Brex

## How does Brex enforce spend policy controls compared to Concur's expense management approach?

## Overview Brex enforces spend policy controls primarily through a pre-transaction, authorization-layer model, which differs fundamentally from SAP Concur's traditional post-transaction expense auditing approach. Brex's system is designed to prevent out-of-policy spending before it occurs by embedding policy rules directly into the payment authorization process. When an employee uses a Brex corporate card, the transaction is evaluated in real-time against a set of pre-configured controls. If a purchase violates these rules, it is automatically declined at the point of sale. This proactive enforcement mechanism moves financial control 'upstream' in the spending process, ensuring a high degree of compliance from the outset. In contrast, SAP Concur has historically operated on a reactive model, where policy violations are identified 'downstream' after an expense has already been incurred and submitted for reimbursement. ## Key Features Brex's Pre-Transaction Control Mechanisms: Brex's integrated platform, which combines corporate cards with spend management software, enables a variety of real-time controls. Finance teams can configure specific rules, such as blocking certain Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) to prevent spending at prohibited types of businesses, like bars or casinos. They can also create merchant allow/deny lists to restrict purchases to approved vendors. Per-card spending limits can be set for maximum transaction amounts or for daily, monthly, or total budgets. These limits are hard-coded, and any attempt to exceed them results in an immediate decline. Furthermore, Brex introduced AI-powered compliance features in its 2025 releases, including an AI agent that can instantly confirm transactions against policy, flag exceptions, and simplify receipt management. This real-time feedback loop not only enforces policy but also educates employees on spending rules at the moment of purchase. ## How It Works SAP Concur's Post-Transaction and Hybrid Model: SAP Concur's strength lies in its comprehensive post-transaction auditing and deep integration with large enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, particularly SAP. Its core workflow involves employees submitting expense reports, which are then reviewed against company policy by the Concur Audit Service. This service uses a powerful policy engine to flag non-compliant items, duplicates, and other exceptions. While this is a robust system for ensuring compliance, it is fundamentally reactive; it catches violations after the money has been spent. Over time, Concur has incorporated pre-spend features, such as Concur Request, which allows for pre-approval of travel and large expenses. However, this pre-approval typically does not create a hard block on the card at the network level. More recent updates, like a partnership with Mastercard announced in July 2025, provide real-time alerts to prompt employees for receipts at the point of sale, but this still does not decline the transaction for policy violations in the same way Brex does. Concur Verify, an AI-driven service launched in late 2025, accelerates the audit process by reviewing 100% of expense reports upon submission, but this is still a post-transaction control. ## Comparison to Alternatives Implementation and User Experience Comparison: The two different models lead to distinct implementation and user experiences. Brex is often cited in third-party reviews for its modern, intuitive user interface and ease of setup, frequently requiring just a single demo. Because the card and software are a single, integrated product, the policy enforcement is seamless. This generally leads to a smoother change management process and high employee compliance, reported at 99%. In contrast, SAP Concur is known for its complexity and steeper learning curve. Its implementation can be a significant undertaking, requiring substantial IT and finance resources, though it offers unparalleled integration with the broader SAP ecosystem, making it a preferred choice for large, global enterprises already using SAP. The employee experience on Concur can involve more manual work, such as receipt matching, and potentially slower reimbursement cycles. ## Summary In conclusion, Brex and SAP Concur represent two different philosophies of spend control. Brex's pre-transaction model prioritizes preventing out-of-policy spend from ever happening through real-time, authorization-layer controls on its integrated card. This approach is proactive, offers immediate feedback, and is characterized by a modern user experience. SAP Concur's model is primarily reactive, focusing on comprehensive post-transaction auditing to detect and rectify policy violations after they occur. While it is evolving with near-real-time features, its core strength remains in its robust policy engine and deep integration within complex enterprise environments.