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Most business credit cards include a personal credit check. Small-business credit cards typically require a personal guarantee, which means you’ll be on the hook to repay any debt your business can’t. Card issuers want to look at your credit history to help determine if that’s a risk.
But no-credit-check cards may be available in specific instances. High-revenue businesses may qualify for a corporate card. These cards place liability on the business — not the business owner — so personal credit matters less. Preloaded business debit cards also may not require a credit check. And if you’re a sole proprietor, you could consider a personal credit card for bad or thin credit. But if you go that route, make sure to keep your business and personal spending separate.
Some of our selections for business cards with no personal credit check can be applied for through NerdWallet, and some cannot. Below, you'll find application links for the credit cards from our partners that are available through NerdWallet, followed by the full list of our picks.
Most business credit cards include a personal credit check. Small-business credit cards typically require a personal guarantee, which means you’ll be on the hook to repay any debt your business can’t. Card issuers want to look at your credit history to help determine if that’s a risk.
But no-credit-check cards may be available in specific instances. High-revenue businesses may qualify for a corporate card. These cards place liability on the business — not the business owner — so personal credit matters less. Preloaded business debit cards also may not require a credit check. And if you’re a sole proprietor, you could consider a personal credit card for bad or thin credit. But if you go that route, make sure to keep your business and personal spending separate.
Some of our selections for business cards with no personal credit check can be applied for through NerdWallet, and some cannot. Below, you'll find application links for the credit cards from our partners that are available through NerdWallet, followed by the full list of our picks.
Business Credit Cards With No Personal Credit Check From Our Partners
| Credit Card | NerdWallet Rating | Annual fee | Intro APR | Regular APR | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brex Card Apply now on Brex's website | Best for Corporate card with no personal credit check | $0 | N/A | N/A | Apply now on Brex's website |
 OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card Apply now on Capital Bank's website | Best for Personal credit card for sole proprietors | $35 | N/A | 17.39% Variable APR | Apply now on Capital Bank's website |
Our pick for
Corporate card with no personal credit check
on Brex's website
on Brex's website
Annual fee
$0
Intro APR
N/A
Regular APR
N/A
Recommended Credit Score
Pros
No annual fee
New cardholder bonus offer
Qualify with limited/bad credit
Bonus categories
No foreign transaction fees
No personal guarantee
Cons
Complicated rewards
No Intro APR
No revolving balances
Pros
No annual fee
New cardholder bonus offer
Qualify with limited/bad credit
Bonus categories
No foreign transaction fees
No personal guarantee
Cons
Complicated rewards
No Intro APR
No revolving balances
Get 10,000 points when you spend your first $1,000 on your Brex card, another 10,000 when you spend $3,000 in 3 months on your card, and 20,000 more when you link payroll to your Brex account.
No personal guarantee needed – Brex does not ask for a personal credit check or security deposit during the application.
Credit limits 10-20x higher than traditional small business corporate cards.
Minimum bank balance of $50,000 from professional investors may be required to qualify for Brex.
Exclusive signup offers from the best products and tools for your business (e.g. AWS, Google Ads, WeWork, Salesforce) worth up to $150,000 in value.
Earn points on every dollar spent with industry-leading multipliers: 7x on rideshare, 4x on Brex Travel, 3x on restaurants, 2x on software subscriptions and 1x on all other transactions.
Earn 3x Brex Rewards points on all eligible Apple purchases through the link or your Brex dashboard.
Miles transfer program to 7 airlines (including Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air France, and more) and their loyalty programs, giving Brex customers access to book travel across all of the major global airline alliances - Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam.
30-day charge card running on the Mastercard network. Enjoy global acceptance with no foreign transaction fees.
Build business credit: Brex partners with Dun & Bradstreet and Experian to report your on-time payments.
Make employee expenses seamless - automated receipt-capture and expense matching and reconciliation via text, email, and mobile app. Instantly add new users and set spending limits.
Contactless pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Simplify reconciliation with built-in integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and more.
Our pick for
Personal credit card for sole proprietors
on Capital Bank's website
on Capital Bank's website
Annual fee
$35
Intro APR
N/A
Regular APR
17.39% Variable APR
Recommended Credit Score
Pros
Qualify with limited/bad credit
Cons
Has annual fee
Requires minimum deposit
No rewards
Pros
Qualify with limited/bad credit
Cons
Has annual fee
Requires minimum deposit
No rewards
No credit check necessary to apply. OpenSky believes in giving an opportunity to everyone.
The refundable* deposit you provide becomes your credit line limit on your Visa card. Choose it yourself, from as low as $200.
Build credit quickly. OpenSky reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
99% of our customers who started without a credit score earned a credit score record with the credit bureaus in as little as 6 months.
We have a Facebook community of people just like you; there is a forum for shared experiences, and insights from others on our Facebook Fan page. (Search “OpenSky Card” in Facebook.)
OpenSky provides credit tips and a dedicated credit education page on our website to support you along the way.
*View our Cardholder Agreement located at the bottom of the application page for details of the card
FULL LIST OF EDITORIAL PICKS: BEST SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARDS WITH NO PERSONAL CREDIT CHECK
Click the card name to read our review. Before applying, confirm details on the issuer’s website.
Our pick for: Corporate card with no personal credit check
Unlike most cards designed for entrepreneurs, the Brex Card doesn't require the cardholder to personally guarantee the debt on the card. Instead, Brex determines creditworthiness by evaluating a company's cash balance, spending patterns and investors. It's a good option when a business owner has a thin credit file but is well-capitalized. The card earns rewards, too. Read our review.
Bento for Business Visa® Debit Card
Our pick for: Spending controls
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.
Our pick for: Personal credit card with no security deposit
You'll need a Chime Spending 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 Spending 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. Read our review.
Our pick for: Personal credit card for sole proprietors
The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card charges an annual fee, but a lot of people will still want to take a look at it for two reasons. First, there's no credit check required. Second, you don't need a traditional bank account; you can fund the deposit or pay your bill with a money order or Western Union payment. Read our review.
Our pick for: Pre-qualifying with bad credit
The First National Bank Business Edition® Secured® Visa Card requires a credit check, but the bank lets you pre-qualify without affecting your credit score to see if you’re eligible. This card may be a good choice for bad-credit borrowers. Your security deposit will earn interest, and First National Bank lets you choose your own credit limit from $2,000 to $100,000 (in multiples of $50) when you apply. This card charges a $39 annual fee. Read our review.
Our pick for: Business owners with fair or average credit
The Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business does require a credit check. But what makes this card valuable is that it's available to business operators with fair or "average" credit, who don't have a lot of options in business credit cards — especially with no annual fee. Read our review.
Can you get a business credit card with no credit check?
When you're just getting a business off the ground, your personal credit is often (but not always) necessary to get a small-business credit card. This is, in part, because nearly all card issuers will require a personal guarantee.
A personal guarantee promises that you will repay the card with your own assets if your business goes bankrupt or can’t otherwise fulfil this obligation. To help see if you’re likely to hold up that end of the bargain, you’ll usually have to undergo a personal credit check.
As you build business credit, it will become easier to secure financing separate from your personal credit. But until then, your personal and business credit can remain intertwined.
For example, when you apply for a small-business credit card, the inquiry will probably cost your personal credit a few points for a short time. Plus, if you fail to use your business credit card responsibly, most issuers will report that behavior to the consumer credit bureaus, further damaging your personal credit score and limiting your future financing options.
» MORE: Business credit score basics
Options for getting a business credit card without a credit check
There are many types of business credit cards out there, and some may be available to people who don’t want a credit check or who have bad credit.
Corporate cards. Corporate cards don’t require a personal credit check because the company is liable for the debt. But if you’re just starting out or your revenue is in the thousands, not the millions, you likely won’t qualify for a corporate credit card.
Secured cards. While secured cards may require a credit check, most business owners are likely to qualify. That’s because secured cards require a deposit that the issuer can seize for nonpayment. That cash limits their risk, making secured cards some of the best business credit cards for bad credit.
Business debit cards. Debit cards aren’t credit cards, as your spending is tied to your cash balance in a linked business checking account. But business debit cards typically don’t require a credit check and may make sense for business owners who want to use plastic to better keep track of their own transactions or their employees’ spending.
Nonbusiness credit cards. You don’t necessarily need a business credit card for your business finances. You could get a separate personal credit card instead, and some personal credit cards don’t require a credit check. These cards may help your personal credit — a must for future financing — but they’ll lack features like employee cards and often come with lower limits than business credit cards.
If you’re unsure if you’ll pass a credit check, some business credit card issuers will let you pre-qualify. This process tells you whether or not you’ll likely be approved without affecting your personal credit score. It can also make sense to get a free credit score before applying. That way, you can find cards you may be eligible for and reduce the risk of failing a credit check.
Last updated on June 17, 2021
Methodology
NerdWallet's Credit Cards team selects the best credit cards for small business based on overall consumer value, as evidenced by star ratings, as well as their suitability for specific kinds of small-business operators. Factors in our evaluation include annual and other fees, rewards rates, the earning structure (for example, flat-rate rewards versus bonus categories), redemption options, bonus offers for new cardholders, introductory and ongoing APRs, and other noteworthy features such as special financing arrangements, free cards for employees or tools for managing business expenses.
