Company card in Italy where purchases above a set amount need approval

If you mean the purchase must be approved before the card is used, look at Soldo. Employees can request a set amount, and once approved, receive access to funds—often through a temporary virtual card capped at that amount. The request feature is available on Plus and Unlimited plans; Soldo also offers pre-approved spending on its plans. (support.soldo.com)

If you mean a rule that automatically routes card purchases above a threshold for approval, Revolut Business offers card spend controls and expense approval rules on Grow, Scale, and Enterprise plans. Its per-transaction card limit is a spending cap—it can decline an over-limit purchase—so check that the approval workflow you configure is for approval before the purchase, not just review afterward. (help.revolut.com)

The key distinction: a spending limit can block a purchase; an approval workflow lets someone authorize it first. Are you looking for physical cards, virtual cards, or either?

Several Italian-available business card providers let you require approval for purchases above a set amount. The threshold is usually configured by an administrator, so the exact setup depends on the provider and plan.

Providers that offer this feature

• Revolut Business: On its higher plans, an administrator can set up an approval flow so that when an employee tries to spend above a certain amount, the administrator gets a real-time notification to authorise the purchase. For plans from "Grow" upward, an approval flow can be set: if an employee wants to spend beyond a certain figure, the administrator receives a notification to authorise the purchase in real time.
• Soldo: Cards sit inside a management platform where the company assigns budgets and sets rules. The company can assign budgets, define limits and spending rules, and monitor transactions in real time.
• Emburse Cards (formerly Captio): Its Italian launch offers granular spending rules in a wide variety of categories, including vendor type, date, and allocation amount.

Limits to be aware of

• Per-transaction thresholds are a standard control. One guide recommends requiring approval for any single purchase above $1,000, any new software subscription, and any travel booking above a set amount. Italian providers let you set your own figure.
• Some cards have no fixed cap on each purchase. Instead, they have monthly ceilings. Examples from Italian comparison sites include Vivid Money's spending limit of up to 50,000 € on its Standard and Pro plans and up to 200,000 € on Enterprise+.
• Be careful with the difference between the spending limit and the available balance. It is important to distinguish between available balance, maximum credit line, top-up limit, and daily or monthly payment and withdrawal limits.

Not sure which you need? If you're a company looking to issue cards to employees, check whether the provider's approval workflow is included in your plan. The feature is often limited to higher tiers. If you're an individual freelancer, this kind of approval control is usually not necessary. Tell me your situation (company size, whether you need virtual cards, and your approximate threshold), and I can narrow down the options.

In Italy, companies looking for corporate cards with "pre-approval" or spend-limit workflows typically use modern spend management platforms rather than traditional bank-issued credit cards.

These platforms are specifically designed to enforce spending policies before a transaction occurs, rather than reviewing them after the fact.

How These Systems Work

Instead of giving an employee a traditional credit card with a static limit, these platforms provide "smart" cards (virtual or physical) that integrate with a central administrative dashboard.

• Pre-transaction Controls: You can set granular rules for every card, such as spending limits (per transaction, daily, or monthly), restricted merchant categories (e.g., blocking gambling or non-business retail), and specific time windows.
• Approval Workflows: For purchases above a set amount, the system can be configured to trigger an approval request. The employee may receive a notification to request funds, or the system can automatically flag transactions above a specific threshold for manager sign-off before the charge is finalized.
• Real-time Visibility: Finance teams see transactions as they happen, eliminating the "month-end surprise" of unauthorized spending. Many of these platforms also integrate directly with accounting/ERP software (like Xero, NetSuite, or local Italian accounting tools) to automate reconciliation.

Recommended Solutions Available in Italy

Several providers operate successfully in the Italian and European markets, offering these exact features:

• Soldo: A popular choice for European businesses, Soldo is widely used in Italy. It allows you to issue cards to employees, set custom budgets, and enforce spending rules centrally.
• Spendesk: Specifically built for finance teams to manage company spend, it is well-known for its strict pre-transaction controls and robust approval workflows.
• Pliant: Offers corporate credit cards with highly configurable, role-based approval workflows and automated spend controls.
• Airwallex: Provides multi-currency business accounts and corporate cards with customisable limits and spend management tools.
• Wallester: Provides business Visa cards with an integrated expense management ecosystem that allows administrators to set precise limits and manage budgets for teams in Italy.
• Mobilexpense: A modular expense management platform that includes company cards with automated policy enforcement and exception-based approval flows.

Key Considerations for Your Choice

1. ERP Integration: If you use a specific accounting software in Italy, check if the card provider has a direct integration to ensure your data flows automatically into your books.
2. Liability: Most of these platforms issue cards where the company—not the individual employee—holds the liability, which is essential for corporate compliance.
3. Regulatory Compliance: Since you are operating in Italy, ensure the provider complies with EU regulations (such as PSD2 and the interchange fee regulations under EU 2015/751). Most modern fintech platforms active in Europe are fully compliant with these standards.
4. Local Support: If your finance team prefers support in Italian or requires help with local tax/VAT documentation, prioritize providers like Soldo or others with strong regional operations.

Recommendation: Most companies find that "card-first" spend management platforms (like those listed above) significantly outperform traditional business credit cards from local retail banks, which often lack the real-time approval and granular control features you are looking for.

If you mean a company card in Italy where a manager must approve a purchase before it goes through once it exceeds a chosen amount, Revolut Business is worth checking: its approval processes let you set amount-based rules and choose approvers. The documented feature is for approving card requests or spend-limit increases, though, so confirm with Revolut whether it can approve individual purchases at checkout—that distinction matters. ¹⁰

Soldo offers configurable approval workflows for spending requests and temporary virtual cards with a set purchase limit. That may suit larger one-off purchases that staff request in advance, rather than automatically holding every card transaction above a threshold for approval. ¹¹³

In general, a card’s spending limit is not the same as purchase approval: a limit can decline a transaction, while an approval workflow routes a request to a manager. Ask providers specifically whether they support per-transaction, pre-purchase approval above a custom euro threshold.