The 6 best prepaid business credit cards & how they work

Managing business expenses can feel like herding cats, especially when you're trying to control spending across multiple employees and departments. Cash is messy, traditional credit cards can lead to overspending, and tracking expenses becomes a nightmare when everyone's using different payment methods.

Prepaid business credit cards offer a middle ground that many companies find appealing. They give you the convenience of card payments without the risk of accumulating debt, plus they make expense tracking much simpler. Whether you're a small business owner trying to control costs or a growing company looking to streamline expense management, prepaid cards might be worth considering.

Here's everything you need to know about prepaid business credit cards, the top options available, and whether they're right for your business.

What are prepaid business credit cards?

Prepaid business credit cards are payment cards that you load with funds before your employees can use them. Unlike traditional credit cards that give you access to a line of credit, these cards only allow spending up to the amount you've preloaded onto them.

You put money on these prepaid business cards, and your team can spend that money on business expenses until the balance runs out. No credit checks or credit score requirements are typically required, and there's no risk of accumulating debt because you can't spend more than what's already on the card.

The "credit card" tag can be somewhat misleading since these cards don't actually extend credit. They're more accurately described as prepaid spending cards that run on credit card networks like Visa or Mastercard. This network compatibility means they're accepted at the same places as traditional credit cards, but the spending mechanism is entirely different.

These cards are particularly popular with small businesses, startups, and companies that want strict spending controls. They're also useful for businesses that have trouble qualifying for business credit cards due to limited credit history, or for companies that prefer to avoid debt entirely as a matter of financial policy.

Many businesses also use prepaid cards for specific purposes like employee travel, project-based spending, or seasonal expenses where they want to allocate a fixed budget without ongoing credit management.

How do prepaid business credit cards work?

The process is straightforward: you load money onto the card either through a one-time payment or set up recurring transfers from your business bank account. Once funded, employees can use the cards for approved business expenses just like any other payment card. The key difference is that spending stops when the preloaded balance is exhausted, providing automatic spending control.

Most prepaid business cards come with online dashboards where you can monitor spending in real-time, set spending limits for individual cards, and categorize expenses. When the balance gets low, you can reload the card with more funds. Some providers offer automatic reload features that add money when the balance drops below a certain threshold.

The cards typically run on major payment networks like Visa or Mastercard, so they're accepted wherever those networks are accepted. This includes online purchases, in-store transactions, and even some ATM withdrawals, depending on the specific card terms. Most also support contactless payments and mobile wallet integration for convenient transactions.

Advanced prepaid card platforms offer features like:

• Merchant category restrictions (preventing purchases at certain types of businesses)

• Time-based controls (limiting when cards can be used)

• Geographic restrictions (blocking transactions outside certain areas). 

These controls help ensure that business cards are only used for legitimate business purposes.

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Pros and cons of prepaid business credit cards

Like any financial tool, prepaid business cards have both advantages and drawbacks that you should consider:

Benefits of prepaid business credit cards

No risk of overspending or debt accumulation

The biggest advantage of prepaid business credit cards is built-in spending control. Since you can only spend what's preloaded on the card, there's no risk of accidentally racking up debt or going over budget. This makes prepaid cards particularly attractive for businesses that want strict cost controls.

Simplified expense tracking and reporting

Most prepaid card providers offer detailed spending reports and categorization tools. This makes it much easier to track where your money is going and prepare expense reports for accounting or tax purposes. Real-time spending alerts also help you stay on top of expenses as they happen.

Employee spending is easier to manage

Many prepaid business cards let you issue multiple cards to team members with individual spending limits. This gives employees the flexibility to cover work expenses while allowing you to maintain full visibility and control over how company funds are used.

Drawbacks of prepaid business credit cards

No built-in rewards or cash back programs

Most prepaid cards don't offer the rewards, cashback, points programs, or annual fee waivers that you'll find with traditional business credit cards. This means you're missing out on potential savings or perks that could add up over time.

Limited or no access to higher credit limits

Since you're limited to the amount you preload, prepaid cards might not work for businesses that need access to larger credit limits for major purchases or cash flow management. While some providers offer "no limit" options, these still require you to fund the card in advance.

May require frequent reloads for ongoing use

Depending on your spending patterns, you might find yourself constantly reloading cards, which can become tedious. This is especially true for businesses with high monthly expenses or irregular spending patterns.

Not suitable for establishing traditional lines of credit

If one of your goals is to establish a traditional line of business credit for future borrowing, prepaid cards won't help with that. They're more about expense control than credit building.

What are the best prepaid card options for businesses? Top 6 best

Here are some of the leading prepaid business card options, each with their own strengths and limitations:

1. PEX Prepaid Expense Visa

PEX focuses on business expense management with pre-funded Visa cards that offer detailed spending controls and real-time monitoring capabilities.

Features: Customizable spending limits by cardholder, merchant category, day of week, or geographic location. Real-time transaction monitoring, automated approval workflows, and AI-powered receipt management.

Fees: Plans range from free Base (up to 5 cards, $8 additional cards) to Core ($30-75/month for up to 20 cards) and Pro ($80-200/month for up to 100 cards).

2. Dash Prepaid Mastercard

​​Dash offers prepaid Mastercard solutions designed for small business expense management with mobile-first functionality for teams that need funds on the go.

Features: Real-time transaction monitoring and spending controls through mobile and web apps. Digital receipt management, remote fund allocation and approval workflows, plus automatic fund reloading options. 

Fees: Maximum account balance of $100,000, with individual card limits up to $10,000. 3% foreign transaction fees apply.

3. Emburse Spend

Emburse provides reloadable prepaid corporate cards (virtual and physical) integrated with expense management software for streamlined business spending control.

Features: Granular spending rules and merchant category restrictions that mirror company policies. Role-based permissions and approval workflows, mobile receipt capture with automatic expense categorization, and real-time transaction linking. 

Fees: Pricing varies based on company size and features required.

4. Bento for Business Card

Bento provides Visa business debit cards with comprehensive spending controls designed for small to medium businesses looking to manage employee expenses and eliminate petty cash.

Features: Customizable spending controls with daily, weekly, or monthly limits per card. Merchant category restrictions with real-time enable/disable capabilities. Multiple card types including gas-only cards, employee cards, project cards, and virtual cards for online purchases. 

Fees: Free 60-day trial for up to 50 cards. Monthly plans: Starter (up to 2 cards, $0), Team (up to 10 cards, $29), Professional (up to 25 cards, $69), Enterprise (25+ cards, $149). 

5. Pleo Prepaid Business Card

Pleo offers physical and virtual Mastercard prepaid cards designed for European markets with integrated expense management software and mobile-first functionality.

Features: Instant notifications when purchases are made, with mobile receipt capture and automated expense reporting. Central fund management, Apple Pay and Google Pay integration, plus invoice management and mileage reimbursement capabilities through the platform.

Fees: Monthly subscription fees for Pro or Premium plans. Additional costs include FX charges, £10 for extra physical cards, £4 ATM withdrawal fees, and 0.9% reimbursement fees (capped at £1). £450 daily ATM withdrawal limit on physical cards.

6. U.S. Bank Business Prepaid Cards

U.S. Bank offers multiple prepaid card solutions including focus cards for payroll and non-payroll disbursements, plus expense cards for business travel and petty cash management.

Features: Online administrative portal for monitoring and managing expenditures. Multiple card types, and integration with existing ACH processes and direct deposit systems.

Fees: Specific pricing depends on business banking relationship with U.S. Bank.

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3 alternatives to prepaid business credit cards

If prepaid cards don't seem like the right fit, here are some alternatives worth considering:

Corporate cards

Corporate charge cards require you to pay off the full balance each month but don't require prepayment like prepaid cards. 

Why it’s a good alternative to a prepaid business credit card: Corporate cards give you more flexibility for larger purchases and better cash flow management while still maintaining spending control through monthly payment requirements. A provider like Rippling stands out in this category because its corporate card integrates directly with your HR and payroll data, allowing for incredibly granular spending controls based on employee attributes like department, level, and location.

Business debit cards

Business debit cards draw directly from your business bank account, giving you spending control without the need to preload funds like prepaid cards. 

Why it’s a good alternative to a prepaid business credit card: Business debit cards offer immediate access to your business funds and typically come with lower fees than credit products since there's no credit risk involved. The main advantage of business debit cards is simplicity—there's no need to manage card balances or reload funds because transactions come straight from your bank account. They also typically offer better fraud protection than personal debit cards and may include business-specific features like expense categorization and spending reports.

Gift/prepaid gift cards

For very specific or limited business expenses, you might consider gift cards from specific retailers. 

Why it’s a good alternative to a prepaid business credit card: These can work well for controlled spending at particular vendors, employee rewards, or project-specific purchases where you want to limit spending to certain stores or services. Gift cards offer tight control over where money can be spent, which makes them useful for things like office supplies from specific retailers, employee incentives, or client entertainment at particular restaurants or venues. They also reduce the need for expense reports since the spending is predetermined and limited to specific merchants.

Manage business expenses better with Rippling's corporate card

Rippling's corporate card offers a more sophisticated approach to expense management than prepaid cards. Instead of requiring you to preload funds, Rippling's charge card provides a credit line based on your business's creditworthiness, with no personal credit checks or personal guarantees required. This means you get the spending flexibility of a credit product without putting your personal assets at risk.

What makes Rippling's corporate card unique is its deep integration with your employee data. You can create spending policies based on employee attributes like department, job level, work location, and more. This means you can automatically give different spending limits and permissions to different types of employees without manual management. 

The card integrates seamlessly with Rippling's expense management platform, automatically categorizing transactions and matching receipts. This eliminates much of the manual work involved in expense reporting and makes closing your books faster and more accurate.

Real-time spending controls mean you can prevent non-compliant spending before it happens, rather than trying to chase down receipts and explanations after the fact. The system can automatically block transactions that don't meet your company policies, whether that's spending at unapproved merchant categories, or making purchases outside of approved hours or locations.

Plus, unlike most prepaid cards, Rippling's corporate card offers rewards on eligible purchases, helping you get value back on your business spending. The platform also provides comprehensive spending analytics that give you insights into spending patterns across different teams, projects, and time periods.

FAQs about prepaid business credit cards

What is the easiest business credit card to get approved for?

Prepaid business cards are the easiest to get since they usually don't require credit checks or approvals at all. But if you’re looking for a true credit product, secured business credit cards or options from community banks and credit unions tend to have more flexible approval criteria than major issuers.

Can an LLC get a business credit card?

Yes, LLCs can typically get both prepaid business cards and business credit cards. You'll need your LLC's tax identification number (EIN) and business formation documents. Some card issuers may also require personal guarantees from LLC members, but this varies by provider.

Are prepaid cards the same as business credit cards?

No, prepaid cards and business credit cards work differently. Prepaid cards require you to load money onto them before spending, while credit cards provide access to a line of credit that you pay back later. Prepaid cards help control spending but don't build business credit in the same way traditional credit cards do.

Who would benefit from prepaid business debit or credit cards?

Prepaid business cards work well for small businesses with limited credit history, business owners with poor credit scores, companies that want strict spending controls, businesses with employees who travel or work remotely, and organizations that prefer to avoid debt. They're also useful for project-based spending or seasonal businesses that need flexible expense management.

Are prepaid business cards the same as prepaid debit cards?

Yes, prepaid business cards are essentially prepaid debit cards that run on major credit card networks like Visa or Mastercard. The term "prepaid business credit card" can be confusing since no actual credit is involved; you can only spend the money you've preloaded onto the card. Whether called prepaid debit cards or prepaid credit cards, they function the same way: you fund the card in advance, and spending is limited to that preloaded balance.