Corporate credit card limits: how they work and how to set them

Issuing corporate credit cards to your team is a great way to simplify your staff expenses. It’s also an excellent way to extend your organisation’s cash flow through this agreed line of credit. But how do you manage the spending levels on these credit cards?

Having the ability to set a corporate credit card limit puts you in control of your staff’s spending. And with per-card controls, you can specify exactly how much can be spent and by who.

What determines a corporate credit card limit?

Corporate credit card limits are set by your card provider, based on the company’s financial profile and business credit score. 

As the applicant, you don’t get to choose the upper limit on the card. This credit ceiling is assessed and set by the provider and can be reviewed and amended over time, based on your organisation’s changing financial status. 

Turnover, trading history, financials

The financial health, size and stability of your business will determine your corporate card limit – and also whether a provider is willing to accept your application for credit. 

According to a recent survey, UK businesses with no employees had an average success rate across all lending products of 53%, whilst SMEs with 50-249 employees had an average finance application success rate of 91%. 

Providers will ask for key financial data to help assess your risk as a business. The lower your risk profile, the greater the chance of a successful application and the higher your credit limit.

The primary assessment factors will generally be:

• Annual turnover: The turnover metric measures your top-line revenue to determine your company’s capacity to support high spending limits and cash flow consistency.

• Length of trading: A longer trading history shows your operational stability and longevity. Older, established businesses statistically present a much lower risk of sudden default or closure than brand-new startups.

• Director credit profile: A review of your personal credit profile helps the provider understand whether you’re a financially responsible individual. This can be a key indicator of risk, especially for younger companies where directors are still relatively inexperienced.

• Business credit score: Your business credit score tracks your past financial health, repayment habits and court judgments, and sums them into a single risk metric. This helps the provider predict your risk level and the likelihood of future delinquencies.

The overall limit vs per-card limits

When talking about card limits, it’s important to understand the two-tier system that sets both the overall limit for the corporate account and the limit for each individual card.

Your card provider will set a total limit for all spending across the account – this is your overall limit and is the sum of the approved spending by all corporate card users.

As the business, you can then choose how to distribute that total account limit across your  individual cardholders. So, for example, company directors may have larger per-card limits than manager-level employees, or salespeople. 

Setting individual employee limits

Once you have an account for your corporate credit card, you’ll need a business administrator (or administrators) who can manage the account and the company’s internal spending. 

Per-card limits are set by your business administrator, not by the employee. These limits will be set based on the type of employee role and the level of expected spending for that employee. 

For example, a sales rep who has regular travel expenses will reasonably have a higher per-card limit than a stationery buyer who’s based entirely at your main HQ. 

The per-card limit isn’t fixed. As an employee's role adds new responsibilities, or requires additional spending power, your administrator can update the spend limit. Similarly, if an employee’s spending gets out of control, the limit can be downgraded. 

Category and frequency limits

Setting card limits isn’t the only control you have as the administrator. As well as setting the employee card spending limit, you can also set up category controls per card and frequency limits for spending over a given period. 

Here’s how this works:

• Category-level controls: Your administrator can block certain merchant category codes to limit where a cardholder can make purchases. So, for example, your office manager may only have access to codes for stationery and office supplies. While a director may have access to additional spending codes, like international air travel. 

• Frequency limits: On top of the overall per-card limit, your administrator can also set frequency limits. These are per-day transaction caps that limit the number of purchases on the card during a 24-hour period. This can be a good way to stop employees maxing out their credit before the end of the month.

How to manage and adjust limits per card

By regularly monitoring the company’s credit card account, you give yourself a detailed, real-time overview of company-wide spending. It’s your administrator’s job to keep tabs on company spending and to manage the specific limits set for each card. 

Let’s look at some key features of these account dashboards:

1. Routine management of card limits: it’s a good idea to regularly review and update individual card limits. By making sure the spending limit, category and frequency settings align with each employee’s operational role, you can prevent overspending and maximise your available cash flow.

2. Removal of card access: When an employee leaves the company, you should quickly deactivate their card. This deactivation stops unauthorised spending and protects the company from any post-employment charges or malicious card use from disgruntled sacked employees. 

3. Real-time visibility of transactions: Having a real-time view of your transaction data helps you spot any unusual spending patterns or policy violations extremely quickly. This makes it easier to spot the discrepancy, take action and stop any unauthorised spending before it hits your cash position.

Increasing your company credit limit over time

Your overall credit limit will be set when you first open an account with your provider. But this limit isn’t written in stone. Your credit limit can be increased (or sometimes decreased) over the course of your business journey. 

As the company grows, you’re likely to see stronger revenues, higher turnover and a longer credit history. This can be a good time to request an increased credit limit.

Growing turnover and a strong repayment history are typical drivers of a

successful increase request to your card provider. But remember that other factors – such as industry type and economic conditions – can also be a factor in the provider’s decision. 

Setting and controlling card limits with Funding Circle

If you’re looking for a corporate credit card that gives complete control over your team’s spending, the Funding Circle Company business credit card gives you real flexibility.

We know the importance of managing your staff expenses, so we give you all the tools you need to track spending, set card limits and keep spending within agreed budgets. 

With a Company card, you get:

• An overall card limit up to £250,000: Having a limit of up to £250k gives you plenty of headroom to cover your operational costs and regular expenses. 

• Per-card limit controls for employee cards: You can set a per-card spending limit of from £0 up to any amount within your overall account limit. If you decide not to set a limit, the card will automatically default to £100 for security reasons.

• Free unlimited employee cards: There’s no limit on the number of cards you can order for authorised team members. Plus we won’t charge you a penny for these extra cards.

• 2% cashback on purchases: You’ll get 2% cashback on your card purchases for the first 6 months (up to £2,000) and then 1% uncapped cashback after that – so you can boost cash flow whenever you spend. 

Who’s eligible for a Company card?

To apply for a Funding Circle Company business credit card, you’ll need to:

• Be a UK-incorporated limited company or limited liability partnership (LLP)

• Have 12+ months trading 

• Have £30k+ annual turnover

Instantly manage your card spending across your business

The new Funding Circle app puts your whole card programme in the palm of your hand.

With full visibility over every card in your business, you can track spending, adjust company credit card limits and manage employee spending with a single tap.

What you get is true granular control. No more waiting for month-end statements to see how much you’ve spent – you keep control of your finances in real time, scaling up or down as required, so you always have a tight grip on company spending

Funding Circle: a company card that puts you in full control

If you’re looking to get complete visibility and control of your operational expenses, the Funding Circle Company business credit card has got you covered. 

• 2% cashback (up to £2,000) for 6 months, 1% cashback on all spend after that

• Up to 42 days interest-free

• No monthly fee

• Free unlimited cards for your employees

• Representative 34.9% variable, rates start from 14.9%

Find out more and apply for a Funding Circle cashback card today

FAQs

How is a corporate credit card limit decided?

The provider assesses the business's turnover, trading history and credit profile, among other factors. Criteria vary by provider. The assessed limit is a ceiling: not all businesses will receive the maximum available from a given provider.

Can I set different limits for each employee?

Yes. Most providers let the business administrator set individual per-card limits, so each employee's spending power reflects their role rather than giving them access to the full account limit.

Does a director credit check affect my personal credit?

A personal guarantee or director credit check may form part of the application, which can show on a personal credit file. Day-to-day card use and repayments sit with the business account.

Disclaimer

26/07/26 – While we want to help as much as we can, the information found here is provided solely for informational purposes and should not be considered financial or legal advice. To the extent permitted by law, Funding Circle does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained here. All information is correct at time of publishing, and customers should do their own research before making financial decisions. If you have any questions, please speak to your professional adviser or seek independent legal advice.