Payroll · head to head
Extend vs Refyne
Extend
Payroll
Virtual card issuing and spend controls layered onto existing business credit cards
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Refyne
Payroll
Earned wage access for Indian employers, with a per withdrawal convenience fee
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Extend has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Extend it depends on an existing business credit card relationship, so a company without a qualifying Amex, Visa or Mastercard business card cannot use it as a standalone card issuer.; Refyne the employee pays a convenience fee on every withdrawal and Refyne does not publish the schedule, so an HR buyer approving it as a free benefit is approving a cost that lands on the lowest paid staff.
- They diverge on capability: Extend covers Virtual card issuing, Refyne covers Payroll and attendance integration.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Extend and Refyne actually diverge.
Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Extend
- Virtual card issuing
- Per-card spend controls
- Approval workflows
- Receipt auto-matching
- ERP integrations
- API access
Only in Refyne
- Payroll and attendance integration
- Employer policy controls
- Instant withdrawal
- Automatic payroll recovery
- Employee app
- Employer dashboard
- Savings and insurance add ons
- Multi entity support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Extend
- A small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programmenot Refyne
- A company with an existing Amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limitsnot Refyne
- A finance team wanting predictable per-user pricing rather than a private quote for spend managementnot Refyne
- A larger business wanting API-driven automated card issuance tied to its existing card relationshipnot Refyne
Refyne
- A manufacturer with high attrition among shift workers who leave over payday cash gapsnot Extend
- A staffing company wanting a retention benefit that costs the employer little to deploynot Extend
- An employer replacing informal salary advances processed manually by finance every monthnot Extend
- A large retail or logistics operator standardising early wage access policy across many sitesnot Extend
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Extend
- It depends on an existing business credit card relationship, so a company without a qualifying Amex, Visa or Mastercard business card cannot use it as a standalone card issuer.
- The free Starter plan is capped at five users and 100 cards a month, which small but growing teams will outgrow quickly and need to upgrade past.
- The Pro plan enforces a ten-user minimum, so a company with only two or three people who need virtual cards pays for unused seats.
- Rewards, credit terms and dispute resolution still run through the underlying card issuer, so Extend cannot improve or change those terms; it only adds a control layer on top.
- Deeper ERP integrations such as NetSuite and Dynamics 365 are reserved for the custom-quoted Enterprise tier, so companies needing them lose the pricing transparency of the published Starter and Pro plans.
Refyne
- The employee pays a convenience fee on every withdrawal and Refyne does not publish the schedule, so an HR buyer approving it as a free benefit is approving a cost that lands on the lowest paid staff.
- A flat fee on a small withdrawal a few days before payday is expensive when annualised, which means the product can be more costly per rupee than the informal advances it replaces.
- Because usage generates revenue, the provider's incentives favour higher withdrawal frequency, which runs against the financial wellbeing framing used to sell it internally.
- It depends on accurate live attendance and payroll data, so employers with monthly batch payroll or unreliable attendance capture get conservative accrual limits that frustrate employees.
- Earned wage access in India sits in an unsettled regulatory space between payroll advance and credit, and a Reserve Bank of India view that reclassifies it would change the product for existing customers mid contract.
Pricing, plan by plan
Extend
Free- StarterFree
- Up to 5 users and 10 guests
- Up to 100 virtual cards per month
- One expense category
- Pro$11.99/month
- 10 user minimum
- Up to 500 virtual cards per month
- Custom approval workflows and QuickBooks Online integration
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Unlimited users and virtual cards
- API access for automated card issuance
- NetSuite and Dynamics 365 integration, dedicated account manager
Refyne
On request- Refyne for employers$undefined/year
- Employer cost quoted per customer and often nil
- Employees pay a flat convenience fee on each withdrawal
- No interest charged, but the per withdrawal fee is not published
Which should you pick?
Choose Extend if
- You need virtual card issuing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want per-card spend controls.
Choose Refyne if
- You need payroll and attendance integration.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want employer policy controls.
Questions people ask
- Is Extend or Refyne better?
- Neither clearly leads. Extend starts at Free and Refyne at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Extend or Refyne?
- Extend has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Extend and On request for Refyne.
- Does Extend or Refyne run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Extend for free?
- Yes. Extend has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Refyne starts at On request.
- What is Extend best used for?
- Extend is most often used for a small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programme, a company with an existing amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limits, a finance team wanting predictable per-user pricing rather than a private quote for spend management, a larger business wanting api-driven automated card issuance tied to its existing card relationship. Of those, a small business wanting free vendor-level virtual card controls without opening a new card programme and a company with an existing amex or bank business card wanting tighter per-vendor spend limits are not what Refyne is typically brought in for.
- What can Extend do that Refyne cannot?
- Extend covers Virtual card issuing, Per-card spend controls, Approval workflows, Receipt auto-matching. Refyne covers Payroll and attendance integration, Employer policy controls, Instant withdrawal, Automatic payroll recovery.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Extend: Does Extend replace our business credit card?
No, it issues virtual cards against an existing American Express, Visa or Mastercard business credit line rather than opening a new card programme.
Refyne: Does the employee pay to withdraw?
Yes. There is no interest, but a flat convenience fee is deducted per withdrawal. Get the exact schedule in writing before rollout.
Extend: Is there really a free plan?
Yes, the Starter plan is free for up to five users, ten guests and 100 virtual cards a month.
Refyne: Does the employer pay anything?
Often little or nothing, which is precisely why the cost sits with the worker. Employers who want a genuinely free benefit must negotiate to absorb the fee.
Extend: What does Pro cost?
11.99 dollars per user per month billed annually, or 12 dollars monthly, with a ten-user minimum.
Refyne: Is this a loan?
It is structured as access to already earned wages recovered at payroll, not as lending, but the regulatory classification in India is not fully settled.
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