It’s a common but mistaken belief that your business needs to have grown to a substantial size before you consider applying for a business credit card. In reality, you may qualify even if you’re a sole proprietor running a side hustle. We offer a range of business services and accounts to both small and large businesses and anything in between. A business credit card is not just a useful way to manage temporary cash flow shortages and unexpected purchases – it could help determine whether you qualify for a business loan or not. 
 

Here are 4 benefits a business credit card can give your business:
  

1. Provide financial flexibility

With a business credit card, you have access to credit when you need it, so emergency expenses or temporary payment delays don’t affect your business’ liquidity. Your business can be more agile when it comes to making payments on time.

Our Small Business Credit Card allows you to personalise your credit to your individual needs and affordability for your business, which is great for new small businesses that are still building up a credit record.

You can manage the spend on your Nedbank Small Business Credit Card or Business Credit Card by setting spending limits and linking your account to the Nedbank Money app to keep track of business spending in real time.

You can also link your card to Apple, Samsung and Google Pay for more digital payment options.
  

2. Improve your credit score

If you manage the spending on your business credit card properly, it can help improve your credit rating, which is crucial when you need further financing. A well-managed credit card that’s paid on time each month puts you in better standing with lenders.

A pro tip to help you boost your business’s credit score is to use less than 50% of your credit limit. If your business credit limit with the bank is R100,000, using no more than R50,000 and paying the amount used in full every month shows that you understand money management.
  

3. Enable you to access rewards

We have a range of credit card solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and commercial businesses.

Rewards will vary, depending on the account you choose, but they could include discounts on car hire, automatic travel insurance with top-ups available for specific needs and Greenbacks earned on qualifying purchases that you can spend in various ways.

Business owners are issued with both American Express and Mastercard. This allows you to take advantage of the enhanced travel and Greenbacks rewards with wide acceptance from vendors around the world.

Our Small Business Credit Card is designed for small-business owners and includes the following rewards:

• A 5% discount on the Avis SME rate and daily rate.
• Purchase protection built in for all goods purchased and not delivered.
• Double Greenbacks rewards on American Express card spend.
• Up to 4 complimentary visits to the Bidvest lounges on a minimum of R4,000 spend per month.
• Automatic basic travel insurance with top-up options.

Our Business Credit Card is the perfect choice for established businesses because of its benefits:

• No interest is charged if the card balance is settled in full every month.
• It can be issued to employees who spend on behalf of the organisation.
• You earn unlimited double Greenbacks rewards on American Express card spend.

We have a range of Mastercard and American Express credit card solutions for SMEs.

When you join Small Business Services, you get access to a relationship banker who can help you unlock added credit facilities as you need them.
  

4. Separate your business and personal finances

Perhaps the most important benefit of getting a business credit card is the ability to separate your personal and business finances. No matter how small your business might be, a business account and a business credit card help make sure you don’t blur the lines. If you’re booking work-related flights or paying for anything related to the running of the company, you can use your business credit card, so it’s easy to keep track of business expenses.

If you have employees who need to make business purchases, you can apply for additional cards linked to the account for them and set limits on how much each cardholder can spend. This often proves simpler than having your staff paying for business expenses out of their own pockets and then claiming those costs back. To make sure they’re making budget-approved business purchases, you can keep track of their spending in real time on the Money app.

Nedbank provides card solutions perfect for enabling cash flow in your business while earning you rewards on spend, and business banking options for businesses of all sizes. For more information, contact your relationship banker or book an appointment with them.