Businesses with fair or limited credit histories often hit a wall when they apply for credit cards. Major issuers and banks generally require a good credit score and several years of established business history. But you need some kind of financing to build your history in the first place.
This credit card catch-22 puts a significant share of growing, financially healthy businesses between a rock and a hard place. But the best business credit card offers provide a way around the wall.
Credit card providers who evaluate applications based on overall business performance rather than credit scores can give you access to the products you need to establish your history and fund your operations.
An Alternative Path to Business Credit Cards
Traditional credit card issuers place significant weight on your credit history and credit score when evaluating an application. They may consider factors such as your payment history, length of credit history, existing debt, and credit utilization, along with your income and ability to repay. For applicants whose credit profile falls outside a card’s approval criteria, getting approved can become much more difficult.
Fintech lenders approach underwriting differently. Many connect directly to your bank accounts or accounting software to pull data on revenue trends, cash flow cycles, and payment behavior in real time. These card providers still consider your credit history, but as just one part of the picture.
That shift in evaluation criteria opens up real options if you have limited credit history or a less-than-perfect credit score. You just have to look beyond traditional bank products to fintech lenders, such as the following credit card providers.
Cardiff Business Rewards Credit Card
Cardiff ranks among working capital direct lenders for its fast funding and industry-specific support. It also provides a Cardiff Business Rewards Credit Card to give small business owners spending flexibility, even if you don’t have an excellent credit profile.
After a quick application, Cardiff looks at your real-time revenue, cash flow, financial health, and credit history before issuing a card. If other aspects of your business are strong, you can qualify with a credit score as low as 550. Cardiff then offers new cardholders a 0% introductory APR for the first year.1
With the Cardiff Business Rewards Credit Card, you earn rewards on fuel, travel, office supplies, and advertising without any annual fees. You earn cash back and enhanced travel benefits on purchases your business already makes each month. And you can withdraw funds up to your credit limit as a merchant cash advance (MCA), giving you the benefits of a line of credit tied to your Cardiff Card.1
Cardiff also builds spending controls into the card, making it an effective management tool for small businesses. You can separate your personal and business accounts, manage credit statements, organize team expenses, set spending limits for individual employees, and repay a cash advance, all in one place.1
If you want accessible approval criteria, rewards on real business expenses, on-demand financing from one of the best merchant cash advance companies, introductory APR protection, and tools to strengthen both your day-to-day operations and your credit profile, apply for Cardiff’s Business Rewards Credit Card.
Nav Prime and the Credit Builder Card
While not a direct lender, Nav focuses on helping small business owners understand, build, and manage their business credit through a lending marketplace, financial support membership, and business credit card.2
The Nav Credit Builder Card is currently the only one backed by this provider. You can apply for the card without a personal or business credit check, and your spending limit adjusts to your real-time business information. As a beta product, the Nav Credit Builder Card currently has limited availability and a waitlist rather than an application.3
Nav reports card activity to Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet each month to build your credit history and pays out 1% cash back on eligible purchases. You have a seven-day grace period to repay the statement in full without any interest, and you can choose an extended repayment schedule for a fee.3
Even without a credit card, you can use Nav Prime to work on your business credit. You pay a monthly or quarterly subscription to monitor your business credit reports, track changes to your scores, identify factors impacting your creditworthiness, and work with coaches to improve your funding readiness. Then, Nav reports your membership payments to the major business credit bureaus as a tradeline to establish your credit history.4
Nav Prime and the Credit Builder Card don’t give you access to working capital right now, but you can work with Nav to understand and build your credit profile today and position yourself for financing in the future.
Shopify Credit
Shopify merchants can access a variety of services through Shopify Finance, including Shopify Capital, Shopify Bill Pay, Shopify Balance, and Shopify Tax. Shopify Credit is the platform’s business credit card.
Designed for Shopify merchants who may not have excellent personal credit, Shopify evaluates your business performance and other factors when approving your application. The process doesn’t require a personal guarantee or credit checks, and your spending limit adjusts to your sales on Shopify.5
You apply for Shopify Credit through your merchant account and get a decision in minutes. Once approved, Shopify immediately issues a virtual Visa® credit card and mails a physical card. You earn 3% cashback on your top spending category and 1% on other purchases.5
Shopify Credit features two payment options. You can pay the balance in full within the one-month grace period to avoid fees, or pay a percentage of your sales to repay the balance plus a fee over time. Shopify Credit doesn’t charge annual, foreign transaction, card replacement, or early payoff fees.5
If your e-commerce business operates through Shopify, check out Shopify Credit. It gives you access to the working capital you need to run your operations based on your sales rather than your credit score or history, and integrates with your merchant account into a single platform.
QuickBooks Capital and the Intuit Business Credit Card
QuickBooks Capital offers small businesses several ways to access financing, while the Intuit Business Credit Card provides a separate way to manage business spending and earn rewards. Both are part of Intuit’s broader financial tools for small businesses, with the credit card offering a revolving spending option that works alongside QuickBooks.
The Intuit Business Credit Card gives small business owners a way to earn rewards while keeping their business spending connected to their accounting. Transactions on this card automatically sync to QuickBooks, and the mobile app lets you upload receipts to QuickBooks, too.6
But the Intuit Business Credit Card is open to anyone through an online application. Intuit issues cards and sets credit limits from $1,000 to $50,000 based on your overall business profile, rather than a credit score.6
Once approved, you get an instant virtual card and can issue employee or contractor cards through a texted link. Intuit’s app allows you to set spending limits and monitor purchases in real time for the business credit cards.6
The card has no annual fee and earns unlimited 2% cash back on everyday purchases. As special perks, Intuit products and services, including QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Mailchimp, can earn 5% cash back, and new cardholders can earn $300 cash back after spending $3,000 within the first three months.6
Consider the Intuit Business Credit Card when you want a rewards card that doesn’t rely on credit history and offers top-notch organization through QuickBooks.
Build a Stronger Financial Position
A declined application and limited credit history don’t necessarily mean your business isn’t ready for financing. If your business has a steady revenue and a healthy financial foundation, you can find another way forward with the right providers.
Look for a credit card company that evaluates your application on more than just a three-digit number, and claim the spending power and rewards to build a stronger financial position for your business.
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Sources:
1https://cardiff.co/business-loans/products/business-cards/
2https://www.nav.com/
3https://www.nav.com/nav-credit-builder-card/
4https://www.nav.com/nav-prime/
5https://www.shopify.com/credit
6https://www.intuit.com/credit-card/