Tag: Credit

Best business cards with no personal credit check

design element of a couple paying online with a card

SouthWorks/ Getty Images; Illustration by Austin Courregé/Bankrate

Business credit cards are valuable tools that can help entrepreneurs and business owners manage cash flow and cover large expenses. Many business credit cards rely on personal credit checks or personal guarantees to ensure responsible card use; however, if you’re hesitant about the impact of a credit check on your personal credit score, there are a few business credit cards you can access without personal credit checks.

Just be aware that issuers may place additional restrictions to limit their risk without a personal credit check. For example, business cards with no personal credit check often come as charge cards. These must be paid off in full each month, limiting risk to the issuer, but the inability to carry a balance may make the card less appealing to you as a business owner.

With that in mind, here are some of the best business credit cards with no personal credit check.

Comparing the best business cards with no personal credit check

Card name Best for Highlights Bankrate score
Brex Card Earning rewards
  • Up to 8X points when payments made daily
  • High credit limit based on equity and spending
5.0
Ramp Visa® Corporate Card Business management tools
  • 1.5% cash back on all business purchases
  • High credit limit based on cash balances
  • Automated accounting
  • Expense management
N/A
Stripe Corporate Card Stripe customers
  • 1.5% cash back on all business purchases
  • Stripe integration
N/A
Emburse Cards Variety of card options
  • 1% cash back on all purchases with some cards
  • Expense management
N/A

Top business cards with no personal credit check

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Best business credit cards of March 2024

Whether you’re a start-up co-founder or a mom-and-pop store owner, you might benefit from having a business credit card. Business credit cards offer specific perks and advantages that are beneficial to small business owners.

Unlike personal credit cards, business credit cards enable you to separate your personal and business expenses, access larger lines of credit, and earn rewards in business-related spending categories. 

To determine the best business cards, we analyzed more than 40 cards and evaluated them based on factors like the annual fee, the rewards rate, the annual percentage rate (APR), the perks, and the insurance and protections. 

See our full methodology here.

The best business credit cards

The best business credit cards of March 2024

Note: Rates, fees, and account requirements are subject to change.

Best Flat Cash-Back Card: The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Intro Bonus


$250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your card in your first 3 months






0% intro offer 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening (after that, the variable APR will be 18.49%–26.49% variable)
Annual fee $0
Regular APR 18.49%–26.49% variable


Why we like this card 

Of the business credit cards we ranked, the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card had the highest flat cash-back rate: Cardholders earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year (then 1%). This means you can earn $1,000 cash back annually by spending up to the $50,000 cap. Plus, the card has a $0 annual fee, so you won’t have to pay to get these stellar cash back rates.

You can even earn a welcome

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CFPB Bans Excessive Credit Card Late Fees, Lowers Typical Fee from $32 to $8

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule today to cut excessive credit card late fees by closing a loophole exploited by large card issuers. The rule will curb fees that cost American families more than $14 billion a year. The CFPB estimates that American families will save more than $10 billion in late fees annually once the final rule goes into effect by reducing the typical fee from $32 to $8. This will be an average savings of $220 per year for the more than 45 million people who are charged late fees.

“For over a decade, credit card giants have been exploiting a loophole to harvest billions of dollars in junk fees from American consumers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Today’s rule ends the era of big credit card companies hiding behind the excuse of inflation when they hike fees on borrowers and boost their own bottom lines.

Concerned that credit card companies were building a business model on penalties, fee harvesting, and bait-and-switch tactics, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act). The law banned credit card companies from charging excessive penalty fees and established clearer disclosures and consumer protections.

In 2010, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors voted to issue a regulation implementing the CARD Act, which made clear that banks could only charge fees that recover the bank’s costs associated with late payment. However, the rule included an immunity provision that allowed credit card companies to sidestep accountability if they charged no more than $25 for the first late payment, and $35 for subsequent late payments, with both amounts to be adjusted for inflation each year. Those amounts have ballooned to $30 and $41, even as credit card companies have moved to cheaper, digital business

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Discover Credit Cards: Advantages and Disadvantages

Visa and Mastercard are the two largest credit card companies in the world, so it’s no surprise that people these two names come to most people’s minds when they think about credit cards. Together, these two networks have more than 75% of the global credit card market when it comes to purchase transactions. American Express, which is another popular card network comes in at just under 3%.

While these three names have traditionally dominated the credit card industry, there are other, smaller players that compete. One of these names is the Discover credit card. Although it may not be a household name like the others, it does provide cardholders with some of the same perks and benefits as its counterparts—plus a few of its own. Keep reading to learn more about Discover and how it works.

Key Takeaways

  • Although the credit card network industry is dominated by Visa and Mastercard, smaller players like Discover share a piece of the pie.
  • Discover launched its credit card with cashback rewards and no annual fees in 1986.
  • Its cashback rewards remain among the highest in the industry.
  • The company offers eight major credit cards today, each of which carries different terms and rates.
  • Discover has consistently ranked high in customer service and satisfaction among credit card companies.

History of Discover Card

The Discovery card was developed and tested in the mid-1980s by Dean Witter Financial Services Group, a subsidiary of Sears. It was introduced to consumers in a national ad campaign during Super Bowl XX in 1986 and was officially rolled out that same year.

One of the main goals of the Discover card was to set itself apart from the competition at a time when the market became saturated with credit cards. Cardholders enjoyed an option with no annual fee, which was

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What Happens If You Can’t Pay Your Business Credit Card?

In a perfect world, you can always pay your business credit card. But in reality, businesses can face inconsistent cash flow — and many ultimately fail.

If your company hits hard times and can’t pay its business credit card, you’ll have to deal with late fees and higher interest rates. Failing to pay a business credit card can also significantly damage your business and personal credit scores because almost all business cards report serious delinquencies to consumer credit bureaus.

Refinancing the debt or leveraging a balance transfer business credit card, can give you space to pay down the balance without penalties if you act at the first sign of trouble. But if the problem lingers and you don’t pay the debt, you could have to forfeit your personal assets.

Why? Because nearly all business credit cards require a personal guarantee that says, in short, if your business can’t pay the bill, you will.

What is a personal guarantee for business cards?

Think of the personal guarantee as akin to co-signing a credit card for your business. Ideally, the business will take care of its bills, but if it doesn’t, you have to. Business owners can be personally sued by credit card issuers over unpaid business card debt if the business shuts down or goes bankrupt.

This provides some assurance to the credit card company that charges on the card will be paid regardless of what happens with the business. After all, about half of all small businesses fail in the first five years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5

NerdWallet rating 
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The 8 Best Amex Business Credit Cards [2024]

American Express is a known leader when it comes to business credit cards, with many great options for business owners.

Finding the perfect Amex business credit card that brings the most value to your business operation may seem challenging. So we’re here to walk you through various choices and help you determine which card fits your business best.

Why Should You Get an Amex Business Card?

Put simply, American Express offers some of the best business credit cards on the market. Additionally, Amex offers a variety of business cards that fit many different business needs.

This includes business owners looking for a premium solution like The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, business owners looking to maximize large expenses with the American Express® Business Gold Card, and those looking for a simple, no-annual-fee card like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (rates and fees).

Beyond the benefits specific to each card, many Amex business cards offer helpful business tools that may include a pay-over-time option, no preset spending limit, the ability to add employee cards for a reduced or no additional fee, easy connection to partners like QuickBooks and Bill.com, and more.

No preset spending limit means your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts to factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

The Best Amex Business Cards

Amex Business Card Comparison Table (2024)

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Amex Business Platinum Card (Best for Travel and Lounge Access)

OUR BEST OFFER

$2,640

19.49% – 27.49% Variable

Good to Excellent (670-850)

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a premium travel rewards card tailored toward business owners who are frequent travelers with

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BC credit union offers cannabis businesses pre-approved cards

Big banks still treat cannabis-sector entrepreneurs differently than counterparts in other sectors.

Big banks still treat cannabis-sector entrepreneurs differently than counterparts in other sectors, but the ability to conduct banking is slowly getting better.

Community Savings Credit Union today said that it is launching pre-approved business credit cards for its members who operate cannabis-related businesses. 

“This industry-first offer finally gives cannabis businesses in B.C. guaranteed access to credit cards, a long overdue change in the financial services available for the industry,” the credit union said in a news release.

Many business people involved with legal cannabis-related businesses are rejected by credit-card providers because they are active in the industry. 

Community Savings Credit Union CEO Mike Schilling told BIV last fall that he sees advocating for changes to cannabis legislation as his duty, which is why he went to Ottawa to speak at an industry summit, and meet with political staff in the prime ministers’ office and the office of the minister of finance. 

His Surrey-based, seven-branch credit union, which has about $900 million in assets under management, has more than 17,000 members, including 150 that are cannabis-sector companies, he said at the time.

“Cannabis businesses have been forced to operate without a fully functioning banking system for too long,” he said today. “The industry was legalized five years ago, but big banks have ignored this sector’s needs and credit unions like Community Savings have stepped in.”

Community Savings offers three business credit cards. One is its No Fee Cash Back Visa, which allows customers to earn cash back when purchases are made. Another is its Visa Low Rate Business Card, which charges an annual fee and has a comparatively low interest rate, when monthly balances are not paid in full. It also has the Visa Infinite Business Card, which offers

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Best Business Credit Cards 2024

Business owners have a unique opportunity to turn their everyday business expenses into cash back, miles or points with the right credit card.

The best business credit cards offer valuable rewards, financing offers and other benefits at a reasonable cost. Choosing the right credit card for your business depends on how much you spend each month, which categories you spend the most in, and the type of rewards you want. It is also important to consider what your credit score is and if you’re willing to pay an annual fee. Learn more about credit cards for your business to determine which card is right for you.

Best business credit cards: Summary

  • Best for unlimited cash back: card_name
  • Best for rewards: card_name
  • Best for travel: card_name
  • Best for small business: card_name
  • Best for no annual fee: card_name
  • Best for 0% intro APR offer: U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Credit Card
  • Best for bad credit: FNBO Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card
  • Best for hotels: card_name
  • Best for gas: card_name

Our recommendations for the best business credit cards

We selected these business cards based on features for a variety of customer profiles. You’ll find each card’s welcome bonus details and why they were our choice in the sections below.

Best for unlimited cash back: card_name

Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit

Credit score needed

credit_score_needed

Welcome offer: bonus_miles_full

Why we chose it: With the card_name, you’ll earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase you make. You don’t need to worry about bonus categories or spending caps getting in the way of your rewards. Instead, you can focus on your business knowing you’ll get generous cash back rewards on every purchase.

The card comes with free management tools to enhance your business, including virtual

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Capital One to buy Discover for $35 billion in deal that combines major US credit card companies

NEW YORK — Capital One Financial said it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, in a deal that would bring together two of the nation’s credit card companies as well as potentially shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by Visa and Mastercard.

Under the terms of the all-stock transaction, Discover Financial shareholders will receive Capital One shares valued at nearly $140. That’s a significant premium to the $110.49 that Discover shares closed at Friday.

The deal marries two of the largest credit card companies that aren’t banks first, like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, with the notable exception of American Express. It also brings together two companies whose customers are largely similar: often Americans who are looking for cash back or modest travel rewards, compared to the premium credit cards dominated by AmEx, Citi and Chase.

“This marketplace that’s dominated by the big players is going to shrink a little bit more now,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit card analyst at LendingTree.

It also will give Discover’s payment network a major credit card partner in a way that could make the payment network a major competitor once again. The U.S. credit card industry is dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly with AmEx being a distance third place and Discover an even more distant fourth place. It’s unclear whether Capitol One will adopt the Discover payment system or may set up a payment network that allows parallel use of Discover and a second payment network like Visa.

“Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” said Richard Fairbank, the chairman and CEO of Capital One, in a statement.

With

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Are RBI’s restrictions on B2B credit card payments via unverified routes permanent?

RBI and Visa | Image:RBI and Visa

RBI notice to card companies: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) order restricting card networks from supporting business card issuance by non-bank intermediaries could hit the volume of card spending but will not impact profits in the card business, said a report by Macquarie Capital. The lingering question in the card service industry is, why was this done by the RBI, and whether this would be a permanent ban? Republic Business takes a deep dive. 

RBI puts B2B card pay on hold 

The entire finance and fintech industry in India was jolted, with a major shockwave earlier this week when the RBI enforced a ban on commercial payments made by corporations using intermediary fintech platforms. A notice was also sent to Visa and Mastercard to restrict such payments, according to media reports.  

The RBI restricted B2B payments made by commercial credit cards through Business Payment Solution Providers (BPSPs). Experts say central banks actions on BPSPs that were not meeting their verification norms will have a ripple effect on the volume of transactions facilitated through the card service companies. This will also impact the profits of card companies, financial expert Kishore Subramanian said. 

“The commercial card expenditure in terms of volumes will see a dip across all banks. It will go down by 30-45 per cent.  The industry average is Rs 25,000 crore a month,” added Subramanian. 

Third-party intermediary route 

As per the RBI, the card company in question was being routed through commercial payments through third-party intermediaries who didn’t comply with the RBI payment and customer identification norms. So, who are these third-party players and what is the RBI’s directive to card companies?

As per experts, these transactions made by organisations through their credit cards are generally of a lower margin, resulting in

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