TL;DR: Corporate credit cards give businesses real-time spend control, automated expense tracking, and employee purchasing power — without reimbursement paperwork. But traditional corporate cards come with strict eligibility requirements: minimum annual revenues, financial history, and cardholder quotas that many startups and growing businesses can't meet. This guide explains how corporate cards work, what the requirements are, and what alternatives exist if your business doesn't qualify yet.
What is a corporate credit card?
A corporate credit card is issued by a company to employees for business expenses — travel, software subscriptions, client meals, and similar costs. It replaces out-of-pocket payments and reimbursement paperwork with a controlled, trackable payment method. Certain cards may offer extra benefits and tools for expense management, further improving financial management capabilities.
How does a corporate credit card work?
Corporate cards operate similarly to regular credit cards, but with specific features tailored for business use. Here's how they typically work:
- Issuance: Corporate credit cards are issued under a company's name and distributed to employees either as physical or virtual cards. Conversely, personal credit cards are issued to individuals.
- Payment Responsibility: The company typically pays the bill. But some cards hold individual employees liable instead.
- Credit Limit: Set based on the company's financial profile and business needs, not individual credit scores.
- Rewards and Benefits: Corporate cards may offer rewards that align more with business needs, such as travel perks and higher cash back categories in business spending.
- Expense Management: Most modern cards include spend controls, automated reconciliation, and integrations with accounting software - enhancing bookkeeping efficiency for businesses.
Types of corporate credit cards
There are two primary types of corporate credit cards: individual liability and company liability.
- Individual liability cards
An individual liability card holds the employee accountable for paying any charges or fees, after which they can submit an expense report for company reimbursement. The card issuer reviews the employee's credit before issuing it, but this check does not affect their credit score.
- Company liability cards
A company liability card assigns the company responsible for paying for approved charges. However, should an employee incur fees due to misuse or unauthorised expenditures, they may be required to pay these directly to the credit card issuer or reimburse the company.
Benefits of corporate credit cards
Benefits for the employer:
- More Spend Visibility and Control: Real-time transaction monitoring, merchant restrictions and per-employee limits reduce unauthorised spending without manual oversight.
- Streamlined Expense Management: Automated reconciliation and direct integration features with accounting tools eliminate manual data entry and reduce finance team workload.
- Improved Cash Flow: Businesses can improve cash flow management by leveraging the grace period between purchasing and paying the bill when using corporate cards.
Benefits for the employee:
- No out-of-pocket costs: Employees pay nothing upfront, preserving personal cash flow and credit utilisation.
- Less admin: Receipt upload, automated categorisation, and pre-approved spend limits cut reporting time significantly. With good corporate cards featuring built-in spend control and expense management, the employee's reporting burden is often reduced to a minimum.
- Rewards and Perks: If the corporate card program includes a rewards system, employees can enjoy benefits such as earning points, cash back or perks like airport lounge access etc.
Who Can Apply?: Application Process, Requirements & Eligibility
Corporate credit cards, being designed for businesses, have specific requirements for corporate eligibility. Approval is based on your company's financial health - typically independent of the owner's finances. To apply, you'll need to meet eligibility criteria and submit a host of business financial documents.
Eligibility
Most issuers require your business to meet minimum thresholds across several criteria:
- Business structure: Typically limited to incorporated entities (e.g. S-Corp, C-Corp, LLC)
- Annual revenue: A minimum revenue threshold, which varies by issuer
- Card users: Some issuers require a minimum number of cardholders
- Projected spend: Expected monthly or annual business volume
Typical minimum revenue thresholds by country
Requirements differ by bank and country. The figures below are indicative ranges.
Sources: Inlex, JP Morgan, Singsaver
Common documents requirements
- Business registration documents and tax ID (EIN/UEN)
- Valid passport/national ID of directors and signatories
- Business bank account and financial statements
For businesses that do not meet these requirements
Many businesses, especially startups, struggle to meet the strict eligibility criteria of traditional corporate card programs due to reasons such as:
- Strict corporate banking requirements.
- The need for extensive financial history.
- Minimum annual revenue and card user quotas.
If your business is struggling with the traditional card application process due to difficulties meeting these or similar requirements (such as being a Web3 business), consider an alternative to traditional banking solutions like Reap's.
Reap as an alternative to traditional corporate credit cards
Reap offers access to traditional financial infrastructure, including corporate cards, without the traditional prerequisites barriers.
How Reap simplifies the corporate card acquisition process:
- No bank account required:
- Reap does not require businesses to have a specific bank account, unlike traditional card issuers, offering flexibility in how you manage your funds and payments.
- Reap does not require businesses to have a specific bank account, unlike traditional card issuers, offering flexibility in how you manage your funds and payments.
- No revenue or size minimums:
- Businesses of any size are welcome to access Reap's corporate cards. Reap sets no minimum annual revenue or cardholder quota — two of the most common barriers in traditional corporate card applications.
- Businesses of any size are welcome to access Reap's corporate cards. Reap sets no minimum annual revenue or cardholder quota — two of the most common barriers in traditional corporate card applications.
- Collateral option:
- Businesses without an established credit history may be able to secure a Reap corporate card through an alternative collateral arrangement (i.e. stablecoins), subject to eligibility. This option is particularly beneficial for Web3 companies involved in cross-border and multi-currency operations.
- Businesses without an established credit history may be able to secure a Reap corporate card through an alternative collateral arrangement (i.e. stablecoins), subject to eligibility. This option is particularly beneficial for Web3 companies involved in cross-border and multi-currency operations.
- Compliance and Legitimacy
- Reap adheres to a robust Know Your Business (KYB) standards to ensure secure and compliant onboarding. All applicants are screened using risk-based due diligence and regulatory checks. Reap's flexible framework supports diverse global businesses while maintaining high compliance and governance standards.
A banking alternative For Web 3 businesses
Web3 companies often face the steepest barriers with traditional banks with no local banking history and multi-currency operations. Reap's collateral-backed card option was built with these businesses in mind. See Why Web3 businesses need corporate cards & how they can use them
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If you’re looking for an accessible corporate card for your business, learn how the Reap offers fewer requirements and more flexibility. Discover the benefits of our unique corporate credit approach for easy expense management.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this material is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or business advice. It should not be interpreted as a recommendation, offer, solicitation, or inducement to engage with Reap's products or services. Any use of Reap's services is at the user's sole risk and discretion.
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