4 Best Cashback Business Credit Cards in the UK - and one debit card alternative

If you’re a UK business owner, freelancer or sole proprietor looking for ways to manage your business expenses, you may be considering getting a credit card to spread the costs of purchases and earn cashback at the same time.

We’ll run through the best cashback business credit cards in the UK, and also introduce Wise Business as an alternative for managing business spending and expenses with low fees and 0,5% cashback on your purchases.

Learn more about
Wise Business cashback

Can you get cashback on a business card?

Yes. If you pick a cashback credit card for your business you’ll be able to earn cashback on eligible spending. Some providers also offer the option to have extra cards added to the account to allow you to issue team members with their own expense cards.

Cashback credit cards will usually have certain exemptions or spending categories which are not eligible for rewards. Purchases of vouchers and gift cards are usually excluded for example, as well as cash withdrawals, or any spending which goes above the account credit limit.

Read your card’s terms and conditions carefully to make sure you’re clear on the rules for your specific card.

Popular business credit cards with cashback are available for UK business owners and sole proprietors from companies including:

• Capital on Tap
• Barclays
• Santander
• RBS

We’ll walk through each of these providers in more detail in just a moment to help you decide if one is right for you.

How do business cashback cards work?

Some major banks and card issuers offer credit cards which give cashback on business purchases to cardholders. The options available do vary by provider, with some offering a fixed cashback percentage on all eligible spend, and others providing a variable cashback percentage depending on the type of purchase.

You’ll be able to spend using your card to the agreed credit limit, and will usually find that any cashback is then offered as a credit against your bill, or to be deposited to your linked business bank account.

Alternative to business credit cards: Wise Business Debit Cards with 0,5% cashback

Using a credit card for business spending can be handy - but you may find you run into high interest rates, costly annual fees, and steep penalties if you don’t repay your bill in time.

As an alternative, check out cashback debit cards like the Wise Business Debit Card, which offers 0,5% cashback on spending - plus no annual fees, mid-market exchange rate, and employee expense cards with limits and spending controls.

You’ll still benefit from cashback which can help you save monay - without the worry of the fees and penalties that come with a credit card.

Open an account with Wise Business online, to hold 40+ currencies, get paid like a local, and get linked debit and expense cards for spending in 150+ countries.

Start earning cashback
with Wise Business

How to choose a business cashback credit card?

Before we dive into the details of some popular UK business cashback cards, let’s take a look at some of the things to consider when picking the right card for your needs.

Each cashback credit card is slightly different, which means you’ll need to understand and weigh up factors like:

• What percentage of cashback is offered?
• What is included as eligible card spending - and is there a cap to the amount of cashback you can earn?
• What are the annual and transaction costs associated with the card?
• What’s the exchange rate or foreign transaction cost applied for international spending and withdrawals?
• What interest rates are available - and what are the penalties for late payments?
• Are additional or employee cards available, and do these come with any extra charges?

Best cashback business credit card in the UK

The right cashback card for your needs will depend on your business type, your personal preferences, and the sort of transactions you make regularly. Let’s walk through some of the best cashback business credit cards in the UK to help you pick one which suits your needs.

Capital on Tap business credit card¹

Capital on Tap offers business credit cards and working capital facilities to UK business owners. To be eligible for the Capital on Tap credit card you’ll need to be the director or a majority shareholder of a UK registered business with an annual turnover of 24,000 GBP or more².

Choose a Free Rewards card or pay a 99 GBP annual fee for the Business Rewards card. Both Capital on Tap cards offer 1% cashback on spending - but the Business Rewards card offers a broader variety of ways to spend your cashback, including converting to Avios points.

Capital on Tap has a 4.6/5 star Excellent rating on Trustpilot³.

Barclays Select Cashback business credit card⁴

If you’d prefer a business cashback card from an established highstreet bank, check out the Barclaycard Select Cashback card. You’ll be able to earn 1% cashback, with an opening offer of 3% cashback for 3 months active at the time of writing. There’s no annual fee for the card, and additional cardholders can also be added, so you may be able to issue linked cards to team members⁵.

To apply for the Barclaycard Select Cashback card you’ll need a UK registered business which has a turnover - or projected turnover - of 10,000 GBP/year or more.

Santander Business Cashback credit card⁶

If you have an eligible Santander business current account, you can also apply for the Santander Business Cashback Credit Card for you and your team. This card is aimed at smaller businesses and sole traders based in the UK, and offers 1% cashback on business card spending, with no extra charge to access additional cards for team members.

The Santander Business Cashback Credit Card doesn’t have any foreign transaction fee for spending overseas in a foreign currency, which means your pounds will be converted using the exchange rate offered by the network (Mastercard).

Royal Bank of Scotland Business Plus credit card⁷

RBS business customers can apply for a RBS Business Plus credit card to use alongside their business bank account, with cashback of up to 2% available based on spending category. There’s a fairly high 70 GBP/year annual fee, but if you expect to spend a lot with your card, you may be able to earn more than this in cashback - capped to 400 GBP/year.

There’s a handy calculator on the RBS desktop site which lets you enter the amount you spend on a card to estimate the value of cashback you could receive. It’s also good to know that RBS doesn’t add a foreign transaction fee to overseas spending with this card.

Alternative: Wise Business Debit Card

If you want a low cost, convenient way to manage business card spending - and you don’t want to risk high interest rates or penalty fees - check out the Wise Business Debit Card as an alternative.

Open a Wise Business account online or in the Wise app, and apply for a linked card for yourself and your team members, for easy spending and withdrawals at home and abroad.

Wise Accounts can hold and exchange 50+ currencies, and come with local bank details to get paid from 30+ countries - perfect for any business transacting internationally frequently.

Use your linked Wise Business Debit Card to spend in 170+ countries, and get the mid-market exchange rate every time, with no hidden costs and no hassle.

Wise serves over 13 million individual and business customers around the world - and has a solid 4.5/5 Excellent rating, from over 184,000 reviews on Trustpilot.⁸

Pricing/fees: Please seeTerms of Use for your region or visit WiseFees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

Manage expenses with Wise Business

Get Wise Expense Cards for you and your team, to earn 0,5% cashback on all eligible spending. You’ll be able to set spending limits for team members as necessary, and view and manage transactions from the Wise app whenever you need to.

Save time with business friendly functions like batch payments and cloud accounting reconciliation - and save money when you send, spend or receive in foreign currencies, with the real exchange rate every time.

Grow your business internationally
with Wise 🚀

Earning cashback on your business spending can boost your profits and make it easier to manage your company cashflow. If you’re looking for ways to earn cashback while cutting the costs of transacting internationally, check out Wise Business for convenient account and card options which suit freelancers, sole proprietors and business owners in the UK.

Sources:

Sources last checked January 17, 2023