting features, which further simplify the financial management process for companies.

How does Pemo sync with my accounting software?

Pemo can sync all card expenses, out-of-pocket expenses,s and vendor invoice information with your accounting software through its integrations with various accounting software platforms such as Quickbooks, Zoho Books, Tally, Microsoft Dynamics, Xero, Wafeq, and others. Here's a general overview of how Pemo syncs expense information with your accounting software:

1. Once you've linked your Pemo account and accounting software accounts, Pemo will automatically export expense data to your accounting software on a regular basis (daily, weekly, or monthly).

2. Pemo will export data such as transaction dates, amounts, categories, and any associated notes or receipts.

3. The exported data will then be integrated into your accounting software, which can be reconciled with your bank statements and used to create financial reports and statements.

4. Pemo's integration with your accounting software can also help automate the reconciliation process by matching transactions in Pemo with those in your accounting software.

The exact process of syncing expense information between Pemo and your accounting software may vary depending on the software you're using and the specific integration settings you've configured. Pemo provides detailed guides and support to help you set up and manage your integrations with accounting software.

If Pemo doesn't offer direct integration to your accounting software, you can download a customised CSV file from the Pemo platform that contains your expense information. You can then import this file into your accounting software by mapping the columns in the CSV file to the appropriate fields in your accounting software. This ensures that your expense data is imported correctly and matches the format required by your accounting software. Pemo provides detailed guides and support to help you customise and download the CSV file.

Does Pemo offer credit cards?

Pemo doesn't offer credit cards or loans right now. However, our current debit cards are widely accepted and can be used in a similar way to a traditional credit card - but “without a credit line”. Pemo cards are pre-funded cards, meaning you can only spend the funds you have topped up onto your account (or “Pemo Wallet”).

Pemo's main focus is to help businesses in MEA manage and report expenses with their smart corporate cards, software, and app.

Can my clients transfer money to my Pemo account?

Unfortunately no, your clients cannot transfer money directly to your Pemo account. Pemo is a platform designed for businesses to manage employee expenses, and it requires the existence of a business bank account under the name of your registered company.

For compliance reasons, this business bank account has to be the source of the funds added to your Pemo account or “Pemo Wallet”. Funds can be deposited to your Pemo Wallet via a bank transfer.

However, you can still receive payments from your clients through other means, such as a bank transfer to your business account linked to Pemo. Once the funds are received in your business account, you can then use Pemo to manage the expenses incurred with those funds, such as paying for employee expenses or vendor invoices.

If you have any questions about using Pemo for your business or managing your funds, please don't hesitate to reach out to us through our chat or email us at [e-mail]

Pemo vs other solutions in the market

Pemo vision & background

We have a strong vision of building the right solution for SMEs. Our founders are from the fintech industry with +10 years of experience. One of our founders (Valerie Konde) is from Pleo, and our Product Manager (Bobby) is from Soldo. Therefore we put our customers in the middle of our vision and provide you not only software but the entire expertise of expense management from different industries.

Our Customer service

The best product in the world will fail implementation if you don't have the right support. You'll have a dedicated Account Manager and support to help you set up your account according to your need (analytics, team workflow, payment methods, etc..), and give formation to your team. Then as a Pemo ambassador, we will be eager to get your feedback to become even better.

Our product roadmap

• An all-in-one solution means that we can cover all kinds of expenses, virtual, and physical, as well as bank transfers to suppliers.

• Our experience in the fintech industry gives us the advantage of building the right solution and features for all industries. We provide an entire system for expenses, including cards (physical or virtual), invoices (bank transfers), and out-of-pocket. We've recently launched budget management and analytics to give you the best data collection. Lastly, we partner with different accounting firms, so our accounting export provides the best automation. (Zoho, Quickbooks, Netsuite, Tally...)

Pricing

• We based our pricing on your usage of physical cards monthly- Pay as you go.

• Virtual cards are free of charge.

Every month 3 physical cards are free of charge. If more than 3 are used during the month, then it's 29 AED / active card used (edited)