Category: Float News

At Float, we’re committed to protecting the personal and financial data of our customers. Following our recent SOC 2 Type 2 Certification, we are proud to announce that Float is officially PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) certified.

Being PCI-DSS certified means that Float abides by the highest standard of security in the storage, processing, and transmission of cardholder data. While we’ve always been PCI-DSS compliant, our new PCI-DSS certification gives customers an extra layer of validation for the fact that Float protects sensitive data at every level — from employee onboarding to payment processing. 

We worked with a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), an approved external auditor, to confirm that we comply with the requirements under PCI-DSS and receive our PCI-DSS SAQ D Report & Attestation of Compliance (AOC). 

Float is one of the few Canadian financial technology companies with both certifications, demonstrating our team’s commitment to security at every step of the way (and just another reason to choose Float).

What is PCI-DSS?

For as long as there have been virtual payment systems, there’s been the risk of fraud and data breaches. PCI-DSS was established in 2006 to serve as an international baseline of data security for companies that accept or process payment cards. 

PCI-DSS is the highest level of security standard available to providers like Float. As one of the first Canadian financial technology companies to become PCI DSS certified, Float is leading the charge toward global-standard data security in the corporate cards and spend management space. 

Why PCI-DSS certification matters

Enhanced data security: Our PCI-DSS certification signifies that we have implemented robust security measures to protect payment card information and sensitive authentication data.

Increased trust: Our customers can have more confidence in the security of their transactions, knowing that their financial and personal information is handled with utmost care, per industry best practices.

Industry recognition: Achieving PCI-DSS certification places Float among a select group of organizations around the globe that are recognized for their commitment to data security and compliance.

Leading the way for holistic security

Float is now one of the few financial technology organizations in Canada with both SOC 2 and PCI-DSS certifications, demonstrating our commitment to providing a secure and reliable platform for the businesses we serve. But Float’s commitment to security goes beyond certifications and compliance—we’re working to ensure holistic security when it comes to company spending. 

Over the past few months, Float has released new features to ensure Canadian finance teams have ultimate visibility and proactive control over how, when, and why money is spent across the company:

• MFA and SAML SSO
  • Float offers both Multi-Factor Authentication and SAML Single Sign-on for customers to ensure only authorized users have access to Float accounts
• Float Cards 2.0
  • Issue cards to employees worry-free with new $0 card balances and the ability to create or approve Recurring and Temporary limits
• Merchant Controls
  • Proactively manage spending by limiting card transactions to specific merchant categories
• Reporting
  • Get real-time visibility into company spending with Float’s Reporting feature that allows teams to spot anomalies before it’s too late

Security is an ongoing focus at Float. Stay tuned to see how we’re ensuring that businesses across Canada can confidently rely on Float for their corporate card spend.

Not yet a Float customer? Book a demo with our team here and we can show you how Float can help you control your company’s spending more simply and securely. 

Float, one of Canada’s fastest growing fintech companies, has launched Float Yield, its new high yield product for Canadian SMBs. Float Yield gives businesses up to 2.7x the interest rates on their cash balances compared to traditional banks – and allows them to earn these rates on both CAD and USD funds, doubling their opportunity to save. 

Float is Canada’s first fintech to offer these rates from the first dollar, in two currencies, to thousands of Canadian SMBs – representing exceptional value in a difficult economy. A typical SMB with a $250,000 cash balance with Float Yield has the potential to earn up to $10,000 annually.

As inflation remains stubbornly high, one-in-six Canada’s SMEs are struggling – with most getting squeezed further as banks cancel or scale back credit lines and layer small business accounts with restrictive terms and fine print. 

Building A Modern Financial Platform For Canadian Businesses

Float CEO Rob Khazzam says Float Yield reflects Float’s mission to simplify corporate finances for Canadian SMEs. “Float Yield is another step forward on our path to create new financial opportunities for Canadian businesses,” said Rob Khazzam, CEO of Float. “We believe that by offering leading interest rates without the bureaucracy and fees of traditional financial institutions, Float not only enables businesses to control their spending but also earn attractive returns on their cash.”

For Khazzam, the introduction of Float Yield also signals a strategic leap forward toward Float’s vision to build a modern financial platform that powers Canadian companies and teams. 

Float currently serves thousands of Canadian SMBs with its business finance platform, facilitating over 200,000 monthly transactions for companies ranging from startups to established industry veterans.

Key Benefits of Float Yield:

• Leading Rates: Float Yield pays Canadian companies 4% on their CAD and USD Float balances from the first dollar, up to 2.7x today’s average bank rates. These rates are not teaser rates, and Float is the first fintech in Canada to offer these rates in two currencies to Canadian businesses of any size.
  
• No Lockups: Canadian businesses can seamlessly transfer and withdraw funds directly from the Float platform. Float customer balances are not invested in GICs, ETFs or money market instruments – they remain held in cash, in full, at a Tier 1 Canadian bank. 

• Fast, Free Account Opening: Opening a free Float account online automatically grants Canadian businesses access to monthly Float Yield payments in both CAD and USD. Signup takes just 15 minutes.

• Compounding Earnings: In addition to leading rates, Canadian businesses earn 1% cashback rewards on all monthly spending over $25,000 on the Float platform, in both CAD and USD. 

Float Clients Save More With Float Yield:

“Float Yield is another example of how Float uses innovation to help Canadian companies save more in today’s economy. The financial efficiency Float’s platform drives helps us focus on our mission of creating the leading AI-driven drug discovery platform,” said Stephen Vescio, VP Finance at BenchSci.

“As a local Canadian company, we take pride in partnering with Float to enhance our financial efficiency. Innovations like Float Yield allow us to bolster our business finances so we can serve our ultimate goal of strengthening our community through high-quality work,” said Sean Martin, Director of Operations at Reimar Forming & Construction in the Hamilton, Ontario area.

We’re excited to introduce Reimbursements – the simplest way for teams to manage out-of-pocket expenses, directly in Float.

Thousands of teams know that using a Float Card for company spending saves countless hours with automated approvals and smart reconciliations. Yet out-of-pocket expenses still happen from time to time. Our goal at Float is to introduce optimal ways to manage all team spending (including the odd expense that happens when you don’t have your Float Card on hand). 

Now, the same custom controls and automations that companies get when their team spends with Float Cards are available to streamline employee reimbursement requests as well! 

How it Works

So long Excel spreadsheets, email chains, and expensive software. Reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses is just 3 simple (and automated) steps in Float. 

1. The Spender Submits a Reimbursement Request. Finance teams can streamline this process by setting up custom Submission Policies to ensure all required information is submitted for smooth month-ends. 
2. The Manager Approves the Request. Custom Approval Policies notify the right Manager (or Managers) to approve the request in Float without delays. 
3. Admins Export the Approved Request for Payout. Once approved, Admins can sync reimbursement submissions to their accounting software and pay employees quickly though their payroll or accounting software.

Why it Works for Your Team

Using Reimbursements in Float’s integrated spend management solution means time and cost savings for your company that you can put back into growing your business. With Float, you’ll get to:

🧾 Simplify Team Repayments

Whether they paid with their Float Card or needed to make an out-of-pocket payment, team members now request to spend and submit expenses all in one place. No need to onboard and manage employees on multiple platforms, and finance teams get a real-time, consolidated view of company spending.

💸 Save on Software 

Every dollar counts when growing your business. Expense management software can be expensive when charging per seat (think Expensify or Concur). This costs companies thousands of dollars a month. Reimbursements is available to all of Float’s Professional customers at no additional cost per user.

🙅‍♀️ Eliminate Administrative Work

Finance teams can create custom Submission and Approval Policies to eliminate manual work. Employees simply upload their receipts and expense information, and their request automatically goes to their manager for approval so the finance team can payout (and close) faster. No more f*$%-ing expense reports.

💳 Spend on Cards Worry-free

Your team members feel happiest when they’re empowered to do their best work. This often includes needing to spend with insight and flexibility. Assigning Float Cards to employees with frequent or large expenses gives team members autonomy, while finance teams still keep control and peace of mind. In addition to Reimbursements, enjoy unlimited virtual Float Cards to spend in CAD or USD as part of Float’s free Essential plan (and free physical cards with the Professional plan). 

— 

At Float we believe Canadian finance teams deserve a financial partner that understands their unique needs. Reimbursements is yet another game-changer in the Float platform, built for Canadian companies and teams looking to streamline their expense reporting in an integrated solution. 

We’re excited to reward our customers with locked-in Pro pricing of new Enterprise features like Reimbursements (and our new HRIS Integration) – as our way of saying thanks for helping our team build the future of financial services in Canada.  

Whether you’re currently on Pro or sign up for Pro in 2023, you’ll gain access to select new Enterprise features launched this year and enjoy continued access to Float’s $99 a month Pro pricing.

Sign in to Float and start simplifying your team spend with Reimbursements. Not a customer (yet)? Book a demo with our local team to learn more!

When you make software it’s natural to focus on the nuts and bolts of how the product works. But one thing we’ve seen consistently across our customers is that Float changes the way people experience their work lives, whether you work in finance or any other role where you incur work expenses.

Our new fall brand campaign focuses on these emotions – relief, confidence, even pure delight – in a series of portraits depicting everyday work scenarios.

If you can see yourself in one of these, it’s because we turned to our customers for inspiration. Your comments come through loud and clear in our conversations, both digital and IRL. We love seeing how Float has changed the way you feel at work.

Huge thanks to our creative partners Kailee Mandel, Renga, Distilled Creative and George Street Growth for bringing this campaign to life, in Float speed, no less.

At Float, we understand the unique challenges that Canadian businesses face when it comes to managing their finances. That’s why we’re dedicated to providing innovative solutions that simplify spending and empower finance teams across the country.

Today, our team is excited to announce the launch of several new features that will give your business even more control over team spending (and savings).

Dynamic Approvers: Streamline Approval Processes

Finance teams can easily implement their expense guidelines directly in Float with automated policies and card controls. With Float’s new Dynamic Approver functionality, customers can now streamline their organization’s approval processes even more.

With this new feature, setting up your company’s organizational structure in Float has never been easier – you can now assign direct managers to team members, allowing for dynamic roles in Approval and Transaction Review policies. This means that spend requests can be automatically routed based on your company’s reporting hierarchy, in addition to individual team members. 

HRIS Integration: Keeping Employee Float Accounts Up-to-Date

We recognize the importance of keeping employee information accurate and up-to-date.

With Float’s new HRIS integration, available to Professional customers, you can effortlessly ensure that employee Float accounts reflect the latest changes in your HR system. By seamlessly syncing with popular HR systems like BambooHR, this integration saves you time, reduces administrative tasks, and maintains data integrity.

Now, you can focus on strategic financial decisions, knowing that your employee information is always current.

Transaction Reviews: Enhancing Control Over Team Spending

With the ability to issue zero-dollar card balances, top-up funds only when required, and restrict spending to specific merchant categories, Float lets finance teams enable team spending while retaining full financial control.

For companies that need an added layer of control, Admins can now set up Transaction Review Policies so that Managers can confirm that their team’s transactions were permitted under your company’s expense guidelines. This feature reinforces Float’s commitment to providing comprehensive spending management solutions for businesses of all sizes.

Built in Canada with ❤️

As a Canadian business, you deserve a financial partner that understands your unique needs. Float is committed to supporting your success by simplifying spending and providing you with the tools you need to navigate Canada’s financial landscape. 

That’s why we’re excited to reward our existing customers with locked-in Pro pricing of new Enterprise features like Transaction Reviews and our HRIS Integration – as our way of saying thanks for helping our team build the future of financial services in Canada.

Whether you’re currently on Pro or sign up for Pro in 2023, you’ll gain access to select new Enterprise features launched this year and enjoy continued access to Float’s $99 a month Pro pricing.

Take advantage of our Built in Canada offer and sign up for the Professional plan to gain access to these new Enterprise features. Sign in to Float or book a demo today with our dedicated and local team to experience the future of financial management.

Update: At Float we are committed to protecting our customers’ personal and financial data. With that commitment, we’re excited to announce Float’s SOC 2 Type 2 certification as of August 9, 2023.

To achieve this certification, an independent third party auditor reviewed Float’s security controls and confirmed what we’ve always known: Float provides enterprise-level security with the highest standard of compliance.

At Float our team is committed to protecting our customers’ personal and financial information and ensuring the highest level of security. That’s why we’re excited to continue to make Canada’s smartest corporate card also the safest with our recent SOC 2 Type 1 compliance audit. 

Float’s achievement of SOC 2 Type 1 compliance is a result of our team’s unwavering commitment to security and excellence. By undergoing a rigorous audit process, Float has demonstrated its ability to meet the stringent requirements of the SOC 2 framework.

Customers can rest assured knowing that Float has taken significant steps to ensure their data is protected at every level. The achievement of SOC 2 Type 1 compliance is just the beginning for Float, as our team continues to invest in maintaining and enhancing security practices.

In this post, we’ll explore what SOC 2 compliance means, why it is important, and how SOC 2 Type 1 compliance is yet another step towards security and excellence at Float. 

What is SOC 2 Compliance?

SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is a widely recognized auditing standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It focuses on evaluating the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of an organization’s systems and data. SOC 2 compliance demonstrates that a company has established and follows strict policies and procedures to ensure the security and privacy of customer data.

The Importance of SOC 2 Compliance

Enhanced Data Security: SOC 2 compliance assures customers that Float has implemented rigorous safeguards to protect sensitive information. This includes measures such as access controls, encryption, monitoring, and regular security assessments.

Increased Trust: Achieving SOC 2 compliance demonstrates Float’s commitment to data privacy and security. It provides customers with peace of mind, knowing that their financial and sensitive information is handled with utmost care and in accordance with industry best practices.

Regulatory Compliance: SOC 2 compliance helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, especially when dealing with sensitive financial data. Adhering to established security and privacy standards ensures Float is well-positioned to address the needs of businesses operating in highly regulated industries.

SOC 2 Type 1 Compliance: A Step Towards Excellence

Float’s SOC 2 Type 1 compliance reflects our team’s dedication to providing a secure and reliable platform for our customers. During the SOC 2 Type 1 audit, an independent third-party assessor thoroughly evaluated our organization’s systems, processes, and controls to ensure they meet the established criteria and so your business can have confidence in the safety and security of your financial information with Float. 

Float’s commitment to security goes beyond compliance. We have built our product from the ground up with control at the centre of everything we do – giving your team proactive control over who is able to spend what. Over the past few months our team has released features to ensure Canadian finance team have the ultimate visibility and control over company spending:

• MFA and SAML SSO
  • Float offers both Multi-Factor Authentication and SAML Single Sign-on for customers to ensure only authorized users have access to Float accounts
• Float Cards 2.0
  • Issue cards to employees worry-free with new $0 card balances and the ability to create or approve Recurring and Temporary limits
• Merchant Controls
  • Proactively manage spending by limiting card transactions to specific merchant categories
• Reporting
  • Get real-time visibility into company spending with Float’s Reporting feature that allows team’s to spot anomalies before it’s too late

Float’s journey towards excellence and continuous improvement is only just beginning – stay tuned for more on how our team is investing in security to ensure that businesses across Canada can confidently rely on Float for their corporate card spend.

Not yet a Float customer? Book a demo with our team here and we can show you how Float can help simplify (and control) your company’s spend. 

Two years ago, Float officially launched with a big, bold mission to simplify spend for Canadian companies and teams. 

Since then we’ve helped thousands of finance teams take control over their spending while saving millions of hours in receipt collection and reconciliations. 

As a result of providing this value, we grew revenue 4x over the past year, and over 100x since our very first month in business. We went from serving startups to a cross section of the Canadian economy, with customers now processing over 140,000 monthly transactions through Float.

Here are a few Float milestones from the last year:

New payment solutions with the launch of Float USD and Charge Card products

Since Float’s inception, USD cards have been the number one product requested by our customers. Many were frustrated by the offerings (or lack thereof) from Canada’s big banks, as most require a US legal entity, and none offer the advanced spend management tools that Float has become known for.

The response to our USD Cards has been phenomenal, resulting in a 5x increase in customers and 8x increase in transaction volume since launch. USD has become a core part of Float’s business, accounting for close to 20% of total spend.

Float’s Charge Card launched in summer 2022, offering extremely high limits compared to alternatives, with no interest or fees. Similar to our USD Cards, our Charge Card product has experienced exceptional takeup with 7x customer growth and 10x payment volume growth since its introduction.

Spend controls that lower risk while increasing productivity

The economic climate of the last year has underlined how critical it is for companies to have tight control over all spending. We help finance leaders by giving them real time visibility into spending across their business, and advanced controls that lower the risk of issuing cards to employees. 

Merchant Controls give finance teams the ability to restrict card spending by merchant category.

Float’s Expense Policy gives teams the ability to implement company expense policies directly in Float, from defining the transaction information that employees are required to submit, to assigning multiple approval layers for employee spend requests within an organization. 

Audit Logs that enable admins to easily view and export a history of cardcreation, changes, pauses, expiration, and deletion for all their Float cards to date. 

Powerful accounting automations that save thousands of hours

Every other functional team has benefited from digital transformation and modernization. Float’s spend management solution does this for the finance function. 

We shipped new automations and enhancements that save thousands of hours in manual accounting tasks, including:

• Automated receipt matching
• Personalized receipt forwarding
• Suggested GL codes

Customers have shared that with Float, month-end is much faster, they can now do continuous closes, and they can scale the finance function without having to add additional overhead.

Real-time reporting that helps teams find savings

We heard from customers that traditional providers made it difficult to have real-time visibility over spend, and no reporting capabilities to easily spot concerning trends.

With that in mind, Float launched our new Reporting functionality in close collaboration with our largest customers, a feature that is being used weekly by the majority of our customers.

Float customers can see a snapshot of company spending and be able to analyze trends over time. With financial data visualizations of both CAD and USD spending, they can view month-to-date spending and quickly identify increases or decreases in spending patterns. 

Admins can also run custom spend reports by merchant, vendor, GL code, category, cardholder, team, or tag to get a more detailed understanding of where company money is going. This level of insight can help finance teams identify areas of overspending or opportunities for cost savings.

Serving the needs of larger, more complex organizations

As Float’s customers grow, so do the needs of their finance team. Over the last 12 months, we introduced new functionality to better serve these larger midmarket customers. 

SSO + SAML enables Single Sign-On (SSO) and provides increased security and convenience for companies by allowing for just one set of secure login credentials across platforms, including Float. SAML works by passing information about users, logins, and attributes between the service providers and identity providers (iDp) including Azure, Okta, Auth0, and OneLogin.

MFA works to improve account security and prevent unauthorized login attempts by requiring an additional “factor” to verify that the person logging in is really who they say they are. This can include a text message with a unique code or a one-time-password (OTP) issued by a third party authenticator app such as Google Authenticator. 

Float’s NetSuite integration gives admins the ability to set rules to automatically code transactions with GL Codes, Vendors, Departments, Classes, Tax Codes & Locations, as well as export them to NetSuite with embedded receipts.

The modern day finance tech stack

It’s never been a more exciting time to build a company and products that serve Canadian finance teams. People across every level of finance are eager to bring modernization, automation and new solutions to the way they work. 

We are grateful to serve the most innovative and respected teams in Canada and we are excited to continue on this journey.

At Float, 2022 was a whirlwind year with lots of exciting product launches built to simplify our customers’ business spending. Going into 2023, we’re more determined than ever to make financial management even easier for companies and teams across Canada. 

Without further ado, check out how we simplified financial management for our customers in 2022 below (and read on for a sneak peek of what lies ahead). 

Giving you easy access to USD Cards

Since Float’s inception, USD cards have been the number 1 product requested by our customers. Many were frustrated by the offerings (or lack thereof) from Canada’s Big Banks, as most require a US legal entity, and none offer the advanced spend management tools that Float has become known for.

We are just at the beginning of what’s to come with Float’s USD Cards, and in 2023 we’re going to continue to build out this product (with some exciting announcements coming in Q1).

Helping you ensure company spending is within your guidelines

Having oversight and control over company spending is essential, especially as rumblings of a recession grow louder. That’s why we released Expense Policies in Float, so you can ensure purchases made on Float Cards meet your guidelines.

We also made it even easier for company Spenders to submit their expense information as soon as a purchase is made with custom expense URLs to upload receipts, tag GL codes, and enter descriptions. This year we’re focused on continuing to give finance teams greater control over company spending with Merchant Controls (and more).

Offering payment terms for your stage of growth

Big banks don’t make it easy for businesses to access corporate cards – oftentimes they’ll ask for personal guarantees or collateral, in addition to charging high annual card fees. Float’s pre-funded cards give Canadian companies easy access to corporate cards plus advanced spend management software. 

But as our customers grow, their need for extending their cash runway increases. So in 2022 we introduced Float’s new Charge Card product, offering qualifying customers 30-day unsecured credit terms with high limits and easy early repayment methods. (Interested? If you’re already a Float customer, you can apply in-app. New customers can apply online here.)

Growing with your finance team’s tech stack

Float’s direct accounting integrations with QBO and Xero allow customers to map their Chart of Accounts to Float so that transactions are easily coded (and embedded with receipts) for export at month-end. 

With many of our customers outgrowing these accounting platforms and moving to an ERP, Float launched its Netsuite integration to ensure your spend management processes grow with you.

And so much more

Sometimes it’s hard to quantify just how much work has been done in such a short amount of time. Luckily, we keep track of all our app updates, and in 2022 alone there were a whopping 5,982 of them! Here are some highlights:

• Easier on-the-go spending with new physical cards with tap functionality
• Increased account security with MFA and SAML SSO
• Decreased administrative headaches with automated receipt matching
• Easy access to audit trails for card creation and spend requests with Audit Logs

What’s ahead for 2023?

Businesses across Canada are facing a challenging environment in the months ahead. We’re all looking for ways to do more with less and find ways to save – whether that’s through cost savings or efficiencies in our administrative processes. 

That’s why in 2023 we’re focused on:

• Helping you find savings in your company spending
• Automating month-end as much as humanly possible 
• Simplifying the payment process for your company expenses

Above all, we’re dedicated to supporting our customers over the next 12 months as we navigate uncertain economic headwinds.