How to add an employee credit card to your account

Quick insights

• Adding an employee credit card to your business credit card account will likely involve calling the customer service number or requesting a new card through your online account.
• Employee credit cards can help businesses streamline expenses, monitor spending and earn rewards.
• When providing employees with credit cards, it may be beneficial to create an employee credit card policy to establish usage guidelines.

Credit cards are not only for individuals. Many businesses use and can benefit from having credit cards. They can earn points, rewards and cash back just like the average consumer depending on the business credit card they choose. But businesses can help maximize those benefits and their spending power when dispersing cards to their to employees. Let's look at how you might add an employee credit card to your account.

What is an employee credit card?

Employee credit cards are given to the employees of a business for the purposes of making work-related purchases. Many businesses may opt to give employees a card because it could help to streamline expense tracking and eliminate some reimbursement processes.

These cards work similarly to personal credit cards but are given for the specific use of work-related expenses. Depending on the size of your business and how it operates, you may want to issue one or multiple cards to certain employees.

How do I go about requesting employee credit cards on my account?

You will need to make a request for a employee credit card through the card issuer. How you make that request will depend on the card issuer. But note that employees will not be able to request their own card. 

Depending on the issuer and type of card, you may be able to make the request online from your account dashboard. Another option would be to call the issuer's customer service line or visit a local branch office.

When requesting the card, you will typically be asked to provide the employee's first name, last name, mailing address, date of birth and social security number. The card can be distributed by the company to the employee or sometimes can be directly sent to them.

Unlike personal credit cards, employees will not need to submit to a credit check. Because the business is ultimately responsible for usage and payment of the card, an employee's credit score is not factored into the approval process.

What are the benefits of adding employees as authorized users on my business card?

Business owners may find there are many benefits to giving their employees business credit cards. They can:

• Streamline expense tracking: Expenses are automatically categorized and included under one account, giving you a clear and concise overview of how business funds are being used in real time.
• Monitor spending habits: Individual cards can often have separate spending limits. This can give you control on a card-by-card basis to ensure that no one employee is overspending.
• Earn rewards: By having all work-related expenses consolidated under one account, you can help maximize the card's benefits. You'll accumulate cash back and points more quickly than if employees are making purchases with personal cards and submitting for reimbursement.

What should I consider before giving employees a business credit card? 

When you have multiple cards for your business, it's often good practice to create guidelines. Many businesses may opt to implement an employee credit card policy. That policy can include provisions like:

• What purchases and expenses can go on a credit card
• Who is eligible to receive a card
• What the responsibilities of the card holder are for its use and storage
• How violations of the card's use will be handled

If you are able to and choose to implement automatic spending limits on the cards, consider how you plan to set and communicate those limits so employees are not surprised when they reach a limit and cannot use their card.

In summary

Giving your employees credit cards may be beneficial for your business. You can determine who gets the cards and how much each card holder can spend according to the budgets and limits that you set. You may find that adding an employee credit card to your account is as straightforward as logging into your online account and following the process or contacting your card's customer service representative.