An employee lands in Bogotá for a three-day meeting. Before leaving the airport, they need to confirm the hotel address, reply to an urgent email, and activate GPS to arrive on time. Their cell phone plan doesn't cover that country, so they have two options: pay for international roaming, which can be very expensive, or wait in line at a counter to find a local SIM card. There's a third option that almost no one knows about until they need it: an eSIM. Below, we explain what it is, how it works for a business, and how to avoid common mistakes when using it on a business trip.
What is an eSIM and why do companies use them?
An eSIM is a digital chip integrated into a cell phone that is activated by scanning a QR code or installing an app, without needing to insert a physical card. For a company, it provides data connectivity to a traveling employee without relying on their local carrier's roaming or needing to get a SIM card at the destination airport.
The difference from a "normal" travel SIM is not in coverage, but in logistics. With an eSIM, there's no need to remove the physical card from the phone, store it somewhere during the trip, and reinsert it upon return. The data plan lives within the device as another profile, alongside the phone's regular plan. If you want the full technical details, there's a more in-depth explanation of what an eSIM is and how it works internally.
For a company, this translates into less operational friction: no need to send SIM cards by mail before each trip, no risk of the SIM card getting lost in transit between offices, and the traveler can install their data plan days before boarding the plane, using office or home Wi-Fi.
Can I use an eSIM for my business?
Yes, and you don't need to be a large corporation with an IT department to do it. A travel eSIM is purchased and activated like any digital product: it doesn't require a business contract, a corporate account, or an approval process different from an individual purchase. This makes it equally accessible for a freelancer traveling to a trade show or a sales team of twenty people.
The most common use cases in a business context are quite specific: someone traveling to a client meeting who needs to be available via email and video call from the airport; an entire team moving to a trade show or conference and needing to coordinate via chat while out of the office; or someone working remotely for a few weeks from another country and needing a stable connection without relying on hotel Wi-Fi.
In all three cases, the common point is the same: data connection is needed from the moment the person arrives in the destination country, without having to find an open store or wait for the local operator to have SIM cards in stock.
How to request an eSIM for a business trip
The process is shorter than it seems and does not require prior coordination with any operator. In practice, there are five steps:
- Confirm phone compatibility. Not all models, especially lower-end or older ones, have eSIM technology. It's advisable to check before purchasing, especially if it's another team member's phone.
- Choose the destination and trip duration. Travel data plans are sold by country or region, and for a specific amount of data and days.
- Purchase online. The purchase is made from a cell phone or computer, without needing to visit any physical store.
- Install the profile before traveling. A QR code arrives by email and is scanned with the phone's camera. It's advisable to do this in advance, connected to office Wi-Fi, to avoid relying on the departure airport's Wi-Fi. The complete step-by-step is in how to install an eSIM.
- Activate data upon arrival at the destination. Installation and activation are distinct moments: it can be installed weeks in advance and only activated upon landing.
This last point is key for anyone who organizes frequent trips: the eSIM can be purchased up to 180 days in advance of activation, so there's no need to wait for the exact flight date to be confirmed to get it ready.
What types of companies offer eSIMs?
When searching for "eSIM for businesses," two very different types of providers usually appear, and it's helpful to distinguish them before choosing one.
The first is the traditional mobile operator: the same company with whom you already have a cell phone plan in your home country, which also offers international roaming packages or, in some cases, an additional eSIM for travel. The second is the specialized travel eSIM provider, a type of company that does not sell local cell phone plans, but exclusively temporary data for use abroad, without a contract or commitment. PuraSIM falls into this second category.
| Provider Type | Contract | Where to Buy | Intended For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Operator (roaming) | Depends on existing plan | Own operator's app or website | Those who already pay for that plan and don't want to manage anything separately |
| Specialized Travel eSIM Provider | No contract, one-time purchase per trip | Provider's website or app, independent of home operator | Occasional travelers or teams traveling to different countries |
The step-by-step eSIM guide for businesses goes into more detail on how to evaluate each option based on the type of trip the team takes.
eSIM, physical SIM, and corporate roaming compared
For a business trip, the three usual alternatives are roaming from your home operator, buying a physical SIM card at your destination, or installing an eSIM before you leave. Each solves the same problem—having mobile data outside your home country—in a different way.
| Criterion | Home Operator Roaming | Physical SIM Purchased at Destination | Travel eSIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it activates | Automatic upon arrival, without prior notice | Only after finding a point of sale | Installed before travel and activated upon arrival |
| Requires physical chip | No (uses the usual chip) | Yes, you have to insert it and store the original | No, it's a digital profile |
| Risk of loss | None | The original chip can be lost when changing it | None |
| Multiple countries on one trip | Depends on each country visited | You have to buy a new chip in each country | You can have a different profile per destination on the same phone |
No option is inherently bad; it depends on the type of trip. The complete analysis of eSIM vs. roaming and eSIM vs. physical SIM delves into the numbers and scenarios where each makes the most sense.
Compatible phones for a traveling team
Before buying any eSIM for a team member, there's one indispensable step: confirm that the specific phone is compatible. eSIM technology has been integrated into mid-range and high-end models for several years, but it's not on all devices, and it's common for a work team to have phones from different generations.
Newer models from major brands usually come with it built-in, but a corporate phone that's a few years old, or a low-end one assigned as a secondary device, might not have it. You also need to check that the phone is unlocked: one locked to a specific carrier may have restrictions on installing eSIM profiles from another provider. The detailed list of eSIM-compatible phones allows you to check model by model before organizing the trip.
Real-world example: two employees, two countries, one trip
A design agency based in Guadalajara sends two team members to an industry fair: one travels to Bogotá and the other continues to São Paulo afterward to meet with a supplier. Neither has an international plan contracted with their usual carrier.
A week before the trip, each purchases their eSIM: the first for Colombia, the second for Colombia and Brazil, as her itinerary crosses both countries. Both install the profile that same night, connected to their home Wi-Fi, without needing to wait for the day of the flight. On the departure day, each phone already has the eSIM icon ready, even though the data is not yet active.
An eSIM is not simply a smaller SIM card: it's a different way to organize trip connectivity, where the phone already has its connection sorted before the person even boards the plane.
Upon landing in Bogotá, the first person activates her plan from the phone's settings menu and, within minutes, has data to order a taxi and let people know she arrived safely. Days later, when the second person crosses into Brazil, she simply switches eSIM profiles on the same phone, without having to find a new point of sale at the São Paulo airport.
How to manage multiple eSIMs for a team
When several people are traveling—not just one—it's advisable to organize the process so that no one arrives in a country without data. The first step is to plan ahead: since an eSIM can be purchased up to 180 days before it needs to be activated, it makes sense to have them all installed weeks in advance, even before the final itinerary is completely closed, rather than buying them the night before the flight under pressure.
The second is to coordinate the installation at a calm moment, with a good Wi-Fi connection—the office or each person's home works better than airport Wi-Fi just before boarding—to avoid last-minute errors with the QR code. And the third is to make it clear, within the team, who activates each eSIM and at what point during the trip, especially if the itinerary includes more than one country.
If something doesn't go as expected—a QR code that doesn't scan, or doubts about when to activate the plan—24/7 support is available in all languages via email and WhatsApp, so the person at the destination doesn't have to solve a technical problem alone.
Common mistakes when using eSIMs on business trips
The most frequent mistake is activating the plan before leaving home "to test if it works": the contracted days start running from activation, not from the first use, so activating early means losing days of coverage without having even set foot in the destination yet.
The second is not checking phone compatibility in advance. Discovering it at the airport, when there's no time to resolve it, forces improvisation with expensive roaming or the last-minute search for a physical SIM card.
The third is relying on a single eSIM for an itinerary that crosses several countries, without first checking if the purchased plan covers that region or if an additional one is needed for the second destination. The most complete list of frequent failures and how to avoid them is in common eSIM problems.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a special phone to use an eSIM on a business trip?
Not a special one, but a compatible one: most mid-range and high-end models from recent years have it integrated, although it's advisable to confirm before purchasing, especially for corporate phones with a few years of use.
Can I share an eSIM among several employees?
No: each eSIM profile is installed on a single phone. For a team of several people traveling, each needs their own active eSIM on their own device.
What happens if an employee loses their phone with the eSIM activated?
Being a digital profile tied to that specific device, it cannot simply be transferred by moving it to another phone. For any questions about the status of an eSIM during a trip, email and WhatsApp support is available 24/7 in all languages.
Does the eSIM work the same way in multiple countries during the same trip?
It depends on the chosen plan: some cover a single country, and others an entire region. If the itinerary crosses more than one country, it's advisable to check beforehand if the plan includes that coverage or if an additional one is needed.
How do small businesses pay for an eSIM?
Just like any online purchase: it does not require a business contract or a corporate account different from an individual purchasing for themselves.
Can I buy multiple eSIMs at once for an entire team?
Yes, you can buy one for each person traveling, depending on the destination and duration of each itinerary, and install them in advance even if several people are traveling on different dates.
Does the eSIM completely replace roaming from the home operator?
It doesn't necessarily replace the usual cell phone number, which continues to receive calls and messages according to the home plan. What it replaces is the need to pay for data roaming or find a physical SIM card to have internet at the destination.
Conclusion and next steps
An eSIM for businesses is not a different product from a regular travel eSIM: it's the same tool applied to a context where one or more people need reliable connectivity as soon as they set foot in another country, without relying on roaming or finding a physical SIM card at the destination. For a small team, order matters more than quantity: confirming phone compatibility, purchasing and installing in advance—up to 180 days before activation—and clarifying who activates each eSIM and when.
If it's the team's first time using this technology, the best starting point is to review the step-by-step guide on how to install an eSIM before the next trip, and then search for the destination country in the international eSIM collection, which covers over 200 destinations.
