What it is
A card issued to the business, almost always backed by the owner's personal guarantee. 62% of employer firms use one regularly (Federal Reserve, 2026). Some cards start with a 0% rate on purchases or on balances moved from another card, usually for about 12 months, then a variable rate applies.
What it really costs per year
Ongoing rates on business cards run about 13–29%; the Federal Reserve's benchmark for bank credit-card plans was 21.2% in August 2026. A 0% offer costs nothing if the balance is paid off before it ends, but moving a balance usually costs a 3–5% fee up front.
That fee looks small and isn't: a 5% transfer fee on money repaid within three months works out to about 30% a year. Whatever is left when the 0% period ends starts costing the full rate the next month.
How fast the money comes
An existing card is there today. A new card is usually decided within days and arrives in one to two weeks.
Who qualifies
- Mostly the owner's personal credit: the cards with the best offers want a score around 690 or higher.
- Revenue matters for the limit. There's often no minimum time in business.
Where it breaks
- The 0% cliff: a balance left at the end reprices to roughly 13–29%, and a late payment can end the offer early.
- Business cards don't get all the protections consumer cards do (the CARD Act's limits on raising rates on existing balances, for example), so terms can change faster.
- You're personally liable, and many issuers report the card to your personal credit, where a high balance can lower your score.
- Too short-term for a buildout: a long-lived project on a card usually ends up at the full rate.
Compare with
- Bank loans and lines of credit: yearly cost about 7–11%, money in 2–8 weeks.
- Equipment and vendor financing: yearly cost about 6–22%, money in days to 2 weeks.
- Merchant cash advances (MCAs) and processor capital: yearly cost about 23% to over 130%, money in 1–3 days.