Corporate credit cards for small businesses
The benefits offered by corporate cards for business expense make it an easy decision for organizations to adopt a corporate credit card program. These cards provide employees with seamless access to budgets for business travel, marketing expenses, and other costs, eliminating concerns about lengthy reimbursement periods. ]
For businesses, they offer a streamlined way for finance teams to track, monitor, and control expenses at a granular level.
What are small business credit cards?
A small business credit card, as the name suggests is a credit card that is issued to small businesses by a bank. Of course, there are certain criteria that you must fulfill to get access to it.
While there is no universal metric to define a ‘small’ business, most organizations that are privately owned partnerships or run by sole proprietors with few employees and a low annual revenue as compared to corporates fall under the umbrella of ‘small business.’
This was the go-to option for business owners back in the day. But now, the trend is shifting in favor of corporate credit card programs as people are starting to learn more about it and what makes them a better option.
What is corporate credit card program?
A corporate credit card program is issued to small businesses by a bank. While there’s no universal definition, small businesses are typically privately owned, with few employees and lower annual revenue compared to larger corporations.
This was the go-to option for business owners back in the day. But now, the trend is shifting in favor of corporate credit card programs as people are starting to learn more about it and the benefits of corporate credit card management.
Businesses are realizing that a structured program helps them track expenses more efficiently, manage employee spending, and simplify the overall financial process.
How do corporate credit cards differ from small business credit cards?
They differ based on who is eligible to receive and use them, who is liable to pay the credit, and other requirements that you must fulfill, highlighting the key differences between business and corporate credit cards.
Liability
When it comes to small business credit cards, the owner of the business is liable to pay for the credit received even if the business is under another entity’s name.
With a corporate account, the liability can be divided between relevant stakeholders based on the corporate credit card provider you choose:
- When an employee pays for the expenses and is later reimbursed, it falls under individual liability.
- When the business pays off the bills, it is known as corporate liability.
- And another option is a joint liability, where both the company and the employee are liable to pay the debt.
Within Volopay, since we provide corporate credit cards that draw funds from the credit provided on the platform, it is only the business that is liable to pay for the amount utilized.
Eligibility
For any sort of credit or lending activity, there will be eligibility criteria to make sure that your business is financially sound.
To be eligible for small business credit cards:
- You must have business credit reports.
- Depending on the bank, the age of your business will be taken into consideration.
- And your annual revenue reports will be checked for financial stability and growth patterns.
To be eligible for a corporate credit card program:
- Depending on the provider, there might be a minimum number of users you must have to use their platform and be part of the corporate program.
- You must also be able to show a certain amount of forecasted credit charge based on past data. The amount again depends on the provider.
Requirements
Some other common requirements for both these types of credit cards include:
- Financial statements of the organization
- Tax information
- Company structure
- Contact information of the representee.
If you're looking to explore more about corporate credit cards and other card options, such as P-cards, check out our detailed blog on P Card vs corporate card: Which is best for your business?
Looking for the best corporate credit card program for your business?
Why should employers opt for a corporate credit card program?
Reduced paperwork
A corporate credit card program eliminates the need for reimbursements by allowing your employees to spend from the company budget instead of spending their own money and filling for reimbursements later.
But just in case you still need the reimbursement feature, it is available on provider platforms where employees simply upload a picture of the receipt via mobile and add the necessary details to get their money back.
Employee satisfaction
No longer do your employees need to worry about paying from their pocket when traveling for business, handling work-related subscriptions, or dealing with the frustrating hassle of getting overcharged.
They will spend less time worrying about when they’ll get their reimbursements and spend more time getting work done. All due to fast payment approvals and direct spending from the company budget instead of their own pockets.
Keep track of every transaction
Be it physical corporate credit cards or instant virtual cards; your employees and finance team will experience complete transparency as each transaction will be recorded on the credit platform being used.
Saves time
The reduced level of paperwork, increased employee satisfaction and transaction trackability are all factors that ultimately contribute to saving a lot of time for your company, leaving more opportunities to engage in value-generating work.
Factors to consider when choosing corporate credit cards for small businesses
Can you choose liability option?
There are different liability options when you opt for a corporate card program. Make sure that the provider you choose offers a type of liability option that you are comfortable with.
Can you make faster payments?
The whole point of opting for a new credit service like a corporate card program is to save time, save money, or do both. If the platform you choose does not allow you to process your payments faster than traditional options, what’s the point?
Look out for rewards
A good corporate card program comes with a good reward program. Since virtual corporate cards have pretty much no cost of being issued, they are built with a good reward system that offers cashback on various types of transactions. You can then use the cash back you receive as part of your credit budget for future expenses.
Does it have accounting integration?
When choosing a provider, probably one of the most important factors to consider is whether you can integrate your accounting software with the platform so that all your expenses get synced in your ledger accounts. A corporate credit card for expense management can make this process even smoother, helping you track all transactions in real-time and ensuring accurate financial records.
If the provider does not mention the accounting software you use on their website as part of available integrations, you can always reach out to them and ask whether it is possible to execute a custom integration.
Does it have expense policy?
An expense policy allows organizations to set approval workflows, allot budgets to corporate credit cards, and enforce spending limits on each cards. Having the ability to create and implement an expense policy for your corporate card program is very essential.
Setting rules and guidelines through the provider platform for all the physical and virtual cards for businesses that you issue is crucial to tracking, monitoring, and controlling how budgets are spent by your teams and employees.
Choose correct card provider
Each corporate credit card program provider will have different and many of the same offerings. Make sure to choose depending on your requirements. Most of them usually have the option for both physical as well as virtual credit cards.
You should ensure that they support the currency you transact daily and what their FX charges are for cross-border payments.
For corporate credit cards for startups and small businesses, it’s crucial to select a provider that understands the unique needs of smaller businesses, offering features like lower fees, flexible spending limits, and strong rewards programs.
For a detailed comparison and to discover the best corporate credit cards tailored to businesses, check out our blog: Best corporate credit cards in the US for 2025.
Benefits of corporate credit card program
Reduced paperwork
A corporate credit card program eliminates the need for reimbursements by allowing you to issue corporate credit cards for employees, enabling them to spend from the company budget instead of spending their own money and filling out reimbursement claims later. However, if you still need the reimbursement feature, it is available through the provider platforms, where employees can simply upload a picture of the receipt via the mobile app and add the necessary details to get reimbursed.
Employee satisfaction
No more do your employees need to worry about paying from their pocket when traveling for business, or making subscription payments and getting overcharged. They will spend less time worrying about when they’ll get their reimbursements and spend more time getting work done. All due to fast payment approvals and direct spending from the company budget instead of their own pockets.
Keep track of every transaction
Be it physical corporate credit cards or instant virtual cards; your employees and finance team will experience complete transparency as each transaction will be recorded on the credit platform being used.
Saves time
The reduced level of paperwork, increased employee satisfaction and transaction trackability are all factors that ultimately contribute to saving a lot of time for your company, leaving more opportunities to engage in value-generating work.
Prevent fraud
Corporate credit card programs can go a long way in helping your company curb and prevent fraudulent practices. A well-structured corporate credit card policy allows you to implement controls at different levels of expenditure, ensuring that no unauthorized transactions go unchecked. This ensures that all spending is in compliance with company rules and reduces the likelihood of fraud.
Easier bookkeeping
Corporate credit card programs make it much easier to manage and close your books at the end of the month. Alongside a monthly statement, most cards provide cardholders with tools for online record-keeping, including an account summary at year-end. This centralized record-keeping also helps detect any misuse of corporate credit cards by employees by providing complete visibility into all transactions, making it easier to spot discrepancies and ensure accountability.
For more details on how to choose the right corporate card for your business, and to explore various options tailored to your needs, check out our blog: How to pick the right corporate credit card.
Enroll for corporate credit card program today!
Volopay offers businesses a corporate card program that gives you access to physical cards, instant virtual cards, and many other product features. We give corporate cards for small businesses wherein you get 1 physical card per user and the ability to create unlimited virtual corporate cards.
Integrate with accounting software
Volopay offers integrations with major accounting software products like Xero, Netsuite, Deskera, QuickBooks, and more. Custom integrations are also taken into consideration as per the client's request.
Multi-level approvals
You can set multi-level approvals for transactions above a certain amount. For example, if an employee wants to conduct an expense that is above $100, then rules can be set wherein the payment first goes to the respective team member’s manager for approval before being able to conduct that expense.
Virtual cards for every employee
Under any of our plans, you can issue an unlimited number of corporate virtual cards for your employees.
Real time reporting
Every transaction done through our corporate credit cards is instantly collated in a ledger tab specifically for card expenses. This allows you to see all expenses made by employees in one place.
International transactions
If you’re tired of high cross-border transaction fees, then Volopay is definitely for you. Our cross-border transaction fees are very low as compared to traditional cross-border payments.
Say goodbye to reimbursement culture
Implementing corporate cards eliminates the need for reimbursements. Through the Volopay dashboard, you can automatically enforce the expense policy without the accounts team having to continuously check for compliance.
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FAQs
Any business is eligible for our corporate credit card program as long as they meet all the requirements:
- Should be a business registered in a market we currently serve.
- Some documents, such as the latest business profile of your company and due diligence (KYB) forms, may be requested during the process of opening your new account.
Post the verification from our end, we will send you an invite link to onboard the first member as the admin of your company.
Yes, you can get a business credit card with no revenue as long as you have a registered business and some form of personal guarantee.
No, a corporate card does not have any affect on your personal credit score.
Corporate credit cards are typically for big businesses, usually with over USD 4 million in annual revenue, while business credit cards can be availed by smaller businesses and sole proprietors as long as they have a good personal guarantee. The liability for a corporate card rests on the business while for business credit cards liability is held by the business owner. Additionally, rewards are a key selling point for business credit cards while corporate cards focus more on good customer service.
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