Reference Entry

Glossary of Business Credit Card Terms

Alphabetised reference of terminology, definitions, and citations to primary sources.

Last verified: April 2026

A reference glossary of the terms used across the site, with primary-source citations where applicable and links to the reference page where each term is discussed in depth. Approximately 38 terms.

1

15 U.S.C. Sec. 1603: The TILA scope provision. Subsection (1) excludes credit transactions involving extensions of credit primarily for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. The statutory basis for the exclusion of business credit cards from most CARD Act protections.

A

Adverse-action notice: The notice a creditor must provide to an applicant within 30 days of taking adverse action on a completed credit application. The notice must include either the specific reasons for the action or a statement of the applicant's right to request the reasons within 60 days. Required by 12 C.F.R. Sec. 1002.9 (Regulation B) under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. See reference page →
Anikeev v. Commissioner: T.C. Memo 2021-23. Tax Court ruling that rewards earned through manufactured-spending transactions on cash-equivalent purchases (reloadable gift cards, money orders) constituted taxable income on specific facts. Narrow ruling that does not apply to ordinary business spending. See reference page →
Annual fee: A yearly charge by the issuer to the cardholder for holding the card. Funds rewards programs, benefits, and operational margin on premium products. Range: zero on no-fee tiers to several hundred dollars on premium cards.
APR (Annual Percentage Rate): The cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate, including interest and certain fees. Variable on most cards, indexed to the prime rate. Federal Reserve G.19 publishes the average commercial-bank credit-card APR.
Authorized user: On a personal card: an individual added to the cardholder's account who shares the credit line and is not personally liable. On a business card: typically called an employee cardholder, with potentially separate spend controls and statements.

B

Balance transfer: A transaction that moves balance from one credit card to another, typically at a promotional APR for a defined period. Subject to a transfer fee on most products.
Business credit bureau: A commercial credit-reporting agency that maintains files on business entities. Three major bureaus operate in the US: Dun and Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. See reference page →

C

CARD Act: The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-24). Amended the Truth in Lending Act to add consumer-card protections. Most provisions do not apply to business credit cards because of the 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1603 business-purpose exclusion. See reference page →
Cash back: A reward structure that returns a percentage of qualifying spend to the cardholder, typically as a statement credit or as redeemable points convertible to cash.
CFPB Card Agreement Database: Public database maintained by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishing the full text of every issuer's credit-card agreements. Updated quarterly. Available at consumerfinance.gov/credit-cards/agreements.
Charge card: A credit instrument requiring full payment of the balance each cycle, traditionally with no preset spending limit and no carried balance. See reference page →
Corporate card: A credit instrument issued to an entity, underwritten on entity financials, typically with corporate-pay billing and no personal guarantee from cardholders. See reference page →
Credit utilisation: The ratio of revolving balance to revolving credit limit, expressed as a percentage. Approximately 30 percent of FICO score weighting is driven by amounts owed, with utilisation as the dominant input. Aggregate (total balance / total limit) and per-account utilisation both matter.

D

D-U-N-S Number: Nine-digit identifier issued by Dun and Bradstreet to a business entity. Free through the standard application channel. The entity-level identifier most commonly used by commercial credit-extending counterparties.
Dun and Bradstreet (D&B): The oldest and largest US commercial credit bureau. Issues the D-U-N-S identifier and operates the PAYDEX score. See reference page →

E

EIN (Employer Identification Number): Nine-digit identifier issued by the IRS for federal tax purposes to business entities. Free through Form SS-4 or the IRS online application. Required for entities with employees and recommended for most LLCs and corporations. See reference page →
Equifax Business: Commercial credit bureau operating the Business Credit Risk Score, Business Failure Score, and Business Delinquency Score.
Experian Business: Commercial credit bureau operating Intelliscore Plus (1-100 risk-of-delinquency score) and Financial Stability Index (bankruptcy-risk score).

G

Grace period: The interval between statement close and payment due date during which a paid-in-full balance accrues no interest. Personal cards have a 21-day floor under the CARD Act; business cards do not.

H

Hard inquiry: A credit-bureau request triggered by a credit application that is recorded on the credit report and contributes to scoring models. Standard small-and-temporary FICO impact. Distinct from a soft inquiry, which does not affect scoring.

I

Interchange: The fee paid by a merchant's acquiring bank to the cardholder's issuing bank when a card transaction settles. Set by the card network's published interchange schedule. Largest component of the merchant discount fee. See reference page →

J

Joint and several liability: Legal arrangement under which each obligor is independently liable for the full obligation. On a business card with a personal guarantee, the entity and the guarantor are jointly and severally liable, allowing the issuer to pursue either party for the full balance.

L

Late fee: Fee assessed when a payment is not received by the due date. Capped on consumer cards under the CARD Act; not capped on business cards by federal statute.

M

Minimum payment: The smallest payment a cardholder can make on a revolving credit card while remaining in good standing. Typically the greater of a fixed dollar amount and a percentage of the balance.

N

NAICS code: North American Industry Classification System code identifying the entity's primary industry. Used by issuers in underwriting overlays and by federal agencies for statistical purposes.

P

PAYDEX score: Dun and Bradstreet's payment-timeliness score on a 0-100 scale. 80 indicates payment on net terms; 100 indicates payment 30 days early. Dollar-weighted, so larger tradelines have proportionally more impact.
Personal guarantee: Legal commitment by the business owner to repay the credit-card balance personally if the entity cannot. Standard on small-business cards; absent on most corporate cards. See reference page →

R

Regulation B: 12 C.F.R. Part 1002. Implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Applies to business credit applications and accounts. Includes the adverse-action notice requirement (1002.9) and the spouse-signature prohibition (1002.7).
Rev. Rul. 76-96: IRS Revenue Ruling treating rebates from a vendor as adjustments to purchase price rather than income. The framework applied to credit-card rewards earned through ordinary spending. See reference page →
Revolving credit: Credit that allows the borrower to pay any amount equal to or above a minimum payment, with the remaining balance carrying interest into the next cycle. The structure of standard credit cards.

S

Section 162 (IRC): 26 U.S.C. Sec. 162. The provision allowing the deduction of ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in carrying on a trade or business. Foundational to the deductibility of business expenses charged on a business credit card. See reference page →
Section 163 (IRC): 26 U.S.C. Sec. 163. The provision allowing the deduction of interest on indebtedness, with limitations. Business interest is generally deductible; personal interest is generally not.
Secured card: A credit card backed by a cash deposit that funds (or partially funds) the credit line. Designed for thin-file or rebuilding applicants. Deposit returned on graduation to unsecured or on closure in good standing. See reference page →
Sole proprietor: Individual operating an unincorporated business. Federal tax-default reports business income and expenses on Schedule C of Form 1040. SSN-based credit applications; EIN optional for most sole proprietors without employees.
Statement balance: The balance reported at the end of a statement cycle. The amount reported to credit bureaus where the issuer reports monthly. Paying down before statement close (rather than the due date) reduces the reported utilisation.

T

Truth in Lending Act (TILA): 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1601 et seq. Federal statute governing consumer credit disclosures. Scope set at 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1603, which excludes business-purpose credit. Implemented by Regulation Z.

U

UDAP: Unfair or Deceptive Acts and Practices. Federal and state statutes prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices by businesses, including credit-card issuers. Enforced by federal agencies (FTC, CFPB) and state attorneys general.

Related Reference