
Corporate credit cards for employees can be a great benefit, offering convenience and flexibility for work-related expenses. According to research, 70% of companies use corporate credit cards to manage employee expenses.
Having a corporate credit card can simplify business travel and entertainment, allowing employees to focus on their work without the hassle of reimbursement. This can lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction.
Some companies choose to issue corporate credit cards to all employees, while others reserve them for specific roles or departments. In a survey, 40% of companies reported using corporate credit cards for all employees, while 30% used them for select roles.
A well-managed corporate credit card program can also help businesses save money by reducing the need for reimbursement and minimizing the risk of employee expense abuse.
What Are Corporate Credit Cards?
Corporate credit cards are credit cards issued to employees of established companies that let them charge business expenses without using their own cards or cash. They're also known as commercial credit cards.
These cards can make it easier for employees and employers to manage expenses, and many offer perks like frequent flier miles and access to airport lounges. Companies issue corporate credit cards to employees for work-related expenses, such as travel and supplies.
Companies relieve employees from dipping into personal accounts for business expenses by issuing corporate credit cards, which is a big relief for many employees.
What Is a Business?
A business is essentially a company that issues corporate credit cards to employees for work-related expenses. This allows employees to make purchases without dipping into their personal accounts.
Companies use corporate credit cards to manage spend by setting purchasing restrictions tailored to employee needs. This helps keep business expenses organized and under control.
Businesses can be any type of organization that needs to issue corporate credit cards for work-related expenses, such as travel, events, and supplies.
Intro Offer
Intro offers can be a great way to entice you to switch to a new corporate credit card, and they often come with a sign-up bonus. Most employee credit cards will have some sort of intro offer available.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card currently offers 90,000 bonus points if users spend $8,000 on qualifying purchases within three months. This is a significant incentive, especially if you can take advantage of it.
The intro offer shouldn't be your main consideration when choosing a corporate credit card, but it could make the difference when choosing between two similar options. It's essential to consider the card's features and rewards structure beyond the intro offer.
What Are They?
Corporate credit cards are essentially credit cards issued to employees of established companies for business-related expenses. They're also known as commercial credit cards.
These cards let employees charge expenses without using their own cards or cash, making it easier to manage business expenses. Many corporate credit cards offer perks like frequent flier miles and access to airport lounges.
Businesses, not individual employees, typically assume liability for paying off corporate credit cards by making a business guarantee. This means the company is responsible for the debt, not the employee.
Corporate credit cards usually come with spending limits, recurring billing cycles, and rewards programs, just like personal or small business credit cards. Companies need to regularly pay a designated minimum amount off the credit card's balance to avoid interest charges.
Some corporate credit cards allow individual liability, meaning employees pay the bill upfront and submit expense reports for reimbursement. In this case, card issuers may check individual employees' personal credit with a soft pull, which doesn't impact their credit score.
Benefits and Features
Corporate credit cards offer a range of benefits and features that make them an attractive option for employees and employers alike. Employees can enjoy the convenience of not having to pay up front for business-related expenses and then wait for reimbursement.
One major perk is that some corporate credit cards offer electronic expense reporting, which automatically populates company expense reports with purchase information. This makes it less of a hassle to submit timely and accurate reports.
Rewards programs are also a significant benefit, with some cards offering cash back on purchases and travel rewards. In fact, some companies even allow employees to keep some or all of these rewards as part of their compensation.
Corporate credit cards also provide useful records for tax purposes, making it easier for employers to manage expenses and track spending. Employers can also control where a card can be used, limiting purchases to specific merchants, types of merchants, and locations.
Here are some of the key features of corporate credit cards:
- Enhanced expense tracking and management
- Streamlined spending controls
- Improved cash flow management
- Access to rewards and incentives
These features can help employees make business purchases efficiently and help management improve purchasing policy adherence. Corporate credit cards also offer other benefits, such as access to airport lounges, travel and emergency assistance services, and car rental collision damage waivers.
Fees and Liability
Corporate credit cards for employees offer various benefits, but it's essential to understand the fees and liability associated with them. American Express offers a corporate credit card that provides protection up to $100,000 per employee through quick alerts, fraud monitoring, and liability waiver programs.
The liability limit for unauthorized transactions on corporate cards is $50, which is the same as for individual credit cards. However, some card issuers, like American Express, go beyond the law to offer additional consumer protections.
Here's a brief overview of the liability and fee structures for some popular corporate credit card issuers:
Mitigates Risk
Mitigating risk is a top priority for any organization. Protecting your business from potential threats can be a daunting task, but there are ways to minimize the risk.
Quick alerts can help you stay on top of potential issues before they become major problems. Fraud monitoring is also essential to prevent financial losses.
Liability waiver programs can offer protection up to $100,000 per employee, giving you peace of mind in case something goes wrong.
Liability
Liability is a crucial aspect to consider when it comes to corporate credit cards. As such, activity on employee credit cards can affect the company's business credit score—but not the employee's personal credit score.
This means that employers have more visibility into employee spending than they would with personal credit cards. Personal credit cards give cardholders a monthly statement that includes purchases made during the billing cycle.
If you're concerned about liability, know that some card issuers offer protection up to $100,000 per employee. This can provide peace of mind for both employers and employees.
Here's a breakdown of the maximum liability limit for unauthorized transactions: $50. This is the same for employees with corporate cards as it is for individuals.
Some card issuers, like American Express, go beyond the law to extend additional consumer protections. This is worth exploring if you're looking for an extra layer of security for your corporate credit card.
Fees
Fees can eat away at your profits, just like they do with personal credit cards. Employee credit cards often come with a deluge of fees.
The annual fee is something to consider, but it's not always a bad thing. Higher fees can mean higher rewards, like cashback or points.
Keep an eye on the categories each card offers the most cash back on, such as gas, travel, or accommodations.
Can You Carry a Balance?
Carrying a balance on a corporate credit card is not an option. This is because corporate credit cards generally need to be paid off in full each month.
Corporate card issuers don't make as much money from interest charges as other card issuers do. Instead, they earn most of their money from annual fees, service fees, and the interchange fees charged to merchants.
Management and Control
Having a corporate credit card for employees can be a game-changer for businesses. Most employee credit cards allow companies to set spending limits and restrict card usage to specific use-cases, vendors, or categories, which helps reduce errant costs and increase compliance with their employee credit card policy.
Companies can also monitor employee spending in real-time, thanks to online monitoring capabilities. This feature lets you keep an eye on spending limits, accounts, card distribution, and employee compliance at any time.
To ensure employees use their corporate credit cards correctly, companies typically have a written policy or manual outlining proper use. Employees should familiarize themselves with these rules to avoid making mistakes that could lead to accounting nightmares or worse.
Control

Having control over employee spending is crucial for any business. Companies can set spending limits on their corporate cards to ensure employees stay within a specific amount.
This extra layer of control over spending can be achieved by restricting card usage to specific use-cases, vendors, or categories. Most employee credit cards allow companies to do this, reducing errant costs and increasing compliance with their employee credit card policy.
Employee credit cards also eliminate the need for shared credit cards, which can lead to theft, loss, and unexpected costs. By giving employees their own cards, companies can avoid these issues and have better control over their finances.
With corporate cards, companies can also track vendor payments and costs, manage inventory, and streamline the supply chain cycle. A well-defined corporate credit card policy can help regulate these transactions and ensure accountability at every step.
Having a multi-level approval workflow in place can also help control employee spending. This process involves approvers reviewing transactions beforehand and deciding which ones proceed and which don't.
Does Opening a Credit Hurt Your Score?
Opening a corporate credit card can impact business credit scores since activity gets reported to business credit bureaus. This is because corporate credit cards are owned by a business entity and used by its employees.
A corporate credit card is usually reserved for established corporations that meet certain revenue criteria, such as C Corps, S Corps, or LLCs. This is a key difference between corporate and business credit cards.
If you're a business owner, you might be wondering if opening a corporate credit card will affect your personal credit score. The good news is that your personal credit typically won't be affected by corporate credit card use, unless you put up a personal guarantee.
To give you a better idea, here's a quick comparison of corporate and business credit cards:
Overall, it's essential to understand the differences between corporate and business credit cards to make informed decisions about managing and controlling your business expenses.
Types and Options
Volopay's corporate cards offer real-time reporting, making it easy to keep track of employee expenses.
You can set individual spending limits with Volopay's corporate cards, giving you more control over your team's spending.
With automated expense reports, you can streamline your accounting process and reduce administrative tasks.
Seamless integrations are also available with Volopay's corporate cards, allowing you to connect with your existing accounting stack.
What Is a Card?
Let's break down what a corporate card is and the key differences between corporate credit cards and corporate charge cards. Corporate credit cards offer revolving credit, meaning you can make minimum payments one billing cycle and roll the remaining balance over to the next.
This can be a good option if you need some flexibility with payments, but keep in mind that interest is typically charged on the outstanding balance. Corporate credit cards can incur steep interest rates for unpaid balances.
Corporate charge cards, on the other hand, don't allow balances to carry over. You have to make payments in full by the due date every billing cycle. This can help you avoid interest charges altogether.
Here are the key differences between corporate credit cards and corporate charge cards:
Standout corporate charge cards can come with tighter controls that help businesses pre-emptively block out-of-policy charges and set more restrictions on vendors and transaction amounts.
Volopay for Business
Volopay's corporate cards simplify business spending to the core, helping you ditch old methods to manage employee expenses.
With Volopay, you can enjoy enhanced functionality like real-time reporting, compliance with expense policies, individual spending limits, customized approval workflows, automated expense reports, seamless integrations, and much more.
Issuing corporate cards to employees can prevent them from dealing with cumbersome travel reports and expense claims, especially when traveling for business.
Virtual cards are perfect for online transactions like booking flights or hotels, while physical cards are better suited for in-person payments during travel.
Employees in charge of SaaS subscriptions can create and manage past and upcoming payments with corporate virtual cards, which log subscription payments in real-time and establish accountability.
Corporate cards for employees can delight them with lucrative rewards and cashbacks, boosting their motivation and stimulating payments via their cards.
Types of
There are two main types of corporate credit cards: individual liability cards and corporate liability cards. The difference between them lies in who's responsible for paying the credit card bill.

With an individual liability card, the employee is on the hook for paying the credit card issuer directly. They can then file an expense report to get reimbursed by their employer.
The credit card issuer will check the employee's credit before giving them a card, but it's a soft pull that won't affect their credit score. However, if the employee fails to make payments on time, their credit score could be impaired.
Corporate liability cards, on the other hand, have the employer paying the bill. The employee may still be responsible for filing regular expense reports to help the company reconcile the card statements each month.
Some corporate cards come with a business guarantee, which means the company is responsible for any charges to the card, rather than an individual. This is most common with corporate cards, and it's a feature that many businesses appreciate.
What's Different About Them?
Employee credit cards are restricted to company spending only, which is a major distinction from other cards. This is the first key area where they differ.

One of the main reasons companies issue employee credit cards is to make business expenses easier to track and manage. This makes it easier for companies to keep an eye on their finances.
Aside from being restricted to company spending only, there are three more key areas where employee credit cards differ from other cards.
Top 5
The top employee credit cards for your business offer a range of benefits and rewards. Some have no annual fee, while others offer sign-up bonuses worth hundreds of dollars.
The Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and offers a $750 bonus cash back sign-up bonus. Businesses can also earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase, with no rewards cap. This makes it a solid pick for any business.
The American Express Blue Business Cash Card has a $0 annual fee and offers a $250 sign-up bonus. It also has a 0% APR for 12 months, making it perfect for businesses with good to excellent credit. However, its rewards rate is lower than some other options.

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card has a $95 annual fee, but offers 100,000 bonus points as a sign-up bonus. It also earns bonus points for travel spending, making it a great option for businesses with employees who travel frequently.
The Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard has a $0 annual fee and offers a $300 sign-up bonus. It also earns rewards tailored for drivers, making it a great option for businesses with employees who spend a lot on gas.
American Express Platinum Travel Rewards
The American Express Platinum Travel Rewards are a game-changer for companies with busy corporate travel programs. The American Express Corporate Platinum Card offers access to over 1,400 airport lounges.
This card also provides up to $200 in annual credits for incidentals on a designated airline, and credits for CLEAR memberships, Global Entry, and TSA PreCheck. Card administrators can set spending limits, monitor compliance, and use accumulated rewards points for company purchases.
The annual fee for this card is $550, which is higher than the industry average. But for companies that make frequent use of these benefits, it might be worth the investment.
Impact on Employees and Business
Corporate credit cards can make it easier for employees to manage business expenses without having to use their own cards or cash.
This convenience is a major benefit, as employees can focus on their work rather than worrying about keeping track of receipts and expenses.
Corporate credit cards can also offer perks such as frequent flier miles.
These perks can be a nice bonus for employees who travel frequently for business.
Employees can charge business expenses such as hotel stays and plane tickets directly to their corporate credit card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a business credit card as an employee?
Your company must request an employee card and approve your eligibility based on company policy, role, or responsibilities
Sources
- https://www.bill.com/blog/employee-credit-cards
- https://www.rippling.com/blog/best-corporate-credit-cards
- https://www.investopedia.com/corporate-credit-cards-definition-4685050
- https://www.truist.com/commercial-corporate-institutional/manage-cash-flow/credit-cards/corporate-card
- https://www.volopay.com/corporate-cards/issue-company-credit-card-for-employees/
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