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Fees on business credit cards
The interest rate gets the headlines, but on many business cards the fees decide the cost. Here is what each issuer publishes, and how to tell which fees you will actually pay.
Annual fees: free, conditional or substantial
Of the 18 cards we compare, 4 charge no ongoing annual fee: the Capital on Tap Free plan, the Barclaycard Select Cashback card, Metro Bank’s card and the Funding Circle cashback card. The rest range from £24 a year (the Co-operative Bank) to £650 (American Express Business Platinum). Several are conditional. Lloyds Bank charges nothing for the first 12 months and then £32 per cardholder, waived if you spend £6,000 or more a year across all cards. NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland say the same about their £30 fee, and HSBC waives its £32 per card for the first year. Virgin Money’s £28 and American Express Gold’s £195 also start after a free first year.
Three cautions apply. The fee is often per card, not per account, so employee cards can multiply it. Santander states that its £30 fee is charged even if you never use the card. And a free first year is a trial, not a price: compare the fee you will pay from year two. For a premium card, do the break-even sum. Capital on Tap’s Pro page says the £299 fee can be covered by cashback alone: £23,920 of preloaded spend at 1.25% or £29,900 of ordinary spend at 1%. Both multiply back to £299, so it is a statement about how much you spend, not a bonus.
Foreign transaction fees
If your business buys software, stock or travel in other currencies, this fee compounds quickly. Among the cards that publish a percentage, the highest is 2.99% (Barclaycard Select, Barclaycard charge, HSBC) and the lowest non-zero figure is 0.99% on Barclaycard Premium Plus, a card that carries a £150 fee. Lloyds, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money show 2.95%; the Co-operative Bank shows 2.75%. Three cards state no foreign transaction fee on purchases: Capital on Tap, Funding Circle, and Santander when paying in the local currency. Metro Bank states no charge in most European countries and 2.99% elsewhere. Virgin Money exempts Euro, Swedish Krona and Romanian Lei transactions within the UK or EEA. American Express does not publish a figure on the product pages we read. All of these are percentages on the sterling value, on top of whatever exchange rate the card network applies.
A worked example: foreign spending
Suppose a business spends £10,000 a year in other currencies. At 2.99% that is £299 in foreign transaction fees, at 2.95% it is £295, and at 2.75% it is £275. Barclaycard Premium Plus charges 0.99%, which is £99, but it also carries a £150 annual fee, so the first year costs £249. Set against a 2.99% card, the Premium Plus fee pays for itself once foreign spending passes £7,500 a year, because £150 divided by the 2-point difference is £7,500. Below that level the cheaper-looking card costs more. Against a card that charges no foreign fee on purchases, such as Capital on Tap, Funding Circle or Santander (when paying in the local currency), the Premium Plus fee is never recovered on this measure, though other features of the cards differ. This is arithmetic on published percentages, not a forecast of your bill.
Cash withdrawals
Cash is usually the most expensive way to use a business card. Barclaycard, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank state a 3% fee with a £3 minimum, HSBC 2.99% with a £3 minimum. On top of that, interest starts on the day you take the cash: Barclaycard, Lloyds, Virgin Money and the Co-operative Bank each say there is no interest-free period on cash withdrawals, and Barclaycard’s cash rate is a compound-equivalent 31.8% against 25.5% for purchases. Capital on Tap is the exception on fees: it states no ATM fees, with a limit of £400 a day and two withdrawals. The Funding Circle cashback card does not support cash at all.
Late payment and other charges
A £12 late fee is the most common figure: Barclaycard, HSBC, Lloyds and Virgin Money all state it. The Co-operative Bank states £10.50. NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland show an admin fee of £0 for a late payment, a returned payment or going over the limit, though interest and your minimum payment still apply. Several issuers do not publish a late fee on the product page at all, which the table marks “not published”. Fees for going over the limit and for returned payments are generally set at the same level as the late fee where they are shown.
The fees that sit outside the APR
A representative APR includes compulsory charges such as the annual fee, but not optional or situational ones: foreign fees, cash fees, late fees. So two cards with the same APR can cost very different amounts for a firm that travels, or that pays late once a quarter. Work out which fees your pattern of spending will trigger, then add them up, as in the APR guide. If you clear the balance every month and stay in the UK, the annual fee and cashback are most of the story. If you buy abroad, the foreign fee matters more.
Finally, cashback can offset fees but has conditions. Barclaycard’s Select Cashback pays 1% only on months with £2,000 or more of eligible spend. Lloyds pays 1% on fuel and charging and 0.5% elsewhere, again with a £2,000 monthly threshold. NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland pay 1% at eligible fuel and EV charging providers. Read the cashback terms, not the headline.
Sourced comparison
| Card | Annual fee | Foreign transaction | Cash withdrawal | Late payment | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Capital on TapBusiness Credit Card (Free plan) | £0 a year | No foreign exchange fees | No ATM fees; up to £400 a day, maximum two withdrawals | Not published | capitalontap.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| Capital on TapBusiness Credit Card (Pro plan) | £299 a year, billed annually | Not published separately on the Pro page (the Free plan lists no foreign exchange fees) | Not published on the product page | Not published | capitalontap.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 American ExpressBusiness Gold Card | No annual fee for the first year, then £195 a year | Not published on the product page | Not published on the product page | Not published | americanexpress.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| American ExpressBusiness Platinum Card | £650 a year | Not published on the product page | Not published on the product page | Not published | americanexpress.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| American ExpressBritish Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card | £250 a year | Not published on the product page | Not published on the product page | Not published | americanexpress.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 BarclaycardSelect Cashback business credit card | £0 a year | 2.99% non-sterling fee on purchases | 3% (minimum £3), plus 2.99% if non-sterling | £12 (late payment, over limit or returned payment) | barclaycard.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
| BarclaycardPremium Plus business credit card | £150 a year (per account) | 0.99% non-sterling fee on purchases | 3% (minimum £3), plus 0.99% if non-sterling | £12 (late payment, over limit or returned payment) | barclaycard.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
| BarclaycardSelect business charge card | £42 a year (per account), paid in the first month | 2.99% non-sterling fee on purchases | 3% (minimum £3), plus 2.99% if non-sterling | Fees are charged for late payments (amount not shown on the product page) | barclaycard.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 HSBC UKCommercial Card (business credit card) | £32 a year per card, waived for the first year | 2.99% of the transaction in sterling (minimum charge for cash £3.00) | 2.99% handling fee, minimum £3 | £12 | business.hsbc.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Lloyds BankBusiness Credit Card | No fee for the first 12 months, then £32 per cardholder (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year across all cards) | 2.95% non-sterling transaction fee | Withdraw up to £500 a day; a cash withdrawal charge applies (amount not shown on the product page) | £12 | lloydsbank.com checked 2026-10-13 |
| Lloyds BankBusiness Charge Card | No fee for the first 12 months, then £32 per cardholder (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year across all cards) | 2.95% non-sterling transaction fee | Daily cash withdrawal limit of £500; a cash withdrawal charge applies (amount not shown on the product page) | Not published on the product page | lloydsbank.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 NatWestBusiness Credit Card | No fee in the first year, then £30 per card (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year) | 2.95% of each foreign exchange transaction | 3% of the transaction amount (minimum £3) | £0 admin fee for a late payment, returned payment or going over the limit | natwest.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 Royal Bank of ScotlandBusiness Credit Card | No fee in the first year, then £30 per card (waived with £6,000 or more spend a year) | 2.95% of each foreign exchange transaction | 3% of the transaction amount (minimum £3) | £0 admin fee for a late payment, returned payment or going over the limit | business.rbs.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 SantanderBusiness Cashback Credit Card | £30 a year account fee (extra cards at no extra cost) | No foreign transaction fee on purchases abroad when paying in the local currency | Not published on the product page | Not published on the product page | santander.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Metro BankBusiness Credit Card | Zero annual fee | Free in most European (SEPA) countries; 2.99% outside Europe | Free in Europe; 2.99% plus £1.50 outside Europe | Not published on the product page | metrobankonline.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Virgin MoneyBusiness Credit Card | No annual fee in the first year, then £28 per card | 2.95% non-sterling transaction fee (not charged on Euro, Swedish Krona or Romanian Lei transactions in the UK or EEA) | 3% (minimum £3) | £12 | uk.virginmoney.com checked 2026-10-13 |
 The Co-operative BankBusiness Credit Card | £24 a year (included in the APR) | 2.75% currency conversion charge | 3% (minimum £3), plus 2.75% currency conversion if abroad | £10.50 per payment missed or received after the due date | co-operativebank.co.uk checked 2026-10-13 |
 Funding CircleCashback business credit card | No annual fees and no monthly fees | No foreign exchange fees (Visa exchange rates apply) | Cash withdrawals are not supported by this card | Not published on the product page | fundingcircle.com checked 2026-10-13 |
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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
- Capital on Tap Business Credit Card (Pro plan): capitalontap.com, read 13 October 2026
- American Express Business Gold Card: americanexpress.com, read 13 October 2026
- American Express Business Platinum Card: americanexpress.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
- Barclaycard Select business charge 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
- Lloyds Bank Business Charge Card: lloydsbank.com, read 13 October 2026
- NatWest Business Credit Card: natwest.com, read 13 October 2026
- Royal Bank of Scotland Business Credit Card: business.rbs.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
- Santander Business Cashback Credit Card: santander.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
- Metro Bank Business Credit Card: metrobankonline.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
- Virgin Money Business Credit Card: uk.virginmoney.com, read 13 October 2026
- The Co-operative Bank Business Credit Card: co-operativebank.co.uk, read 13 October 2026
- Funding Circle Cashback business credit card: fundingcircle.com, read 13 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
Which business credit cards have no annual fee?
Among the cards we compare, the Capital on Tap Free plan, Barclaycard Select Cashback, Metro Bank and the Funding Circle cashback card state no ongoing annual fee. Others waive the fee for a first year or above a spending level.
Do business credit cards charge foreign transaction fees?
Most do, at 0.99% to 2.99% in the figures published. Capital on Tap and Funding Circle state none, and Santander states none on purchases in the local currency.
Is it expensive to withdraw cash on a business credit card?
Usually. Typical published fees are 3% (minimum £3) or 2.99% (minimum £3), and interest starts immediately, with no interest-free period on cash at the issuers that state it.
Does the APR include all the fees?
It includes compulsory charges like the annual fee, but not foreign, cash or late fees, so compare those separately.