NerdWallet's editorial picks: Best business cards with no personal credit check
Before applying for any card, confirm details on the issuer’s website.
Business credit cards (soft pull)
Capital on Tap Business Credit Card
NerdWallet star rating: 3.8
Applying with Capital on Tap does not affect your personal credit. Capital on Tap says applicants with a FICO score of 670 or higher have the best chance of approval, but the card is available to business owners with fair credit (typically considered a score from 630 to 689). The Capital on Tap Business Credit Card 1.5%
Corporate cards
Corporate credit cards typically don't require a personal credit check and are only available to incorporated businesses. The BILL Divvy Corporate Card
Brex Card
NerdWallet star rating: 3.2
Unlike most cards designed for entrepreneurs, the Brex Card
Ramp Card
NerdWallet star rating: 2.8
The Ramp Card
BILL Divvy Corporate Card
NerdWallet star rating: 2.7
The BILL Divvy Corporate Card Brex Card Ramp Card BILL Divvy Corporate Card
Secured business credit cards
Secured business credit card may require a credit check but the bar to qualify is very low. You can use a secured business card to establish and build your business credit with on-time payments and low credit utilization (below 30%).
Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Secured credit card
This card has not been rated by NerdWallet.
The Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Secured credit card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no cap or expiration date on the rewards you earn. The card has a minimum security deposit of $1,000, which is equal to your credit limit and subject to credit approval. Bank of America® will periodically review your secured card and may upgrade you to an unsecured card if and when you qualify. This card has no annual fee.
Secured personal credit cards
A secured personal credit card can help you improve your personal credit over time so you can eventually qualify for a business credit card down. While some secured personal cards don't require a credit check, others do a soft credit pull. And all are available if you have bad credit.
Chime Secured Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card
NerdWallet star rating: 4.6
You'll need a Chime Checking Account — a free bank account that allows you to receive direct deposits — and at least $200 in direct deposits to it within the past 365 days to get this card. The money you move from the Chime Checking Account to the Credit Builder secured account determines your credit limit. There's no option to carry a balance from month to month, but this card doesn't require an upfront security deposit as many secured credit cards do. Learn more and apply.
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
NerdWallet star rating: 4.3
The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Business debit cards
Business debit cards all you to issue employee cards and implement spending controls. Most don't require a credit check but they also don't help build your credit.
Bento for Business Visa® Debit Card
This card has not been rated by NerdWallet.
The Bento for Business Visa® Debit Card offers the conveniences of a business credit card, without the personal credit check or personal liability. Because you have to frontload the funds that you and your employees will spend on the Bento for Business, though, you won’t be able to build credit with this card. The main perks that Bento for Business boasts are the comprehensive control it allows you to have over your business’s spending. Learn more about business debit cards.
Can you get a business credit card with no credit check?
The only business cards that truly require no credit check are corporate cards. These cards rely on your business history and financials, rather than your personal credit, and you can apply with just your Employer Identification Number, or EIN.
Secured business credit cards often require a credit check, but a low credit score (typically a FICO score below 630) is rarely a deciding factor. Things that will likely impact your odds of approval: an ongoing bankruptcy, opening multiple accounts at once or lack of income to pay your balance.
Almost all other business credit cards require a hard pull on your personal credit, as well as a personal guarantee that you will repay the card with your own assets if your business goes bankrupt or can’t otherwise fulfill this obligation.
How to build business credit without using personal credit
Getting a secured business credit card is an easy way to build business credit without using personal credit. It is not your only option, though. Additional strategies to establish and grow business credit include:
Applying for an EIN.
Registering with Dun & Bradstreet for a DUNS Number.
Setting up trade lines with any vendors or suppliers you work with.
Otherwise, your personal and business credit are often intertwined. When you apply for a small-business credit card, for example, issuers will look at your personal credit. This inquiry will likely result in a small, temporary hit to your personal credit (unless the issuer only does a soft pull). Not paying your business credit card can also damage your personal credit score and limit your future financing options as most issuers will report delinquent business accounts to consumer credit bureaus.
As you build business credit, it will become easier to secure different types of financing — like small-business loans — that are separate from your personal credit.
» MORE: Best business credit cards for fair, average credit
Chime says the following:
The secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your card for its issuing bank.
To apply for Credit Builder, you must have received a single qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more to your Chime® Checking Account. The qualifying direct deposit must be from your employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit OR Original Credit Transaction (OCT). Bank ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, cash deposits, one-time direct deposits, such as tax refunds and other similar transactions, and any deposit to which Chime deems to not be a qualifying direct deposit are not qualifying direct deposits.
Based on a representative study conducted by Experian®, members who made their first purchase with Credit Builder between June 2022 and October 2022 observed an average FICO® Score 8 increase of 30 points after approximately 8 months. On-time payment history can have a positive impact on your credit score. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score.
On-time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score. Chime will report your activities to Transunion®, Experian®, and Equifax®. Impact on your credit may vary, as Credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations.
Money added to Credit Builder will be held in a secured account as collateral for your Credit Builder Visa card, which means you can spend up to this amount on your card. This is money you can use to pay off your charges at the end of every month.
Out-of-network ATM withdrawal and OTC advance fees may apply. View The Bancorp agreement or Stride agreement for details; see back of card for issuer.