Understanding Your Payment Options: Prepaid, Prepaid + Deposit, and Invoice + Deposit

Choose how you pay. Stay in control.

Choosing the right payment tier for your Monochrome Business Account comes down to how your business prefers to manage cash flow.

Some businesses want to fund rides in advance. Others want a safety buffer. Some prefer to let employees travel first and settle the bill later.

There is no single right option. The best tier is the one that fits the way your business operates.

1. Prepaid: Pay First, Ride After

Prepaid works like a funded wallet.

You add money to your Monochrome Business Account, and every completed ride is deducted from that balance.

For example, if you fund your wallet with ₦200,000, your team can use that balance for sales visits, airport transfers, client meetings, and other business journeys. Each completed trip reduces the available balance until it eventually reaches zero.

Once the wallet is empty, business-paid bookings stop until the account is topped up again. Team members can still use another payment method if they need to continue travelling.

There is no invoice to settle later and no spending beyond the amount already funded.

Best suited to: businesses that want close control over spending, companies that are new to business travel management, or teams that prefer to work within a clearly defined available balance.

What to watch: because there is no backup balance, an empty wallet means business-paid rides stop immediately. If your team uses Monochrome regularly, keep an eye on the wallet balance and top up before it runs too low.

2. Prepaid + Deposit: Prepaid With a Safety Net

Prepaid + Deposit works in much the same way as the standard Prepaid tier, but with an additional layer of protection.

You fund your wallet as normal, and completed rides are deducted from the prepaid balance.

The difference appears when that balance reaches zero.

Instead of business-paid bookings stopping immediately, the account can begin using the deposit as a temporary backup. This allows your team to continue travelling while the prepaid wallet is being topped up.

The deposit is not unlimited credit. Once the available deposit has also been used, business-paid bookings stop.

Best suited to: companies that like the discipline of prepaid spending but want extra protection against operational disruption.

This can be useful where a finance team funds the account periodically but there may occasionally be a short delay between the wallet running low and the next top-up.

Something worth knowing: your deposit acts as your safety buffer. It gives your business additional flexibility without removing the spending limit.

3. Invoice + Deposit: Ride Now, Settle Later

Invoice + Deposit is designed for businesses that prefer periodic billing rather than managing a live prepaid wallet.

Instead of funding a spendable balance, your business places a deposit that acts as security for the account.

Your employees can then book and take business rides throughout the agreed billing period without needing to monitor a wallet balance.

At the end of your chosen billing cycle, weekly or monthly, Monochrome generates an invoice covering the rides taken during that period.

The business administrator can review the invoice and settle the amount due.

Your deposit does not normally pay for the rides. It supports the account and sets the maximum level of spending available during the billing cycle.

As long as invoices are paid as required, the deposit remains intact.

Best suited to: established businesses with predictable travel activity, companies with a finance process built around regular invoicing, and organisations that would rather review one consolidated bill than manage frequent wallet top-ups.

What to watch: because spend is not being deducted from a prepaid wallet, it is important to keep an eye on your Total Spent figure during the billing cycle.

This helps you understand how much of your available limit has been used and gives you time to identify unusual activity before the invoice is issued.

If spending reaches the deposit-backed limit, business-paid bookings can stop until the account position is resolved, and team members may need to use another payment method.

Something worth knowing: you can review activity at any time through the Trips section, so your invoice should confirm spending you have already been able to see rather than introduce unexpected charges.

So, Which One Is Right for Your Business?

The difference between the three tiers is mainly about when your business pays and how much flexibility you want.

With Prepaid, you fund your wallet before anyone travels. Every ride is deducted from that balance, and once the balance reaches zero, business-paid rides stop. This gives you the tightest day-to-day control over spending.

With Prepaid + Deposit, you still fund your wallet in advance, but the deposit acts as a backup if the wallet runs out. This gives you the same prepaid structure with an extra layer of breathing room.

With Invoice + Deposit, your employees can take rides throughout the billing period without relying on a prepaid wallet. Your spending is tracked during the cycle, and the business settles the invoice afterwards. The deposit acts as security and sets the spending ceiling.

So the choice is really about how your business prefers to work.

If you want strict control and simple upfront funding, Prepaid may suit you best.

If you want prepaid control with a safety buffer, Prepaid + Deposit gives you more flexibility.

If you prefer consolidated billing and want your team to travel without thinking about wallet top-ups, Invoice + Deposit may be the better fit.

Your needs may also change over time. A business that starts on Prepaid may later find that Prepaid + Deposit or Invoice + Deposit better matches its travel volume and internal finance process.

Your payment tier should support the way your business works today, and it can be reassessed as your needs change.

Choose how you pay. Stay in control.