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Business credit card APR explained
A business credit card advert can show three different numbers that look like the cost. They answer three different questions, and mixing them up is the commonest way to misjudge a card.
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The three numbers on a card page
Look at any UK business credit card and you will meet some combination of a purchase rate, a representative APR and an interest-free period. They are not interchangeable.
- Purchase rate: the yearly interest rate charged on what you buy, if you do not clear the balance in time. It is the number that decides what carrying a balance costs.
- Representative APR: a standardised figure the issuer must show so cards can be compared. It folds the interest rate and compulsory fees (such as an annual fee) into one yearly percentage, on stated assumptions, and is the rate at least 51% of accepted applicants must receive. It is not a rate you are promised.
- Interest-free days: the longest gap between buying something and the interest clock starting, which only applies if you pay the whole statement balance by the due date.
Why the representative APR can look wildly different from the purchase rate
The representative example almost always assumes a credit limit of £1,200, and the annual fee is spread over that sum. A big fee on a small assumed limit produces a big APR even when the interest rate is modest. The British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card shows a purchase rate of 26.6% and a representative APR of 104.9%, and its page also shows a £250 annual fee. That fee is 20.8% of the assumed £1,200 limit, which on its own explains most of the gap. Barclaycard’s Premium Plus page shows a purchase rate of 18.4% and a representative APR of 54.3%, with a £150 annual fee. Neither figure is an error. They describe a card whose price is mostly its fee.
The reverse also happens. Metro Bank prints one rate, 18.9% APR representative, with no annual fee, so for that card the purchase rate and the representative APR are the same number. A card with no fee and one rate has nothing to blend. Capital on Tap publishes no representative APR at all; its page says rates are “as low as” 13.86% APR and that the final rate depends on your personal and business credit history and the Bank of England base rate. A “from” rate is a floor for the strongest applicants, not a typical rate.
Simple rate, monthly rate and compound equivalent
Barclaycard’s Select Cashback page is unusually clear about how its rate is built. It publishes a monthly interest rate of 1.909%, a simple annual rate of 22.910%, and a compound equivalent of 25.5%. These are one rate written three ways. The monthly rate multiplied by twelve gives the simple annual figure. Compounding the monthly rate for a year, because interest is charged on interest you have not paid, gives (1.0190912 − 1) = 25.5%, which Barclaycard rounds to 25.5%. Variable-rate cards also move: Barclaycard says its rates change in line with the Bank of England base rate.
A worked example, computed
Take the Barclaycard simple annual rate of 22.910% divided by twelve, a monthly rate of about 1.909%, as an illustration. Suppose a business has a £2,000 balance, spends nothing more on the card, and pays £100 a month. Each month the interest is the balance times 0.019092, and the rest of the payment reduces the balance. The balance reaches zero after 26 payments: 25 of £100 and a last payment of £43.62. The interest paid is £543.62, so the total repaid is £2543.62. That is the cost of carrying the balance, and it dwarfs any cashback a card earns on the £2,000 spent. Try your own figures in the business credit card calculator. It is illustrative arithmetic, not an offer from any issuer.
What interest-free days really require
An interest-free period is conditional. Barclaycard, HSBC and Lloyds all say the benefit applies to purchases if you pay the balance in full and on time. Their summary boxes also say what happens if you do not: interest is charged on purchases from the date the transaction was added to your account until it is paid in full. So a £1,000 purchase left unpaid costs about £19.09 in the first month at 1.909% a month, and the “free” weeks are gone from the whole amount, not just the unpaid part. Cash withdrawals are different again. Barclaycard, Lloyds, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank each state there is no interest-free period on cash.
The headline day count is a maximum. HSBC says up to 56 days, and 38 days if you pay in full each month by Direct Debit. Barclaycard’s charge card offers up to 38 days. Virgin Money states up to 59 days, the longest on our list. The real number depends on where in your statement cycle you buy, so a purchase made just after a statement date gets nearly the full period and one made just before gets far less.
How to use this when you compare
Ask three questions in order. Will you clear the balance every month? If yes, the purchase rate barely matters, and the annual fee, foreign-transaction fee and cashback matter most. If you expect to carry a balance some months, compare purchase rates, and treat a low representative APR on a card with a fee as a sign you are looking at the average borrower’s assumed £1,200 limit, not your spending. Finally, remember a variable rate can change after you sign. Our business credit card comparison shows each figure with its source, and the fees guide covers the costs that sit outside the APR.
Sourced comparison
| Card | Representative APR | Purchase rate | Interest-free | Annual fee | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Capital on TapBusiness Credit Card (Free plan) | from 13.86% (a floor) | Not published | Not published | £0 a year | capitalontap.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| Capital on TapBusiness Credit Card (Pro plan) | from 13.86% (a floor) | Not published | Not published | £299 a year, billed annually | capitalontap.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 American ExpressBusiness Gold Card | Not published | 29.1% p.a. | Up to 54 days interest free on purchases | No annual fee for the first year, then £195 a year | americanexpress.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| American ExpressBusiness Platinum Card | Not published | 29.1% p.a. | Up to 54 days interest free on purchases | £650 a year | americanexpress.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| American ExpressBritish Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card | 104.9% representative | 26.6% p.a. | Up to 56 calendar days interest free when you pay in full | £250 a year | americanexpress.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 BarclaycardSelect Cashback business credit card | 25.5% representative | 25.5% p.a. | Up to 56 days on purchases when paid in full; none on cash withdrawals | £0 a year | barclaycard.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
| BarclaycardPremium Plus business credit card | 54.3% representative | 18.4% p.a. | Six months interest-free on purchases from account opening; then up to 56 days when paid in full | £150 a year (per account) | barclaycard.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
| BarclaycardSelect business charge card | 3.6% representative | Not published | Up to 38 days to pay off purchases; balance must be paid in full each month | £42 a year (per account), paid in the first month | barclaycard.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 HSBC UKCommercial Card (business credit card) | 22.0% representative | 15.9% p.a. | Up to 56 days (38 days if you pay in full each month by Direct Debit) | £32 a year per card, waived for the first year | business.hsbc.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Lloyds BankBusiness Credit Card | 15.95% representative | 14.9% p.a. | Maximum 56 days on new purchases if paid in full and on time; none on cash withdrawals | No fee for the first 12 months, then £32 per cardholder (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year across all cards) | lloydsbank.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| Lloyds BankBusiness Charge Card | Not published | Not published | Up to 42 days on purchases; balance paid in full by Direct Debit each month | No fee for the first 12 months, then £32 per cardholder (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year across all cards) | lloydsbank.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 NatWestBusiness Credit Card | 24.3% representative | 16.9% p.a. | Up to 56 days interest-free when you pay your balance in full | No fee in the first year, then £30 per card (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year) | natwest.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 Royal Bank of ScotlandBusiness Credit Card | 24.3% representative | 16.9% p.a. | Up to 56 days interest-free when you pay your balance in full | No fee in the first year, then £30 per card (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year) | business.rbs.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 SantanderBusiness Cashback Credit Card | 23.7% representative | 18.9% p.a. | Up to 56 days interest-free on purchases when paid in full and on time | £30 a year account fee (extra cards at no extra cost) | santander.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Metro BankBusiness Credit Card | 18.9% representative | 18.9% p.a. | Up to 56 days on purchases when you pay your balance in full and on time | Zero annual fee | metrobankonline.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Virgin MoneyBusiness Credit Card | 27.7% representative | 21.9% p.a. | Up to 59 days interest-free on purchases when paid in full and on time; none on cash advances | No annual fee in the first year, then £28 per card | uk.virginmoney.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 The Co-operative BankBusiness Credit Card | 21.8% representative | 15.9% p.a. | Up to 56 days on purchases if the balance is paid in full by the due date; none on cash withdrawals | £24 a year (included in the APR) | co-operativebank.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Funding CircleCashback business credit card | 34.9% representative | Not published | Up to 42 days interest-free; pay in full or make part-payments | No annual fees and no monthly fees | fundingcircle.com checked 2026-10-13 |
Representative examples assume a credit limit of £1,200 where the issuer says so. A charge card has no revolving purchase rate unless the issuer prints one.
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Sources
Every issuer figure in this guide was read from the issuer’s own page on the date shown. Terms change, so check the live page before you apply.
- Capital on Tap Business Credit Card (Free plan): capitalontap.com, read 13 October 2026
- American Express British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card: americanexpress.com, read 13 October 2026
- Barclaycard Select Cashback business credit card: barclaycard.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
- Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card: barclaycard.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
- HSBC UK Commercial Card (business credit card): business.hsbc.uk, read 13 October 2026
- Lloyds Bank Business Credit Card: lloydsbank.com, read 13 October 2026
- Metro Bank Business Credit Card: metrobankonline.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is a good APR on a business credit card?
There is no single answer. Among the cards we compare, published representative APRs run from 15.95% (Lloyds Bank) to 104.9% (the British Airways American Express card), but the highest figures are driven by annual fees on an assumed limit of £1,200, not by the interest rate. Compare the purchase rate for a balance you will carry, and the fees for one you will clear.
Is the representative APR the rate I will get?
Not necessarily. It is the rate at least 51% of accepted applicants must receive, so up to 49% can be offered a higher one. Some issuers, such as Capital on Tap, publish only a lowest rate.
Do I pay interest if I clear the balance in full each month?
On purchases, issuers such as Barclaycard, HSBC and Lloyds say you do not, provided you pay the full statement balance by the due date. Cash withdrawals normally attract interest from the day you take the cash.
Does the Bank of England base rate affect my card?
On variable-rate cards it can. Barclaycard states that its standard and cash rates change in line with the base rate, and promotional rates are excluded.