Business vs Corporate vs Charge Cards

What is the Difference?

The quickest way to make sense of these cards is to ask two separate questions: who is the card for, and how do you repay it?

American Express sells all three types. It splits its UK range into business and corporate cards. It also states separately that its Business Gold and Business Platinum cards are charge cards rather than regulated credit agreements.

The first question decides your eligibility, who is liable and how many cardholders you can manage. The second decides your cash flow, your interest risk and your legal protection. Put the two answers together, and every card on the UK market fits one box of the grid below.

In practice, the bottom-left box is the thinnest. Stripe's guide to corporate cards for UK companies notes that many UK corporate programmes run as charge cards. NatWest lists its onecard billing type as a centrally billed charge card.

Glossary of Key Terms

What is a Business Credit Card?

A business credit card is a revolving credit line for a sole trader, partnership or company. It comes with a set limit, an interest-free period on purchases and the option to pay only a minimum amount each month.

Lloyds is a textbook high street example. It offers:

• limits of £1,000 to £25,000

• up to 56 days interest-free

• a 14.9% variable purchase rate (15.95% representative APR)

• Eligibility for sole traders, partners and company directors who already bank with Lloyds

The detail we find most business owners miss is lower down the page. Lloyds says it will credit check both you and your business, and that a guarantee may be needed for limited companies and LLPs. So even a card in your company's name can come back to you personally. That's why business credit cards suit owners who are comfortable standing behind the borrowing.

Who Business Credit Cards Suit

• Sole traders and partnerships, who are often shut out of charge and corporate cards

• Businesses with lumpy cash flow that may need to spread a large purchase over a few months

• Owners who want a small number of cards with simple spending controls

• Businesses that already bank with Lloyds, NatWest or HSBC, whose cards are only open to existing customers

What to Watch For

• Rates rise steeply once you carry a balance. Representative APRs on the cards in this guide run from 15.95% (Lloyds) to 34.9% (Funding Circle). Barclaycard's Premium Plus reaches 56.8% once its £150 fee is included.

• Cashback often has a spend threshold. Barclaycard Select Cashback and Lloyds both pay their headline cashback only in months where spending reaches £2,000.

• Per-cardholder fees add up as your team grows. See the cost table below.

What is a Corporate Card?

A corporate card is a company-wide programme for a larger organisation. The business is the borrower, many employees hold cards, and a finance team sets limits and controls centrally.

NatWest's onecard shows how this works in the UK:

• Who can apply: limited companies, public sector bodies, partnerships of four or more partners and charities, with turnover of £2 million or more

• Cost: £45 per cardholder

• Protection: up to £1.5 million a year of insurance against employee misuse

• Controls: monthly and single-transaction limits for each card

That list of eligible businesses is telling. Under the Consumer Credit Act, partnerships of two or three partners are treated as individuals. A corporate programme that starts at four partners is built to sit outside consumer credit rules altogether.

In other words, a corporate card isn't a premium business card. It's a different product altogether, priced and regulated for organisations rather than people.

How Does Liability Work on a Corporate Card?

If you're an employee being offered a card, ask which model applies before you sign anything. A combined liability card can leave you personally responsible for spending your employer disputes.

What Turnover Do You Need for a Corporate Card?

There's no single legal threshold, but UK banks draw their own lines, and when we compared them, a pattern emerged.

The result is that, in UK bank terms, 'corporate' starts somewhere between £2 million and £6.5 million of turnover. Below that, you're comparing business cards, whatever the marketing calls it.

What is a Charge card?

A charge card lets you spend now and pay the full statement balance later, usually by Direct Debit. There's no option to roll the balance into the next month.

Two high street examples show how this works:

• Lloyds' Business Charge Card: the balance must be paid in full from your Lloyds current account each month. You get up to 42 days interest-free, and limits start at £1,000.

• Barclaycard's Select Charge card: costs £42 a year with no extra cardholder fees, and gives up to 38 days to pay.

The repayment rule is the point. A charge card works as a short, free float on your spending, as long as the money is in the account when the bill lands. It also removes the temptation to let costs drift into expensive debt. That makes charge cards a strong fit for businesses with steady cash flow, and a risky one for businesses whose income arrives late or unpredictably.

Are Charge Cards Always Interest-Free?

No. In practice, a modern charge card is interest-free only for as long as you pay on time.

• Amex Business Gold: American Express says its Business Gold card comes with a line of credit through its Flexible Payment Option, charged at 29.1% p.a. (variable) if you use it.

• NatWest onecard: charges monthly interest of 1.6% on balances not cleared by the due date. It also offers paid grace periods of 0.45%, 0.55% or 0.70% of the statement balance for 14, 21 or 28 days.

Here's what a £5,000 balance left unpaid for one month could cost, using each provider's published rates.

BusinessComparison calculation from rates published in October 2026. The rate you're offered may differ.

The takeaway is counterintuitive. A cheap high street credit card can cost less than a charge card's fallback credit line if you slip. Choose a charge card for the discipline, not on the assumption that it can never charge interest.

Do Charge Cards Have a Spending Limit?

Usually, yes.

• Amex describes its business card limit as dynamic, adjusting to your spending and repayments. That's where the "no limit" reputation comes from.

• Lloyds asks you to stay within your agreed limit on its charge card.

• Barclaycard sets a tailored limit on Select Charge.

When we speak to business owners, the belief that a charge card can absorb any purchase is one of the most common we hear. Check the limit before you plan a large one-off payment.

Which UK Cards Fall Into Which Category?

We checked provider pages for each card below in October 2026. Where we couldn't confirm a figure on the provider's own site, we've marked it with an asterisk.

Business Credit Cards

Figures from third-party listings in 2026, not confirmed on the provider's own page.

Business Charge Cards

Corporate Cards and Programmes

How Do the Costs Compare?

Headline annual fees only tell part of the story. The table below adds the costs that change most between cards: extra cardholders, interest-free days and spending in other currencies.

*Third-party listing, not confirmed on the provider's page.

Who Is Liable, and Will It Affect Your Personal Credit?

Trading as a limited company doesn't automatically keep business card debt away from you. Two examples:

• Lloyds may ask for a guarantee from limited companies and LLPs, and credit checks both the owner and the business.

• American Express requires Business Gold applicants to be a director or member who earns at least £20,000 a year, so your personal finances are part of the decision.

If you sign a personal guarantee, the lender can pursue you for the balance if the company can't pay. Before you apply, ask the provider directly whether a guarantee is needed and what credit searches it will run on you.

Do These Cards Come With Section 75 Protection?

In most business cases, no. Under Section 75, your card provider is jointly liable with the seller for breach of contract or misrepresentation. But that only applies to a regulated credit agreement with an individual.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has applied this both ways:

• Limited company: it found Section 75 did not apply to a Capital on Tap card, because the credit was provided to a company.

• Sole trader: it found Section 75 did apply to a sole trader, because a sole trader isn't a separate legal entity from the person running the business.

In practice, chargeback is the main safety net for business card purchases. It's a card scheme process rather than a legal right, so act quickly if something goes wrong and keep your evidence. If a large purchase from an unfamiliar supplier would hurt your business if it went wrong, factor that into how you pay.

How Many UK Companies Use Business Cards?

Credit cards are the most widely used form of finance among UK SMEs, ahead of overdrafts and leasing. Three recent reports agree:

• SME Finance Monitor: 21% of SMEs used a credit card in the three months to March 2026, up from 17% in the last quarter of 2025.

• British Business Bank: its Small Business Finance Markets report, published in March 2026, also put credit cards at the top, at 19%.

• Businesses with staff: the Small Business Survey Scotland 2024 to 2025 found 35% of SME employers used credit cards, the most common form of finance in that survey too.

These surveys use different samples, so the figures aren't directly comparable. But the pattern matters for your decision.

Card use roughly doubles once a business employs people. That tells us cards are used as team spending tools as much as for borrowing, so we'd weigh cardholder controls and per-card fees at least as heavily as the interest rate.

Common Misconceptions

"A corporate card is just a card for bigger spenders"

It's a different product. Corporate programmes are built for organisations, often with turnover thresholds of £2 million or more, company liability and central billing. A small limited company will almost always be offered a business card instead.

"Charge cards have no spending limit"

Most do. Amex uses a dynamic limit that moves with your spending, while Lloyds and Barclaycard set an agreed limit on their charge cards.

"Charge cards don't charge any interest"

They can. Amex Business Gold and Platinum include an optional credit line at 29.1% p.a., and NatWest's onecard charges 1.6% a month on late balances.

"Any small business can get an Amex card"

Not any more. Older guides describe Amex Business Gold as suitable for sole traders. As of October 2026, Amex lists both Business Gold and Business Platinum as available only to limited companies and LLPs.

"My business card gives me the same protection as my personal card"

Usually not. Limited companies get no Section 75 cover, and charge cards are excluded entirely. Funding Circle, for example, states on its cashback card page that Section 75 doesn't apply to its business card.

Which Type of Card Suits Your Business?

How to Choose

1. Start with your legal structure. Sole traders and partnerships of two or three are limited mostly to high street business credit cards. Limited companies and LLPs can access everything.

2. Decide whether you'll ever carry a balance. If yes, choose a credit card and compare representative APRs. If no, a charge card's discipline is worth having.

3. Count your cardholders. Multiply any per-card fee by your headcount, then check whether a spend waiver applies.

4. Check who you'd be liable to. Ask about personal guarantees and credit searches before you apply.

5. Look at where you spend. If more than a few hundred pounds a month goes on foreign currency, a 0% or 0.99% non-sterling fee can outweigh an annual fee.

6. Check whether you need to switch banks. Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC cards require their own business current account. Amex asks only for a UK bank account, and Funding Circle says you don't need a current account with it. Barclaycard's published eligibility doesn't mention holding a Barclays account.

7. Read the summary box, not the marketing. It tells you whether the card is credit or charge, and whether it's regulated.

Business, Corporate and Charge Cards: FAQs

Is a corporate card the same as a business credit card?

No. A business credit card is built for sole traders and SMEs and often involves the owner or director personally. A corporate card is a company-wide programme for larger organisations, usually with turnover of £2 million or more, where the company is the borrower and the finance team controls every card.

Is an Amex business card a credit card or a charge card?

Amex Business Gold and Business Platinum are charge cards. American Express describes them as unregulated agreements where you pay in full each month. Both also come with an optional line of credit through the Flexible Payment Option at 29.1% p.a. (variable), as of October 2026.

Do charge cards have a spending limit?

Usually, yes. Amex uses a dynamic limit that adjusts to your spending and repayments, while Lloyds and Barclaycard set an agreed limit on their business charge cards. Lloyds' minimum is £1,000.

Do charge cards charge interest?

Only if you don't pay on time or choose to use an attached credit line. NatWest's onecard charges 1.6% a month on balances not cleared by the due date. Amex charges 29.1% p.a. (variable) if you use its Flexible Payment Option.

Can a sole trader get a corporate card?

Generally, no. Corporate programmes such as NatWest's onecard are open only to limited companies, public sector bodies, partnerships of four or more partners and charities. Sole traders should look at business credit or charge cards from high street banks such as Lloyds and Barclaycard.

Can a sole trader get an Amex business card?

Not Business Gold or Business Platinum. As of October 2026, American Express lists both as available only to UK limited companies and LLPs, with the applicant a director or member of the business.

Will a business credit card affect my personal credit score?

It can. Many providers check your personal credit file when you apply, and if you're a sole trader, the debt is legally yours. Lloyds, for example, says it will credit check both you and your business.

Do I need a personal guarantee for a business credit card?

Sometimes. Lloyds says a guarantee may be needed for limited companies and LLPs. Corporate programmes with full corporate liability generally assess the company rather than the directors. Always ask before you apply.

Are business credit cards covered by Section 75?

Only in limited cases. Section 75 applies to regulated credit agreements with individuals, which can include sole traders and partnerships of two or three partners. Cards held by limited companies aren't covered, as a Financial Ombudsman decision involving a Capital on Tap card confirmed.

Are charge cards covered by Section 75?

No. Charge cards aren't classed as credit cards under the Consumer Credit Act, so Section 75 doesn't apply. Chargeback through the card scheme may still be available.

What turnover do you need for a corporate card?

It depends on the bank. NatWest's onecard needs £2 million or more, and its virtual card programme needs £25 million or more. Barclaycard's business card range covers turnover up to £6.5 million, and Barclays treats businesses above that as corporate clients.

Which is cheaper, a business credit card or a charge card?

It depends on how you pay. If you always clear the balance, both can cost nothing beyond the annual fee, and fees range from £0 to £650 a year. If you sometimes pay late, a low-rate credit card such as Lloyds (14.9% purchase rate) can work out cheaper than a charge card's fallback credit.

Can employees have cards on a business account?

Yes. Most business credit and charge cards let you add employee cards with their own limits. Costs vary:

• Amex Business Gold includes up to 20 employee cards at no extra cost.

• Barclaycard Select Charge has no additional cardholder fee.

• Lloyds and NatWest charge per cardholder after the first year.

What's the difference between a corporate card and an expense card?

A corporate card gives you credit and bills the company later. Many "corporate cards" sold by spend management apps are prepaid or debit cards that draw on money you've already loaded. They offer spending control but no borrowing, so check whether a credit facility is involved before you compare them.

Are business card fees tax-deductible?

Generally, annual fees and interest on a card used wholly for business purposes are allowable business expenses. Personal spending on a business card isn't, and it complicates your records. Check the treatment with your accountant.

Do I need to bank with the card provider?

For some cards, yes. Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC business cards are only open to their own business current account customers. Amex asks for any UK bank account, and Funding Circle says you don't need a current account with it to apply.