Capital on Tap Business Credit Card Review

What the product is, in plain English

Capital on Tap gives eligible UK companies a business credit card with a revolving credit limit and a points-based rewards programme. You spend on the card, you get a statement, and you either clear it in full or carry a balance and pay interest.

It is a credit product from a lender, not a bank account and not free money. The rewards are the marketing; the credit line and the terms attached to it are the product. Judge it on the terms.

Who actually gets approved

The business must be an active UK-registered private limited company (Ltd), limited liability partnership (LLP) or public limited company (PLC), listed as active at Companies House. The applicant must reside in the UK and be an active director or a majority shareholder who owns at least 25% of the business. The applicant and business must have no unsatisfied CCJs in the last 12 months. Sole traders are not eligible.

There is no minimum trading history and no minimum turnover: eligible businesses of any age can apply. Approval is still not guaranteed: Capital on Tap makes its own status, credit and eligibility decision.

At application, there is no visible hard search on the business credit file. Capital on Tap runs a standard soft search on the applicant's personal file; it does not affect the personal credit score and is not visible to other lenders. A hard search of the business credit file happens later, only when the credit agreement is signed, and it can then be visible to other lenders.

For an otherwise eligible business, the absence of a business-file hard search at application removes a potential reason not to apply. That does not remove the need to consider the later hard search before signing the credit agreement.

• Confirm that Companies House lists the business as active and that the legal entity is an eligible Ltd, LLP or PLC.
• Confirm that the applicant lives in the UK, is an active director or an eligible 25%+ shareholder, and that neither applicant nor business has an unsatisfied CCJ in the last 12 months.
• Do not self-exclude merely because the business is new or has low turnover; those are not stated minimums.
• Before signing, factor in the later business-file hard search as well as the personal guarantee and repayment obligation.

The credit line: how to think about the limit

A credit limit is not working capital and it is not a cash buffer. It is short-term borrowing that must be repaid, and the amount you are offered reflects what the lender thinks you can service — not what your business can safely afford.

The healthy pattern is simple: put spend you were already making on the card, clear it in full every month, and treat the limit as a payment-timing tool rather than funding. The unhealthy pattern is using the limit to bridge a gap you cannot see the end of. That is how a card becomes a permanent, expensive debt.

Rewards: worth having, not worth chasing

Points accrue on spend and can be redeemed under the current rewards terms. On genuine business spend that you clear monthly, rewards are a real if modest benefit. Two things kill that benefit: carrying interest, and spending more than you would have because points are on the table.

Do the arithmetic honestly. If a month of interest on a carried balance is larger than a year of points, the rewards are a distraction. In almost every scenario where a business carries a balance, that is exactly what happens.

Fees and interest: the numbers that matter

Depending on the plan chosen, a card fee may apply. Capital on Tap states that card purchases can receive up to 42 days' interest-free credit on card purchases, subject to the statement cycle and paying the balance in full by the due date. Interest applies to balances not repaid in full by the due date. Foreign exchange charges, late payment fees and cash-type transaction charges can also apply, and cash-type transactions are usually the most expensive way to use any credit card.

Rates as low as 13.86% APR (variable). Interest rates are variable. Approval is subject to status and T&Cs.

The personal guarantee question

Capital on Tap currently requires a personal guarantee from a director or majority shareholder. This means that person can become personally liable for the business's outstanding debt if the business cannot repay it. Read the current product terms before applying. That converts a company debt into a personal one, and limited liability stops protecting you for that amount.

Read the guarantee wording on the application itself, not a summary. If you are not comfortable being personally liable for the full limit in a bad month, either ask for a lower limit or do not take the product.

When a business credit card is the wrong answer

If the reason you want a card is that you cannot pay a supplier or an HMRC bill this month, the card is not the fix. It moves the problem forward and adds interest to it. The better moves are a payment plan with HMRC, a conversation with the supplier, chasing your own overdue invoices, and free debt advice if the pressure is real.

This is also why the reader offer for this product is suppressed on our cash-flow-crisis and insolvency pages. A rewards promotion has no business appearing next to guidance for someone who cannot make payroll.

• You cannot say with confidence how you will clear the balance next month.
• You are already using personal credit to fund the business.
• The limit would be used mainly for cash-type transactions.
• You are in or approaching a formal insolvency process.

Alternatives worth comparing first

A business charge card that must be cleared monthly removes the temptation to carry debt. A negotiated supplier credit account often costs nothing. Invoice finance can be a better structural answer to late payment than a card. And for genuine growth investment, a term loan with a fixed repayment schedule is usually cheaper and more honest about what it is.

The card wins on convenience, employee cards and rewards. It loses badly to almost everything else if you are going to carry a balance.

Strengths and limitations

How it compares