A corporate card is a business credit, debit, or charge card whereby the business is legally responsible for the charges made on the card rather than the individual. Corporate cards provide you with cash flow consistency and enable your team to spend within budgets.
A corporate card isn't always a credit card. Credit cards have a set limit, and your charges will accrue interest. With a credit card, you pay the outstanding balance and interest back over a period of time in installments. Alternatively, some corporate cards are charge cards, not credit cards. Charge cards also provide a limit but must be paid back via direct debit in a set time, usually 30 to 60 days. Corporate cards are often integrated with expense management software to manage business expenses and reduce wasteful spending.
Getting a corporate card is relatively easy if you have established a business. To get a corporate card, simply fill out an application form online, provide your business financial information, wait for the underwriting team to approve your application and determine a limit, then order and start using your card. Each corporate card provider has its own criteria for applying, so be sure to read the terms and conditions.
While putting personal expenses on your corporate card isn't illegal, it's usually against the terms of service with your card provider. It also comes with tax implications. It's best to separate business and personal expenses so you don't run into trouble.
Some corporate card providers will run a hard enquiry on your credit history and/or report your repayment behaviour to credit bureaus in the case of credit products. Your overall credit usage and behaviour may affect your credit score. At Cape, we only run soft credit checks. A soft credit check won't affect your credit score; however, the application will show on your credit report.
Yes, all corporate cards have a limit, even if that limit is implied. Many providers won't advertise maximum credit limits because they determine individual limits based on the company's financial performance. You will need a good business credit rating, consistent revenue, and minimal other debt to get a high credit limit with a corporate card. Cape offers credit limits up to $500,000, and you can assign portions of that limit to your team using our spend management software.