Which is the best credit card for business purchases? Seven UK cards compared

If your limited company clears its card in full each month, the best card for business purchases is usually a flat 1% cashback card with no annual or FX fee, such as the iwoca Credit Card. If you expect to carry a balance for months, a low-APR bank card or a loan will cost less. Below, seven business cards are compared on cost, interest-free days, cashback, and eligibility. Figures checked on 12 October 2026.

Businesses put very different things on a card: stock, supplier bills, software, fuel, and overseas orders. So the right card depends less on the brand than on two questions about your own spending: what you buy, and how you'll pay it off.

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Start with how you'll pay it off

Whether you clear the balance each month decides which numbers matter. If you do, interest never applies, and what counts is cashback, fees, interest-free days, and the limit. If you don't, the APR decides the cost and cashback becomes small change.

Most companies use a card for timing. You pay a supplier today, the card gives you weeks before the money leaves your account, and in the meantime your own customers pay you. Used that way, a card is a cash flow tool that costs nothing in interest: you keep the interest-free days and the cashback.

If a purchase will take you months to pay off, that's a different job, and we cover it at the end.

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How the seven cards compare

The biggest differences are what you earn back, what you pay to use the card, and how much it costs if you carry a balance. The cards are listed alphabetically.

Sources: each issuer's own product page: American Express, Barclaycard, Capital on Tap, Funding Circle, iwoca, Lloyds Bank and Metro Bank. Checked on 12 October 2026. Rates and offers change, so check the issuer's page before you apply.

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How we chose these cards

We compared cards that UK limited companies can apply for, on what a purchase actually costs. iwoca issues one of them, so we've held the iwoca Credit Card to the same criteria as the others.

What we looked at:

• Cost if you clear in full. Annual fees, non-sterling fees, and what the cashback is actually worth at your level of spend.
• Cost if you carry a balance. The representative APR, which most successful applicants get or better.
• Interest-free days. How long you get between a purchase and the payment date, if you repay in full.
• Cashback rules. A flat rate, a spend threshold, or an introductory rate.
• Limit and eligibility. The maximum limit, and whether you need a minimum turnover or an existing current account.

We left out personal credit cards and cards that don't publish a rate or fee we could compare. If you want a general comparison rather than one built around purchases, see our wider guide to business credit cards for owners.

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Matching the card to what you buy

Each type of purchase puts weight on a different feature. Here's what to look for in each case, and which cards offer it.

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Stock and supplier bills you'll clear when customers pay

For regular stock and supplier bills, the useful features are a high limit and interest-free days that cover the gap until your customers pay. Cashback on top is a bonus that adds up on large orders.

Capital on Tap, Funding Circle Cashback, and the iwoca Credit Card all offer limits up to £250,000 and up to 42 days interest-free. Barclaycard, Lloyds, and Metro Bank give up to 56 days, but the Lloyds card's limits run from £1,000 to £25,000, so it isn't built for large stock orders.

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Spend that changes from month to month

If your card spend rises and falls with the seasons, a flat rate with no threshold pays out every month. Capital on Tap and the iwoca Credit Card pay 1% on all card spend.

Barclaycard Select Cashback pays 1% only in a statement month where you spend over £2,000, and the Lloyds card pays only in a billing cycle above £2,000. In a quiet month on either card, you earn nothing.

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Overseas suppliers and software billed in other currencies

A non-sterling fee of around 3% cancels out any cashback on a foreign purchase. Capital on Tap, Funding Circle, and the iwoca Credit Card charge no FX fee anywhere, so you still earn your cashback abroad.

Metro Bank charges no fee on card transactions in most European countries, which helps if your suppliers are mainly in Europe, but it pays no cashback. American Express (2.99%), Barclaycard (2.99%), and Lloyds (2.95%) charge a non-sterling fee.

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The most cashback in your first year

Funding Circle Cashback pays 2% for the first six months, on up to £2,000 of cashback, then 1%. That introductory rate earns the most in year one. From the seventh month it pays the same 1% as the flat-rate cards. You need a turnover of £30,000 or more.

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Online purchases where you want cover

The American Express Business Gold Card is a charge card with its own Refund Protection and purchase cover. Refund Protection covers up to £300 if a UK retailer won't take back an eligible item within 90 days, and purchase cover pays up to £2,500 per item if it's stolen or damaged in that window. It costs £195 a year after the first year, and you'll need suppliers that take Amex.

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Purchases you'll pay off over several months

If you'll carry a balance most months, the APR matters more than anything else on this page. Lloyds Bank has the lowest representative APR of the cards here that publish one, at 15.95% (variable), but it's only for existing Lloyds Business Current Account holders. Metro Bank charges one rate of 18.9% (variable) and also needs a Metro Bank current account. Read more in our review of the Lloyds Bank business credit card.

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The iwoca Credit Card: built for spend you clear each month

The iwoca Credit Card gives UK limited companies up to £250,000 of credit, 1% cashback on all card spend, and no annual, FX or late payment fees. It suits a company that uses its card to time purchases and clears the balance each month.

Say you order £10,000 of stock on the first day of your billing cycle. You have up to 42 days before you need to pay, which can cover the time it takes the customers who buy that stock to pay you. Clear the balance in full and the order earns £100 cashback, with no interest and no fee.

How it works:

• Interest-free days. Up to 42 days: a 30-day billing cycle plus a 12-day grace period. A purchase on day one gets the full 42 days, and a purchase on day 30 gets 12 days.
• Cashback. 1% on all card spend, credited to your balance, with no threshold to reach and no introductory period to run out.
• Overseas. No FX fee: you get Visa's exchange rate and still earn 1%.
• Repayments. At least 10% of the balance or £100, whichever is higher, by direct debit. You can pay off more, or the whole balance.
• Cost if you carry a balance. Interest rates start at 14.99% a year, with representative 35.40% APR (variable).
• Personal guarantee. A director gives a personal guarantee. If the company can't repay, the guarantor becomes personally responsible for the balance.

It's free to apply and won't affect your personal credit score. If you expect to carry a balance for months rather than clear it, a card isn't the cheapest way to borrow, and the last section of this page covers what to use instead.

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What cashback is really worth: a worked example

At £3,000 a month of everyday spend, a flat 1% card earns £360 in a year. At £1,500 a month, the cards with a spend threshold earn nothing.

The table assumes UK, non-fuel purchases, cleared in full every month, so no interest. It covers the first year only.

How we worked it out: a 1% card at £3,000 a month is £36,000 × 1% = £360. Funding Circle at £3,000 a month is £18,000 × 2% = £360 for the first six months, plus £18,000 × 1% = £180 after, so £540. At £1,500 a month it's £9,000 × 2% = £180 plus £9,000 × 1% = £90, so £270. Amex pays points, not cash, so its row shows points earned rather than a pound figure.

From the second year, the flat 1% cards and Funding Circle pay the same, so the difference comes down to fees, limits, and how you pay.

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Does Section 75 cover business credit cards?

Section 75 generally doesn't cover a card issued to a limited company. It protects regulated consumer credit, which a company card isn't. What protects a business purchase is chargeback, any cover the card includes, and your contract with the supplier.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes a card provider jointly liable with the seller for some purchases, but only where the credit is to an individual. For a purchase on your company card, these are the routes you have:

• Chargeback. You ask your card provider to reverse a payment when a supplier doesn't deliver or something goes wrong. It's a card-scheme process run by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, not a legal right, and there are time limits. MoneyHelper explains how chargeback works.
• Cover on the card itself. Some cards add their own protection, such as Amex's Refund Protection or the buyers' protection insurance on the Lloyds card.
• Your contract. For big orders, written terms with the supplier matter more than the card.

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Who can get a business credit card, and do you need a personal guarantee?

Most of these cards are for UK limited companies, and some need a minimum turnover or an existing current account. Many, including Capital on Tap and the iwoca Credit Card, ask a director for a personal guarantee.

What issuers ask for:

• Company type. Funding Circle and iwoca lend to limited companies. American Express and Capital on Tap also take LLPs.
• Turnover. Barclaycard asks for £10,000 to £6.5m, and Funding Circle asks for £30,000 or more.
• A current account with the bank. Lloyds and Metro Bank only offer their cards to their own business customers.
• A personal guarantee. It means you, as a director, agree to repay if the company can't. Read what a personal guarantee means for you before you sign one.

If your company is new or has under a year's trading, see our guide to business credit cards for startups.

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When a business credit card isn't the right tool

If you'll need months to repay a large one-off purchase, the card's APR matters more than its cashback, and a loan may cost less.

A card works best for regular spend that you clear within the interest-free period. A big stock order or new equipment you'll pay off over a year or more is a different job. At 15.95% on the Lloyds card, or 35.40% on the iwoca Credit Card, carrying that balance for a year gets expensive.

An iwoca Flexi-Loan lets a UK limited company borrow up to £1m over terms up to five years, with a decision within 24 hours, but it might be longer depending on the complexity of the request. It's a business loan with flexible repayment options: interest is charged only on what you owe, so you can repay early as soon as the purchase starts paying for itself. Every new Flexi-Loan needs a personal guarantee from at least one director.

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Other questions about paying for business purchases by card

Short answers to the questions directors ask most about putting purchases on a card.

Can I use my personal credit card for business purchases?

Business purchases are best kept on a business card. All business expenses should be recorded through the company's bookkeeping and accounting software, and that's easier when the card is the company's.

If you pay a supplier on your personal card, you're the buyer and the debt is yours. You then have to reclaim the cost from the company, and the paper trail gets harder to follow.

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What's the difference between a charge card and a credit card?

A charge card expects the full balance each month. A credit card lets you carry a balance and pay interest on it.

The Amex Business Gold Card is a charge card. If you choose its Flexible Payment Option, you can spread part of the balance at a 29.1% p.a. (variable) purchase rate.

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What is a purchasing card?

A purchasing card is a company card issued for buying from suppliers, usually with spending controls set by the business.

Larger companies often use them in place of purchase orders for small items. A corporate card works in a similar way, with the company setting limits for each cardholder.

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What records do I need to keep for card purchases?

Keep a record of every card transaction in the company's accounts, with the receipt or invoice behind it. Most UK private companies prepare accounts under FRS 102 or, for micro-entities, FRS 105, not IFRS.

FRS 102 is the main UK accounting standard for companies that don't use IFRS. A business card that feeds into your accounting software makes this easier.