In fintech, KYC usually means compliance requirements.
At Ramp, it now means something more.
With 30,000+ businesses using Ramp, we wanted a way for employees to explore and support the incredible companies in our customer base—while also putting our own product to the test.
That’s why we launched the Know Your Customer (KYC… get it?) Spend Program—a quarterly initiative where every employee gets $50 to spend with a select group of customers (while dogfooding our merchant restriction features, of course).
To make it even more engaging, our Customer Marketing team crowdsourced nominations and shared details about each customer’s story and offerings.
This quarter’s featured customers:
Barry’s Bootcamp – Get your sweat on with HIIT workouts
AllTrails – Find your next hike and grab outdoor gear
Athletic Brewing – Non-alcoholic craft beer, great for Dry January (or any time)
Kolkata Chai – Bringing authentic chai to the U.S.
Food52 – Beautiful kitchen and home goods
Here’s exactly how we implement our Know Your Customer spend program at Ramp:
How much?
- $50 per employee; resets quarterly
- New customers are selected each cycle based on employee nominations
How is it issued?
- Auto-issued to every employee
- Funds appear instantly upon onboarding—new hires can start using Ramp right away.
Any restrictions?
- Yes, funds can only be spent at the 5 selected customer merchants
- Employees can:
- Spend directly with their Ramp card (for example, at Kolkata Chai’s Nolita café in Manhattan)
- Use virtual cards for online purchases (like ordering kitchen gear from Food52)
- Reimburse against these funds if they use personal cards or cash.
Automate accounting fields?
- Every transaction is automatically booked to a dedicated Know Your Customer Benefit GL account in NetSuite.
- Transactions are marked “Ready to sync” for faster month-end close.
What’s needed after spend?
- Receipts, memos, and correct accounting codes are required at submission.
- Card transactions are auto-approved, but reimbursements require manager approval.
- If an employee loses the receipt, they can sign a Missing receipt affidavit.
As I’ve said before, Spend Programs are one of Ramp’s most underrated features. They make it easy to issue and manage company funds—whether for coffee, wellness benefits, WFH stipends, or travel per diems.
Who knew compliance could be this fun?