Business debit cards are debit cards that are attached to business bank accounts. These cards are based upon the individual debit cards that are often used by people, but they are different in a couple of crucial respects.
Debit cards are mostly for individuals. That is that the debit card is usually based around a transaction account for an individual. There has been a growth of accounts that allow for debit cards, for example savings, loans, mortgages, investment cash accounts and lines of credit all use debit cards now. However this growth has only reinforced the tendency to associate debit cards with private individuals.
Debit cards are also a card that is peculiarly well suited for an individual. Unlike a cheque a debit card does not have the capacity to have a counter signatory to ensure that the money is not allowed. Unlike cash there is no facility to have the petty cash stored in one safe place with cash signed for in order to buy items. Even credit cards can be slightly better suited to a business environment as despite the high interest rates they at least allow for different people to have different accounts rather than having all card holders charging to the same business bank account.
There has been a growth of debit cards in the last few years. This is partly because they are very convenient, partly because they cost a lot less money in interest for the credit card company and partly because they are free at the point of use for both the credit card user and the credit card provider. This has meant that many people are looking at getting debit cards as part of the way that the business operates.
There are debit cards that are available with bank current accounts. Many of these debit cards cost money to operate but offer credit card like features such as free insurance on purchases and a concierge service. They are usually aimed at as a business card for the business owner, although in some cases there is the ability to get subsidiary cards for employees.
As with all business accounts it is quite important for the business owner to separate personal spending from business spending. With a chequebook that can be quite easy as the cheque book never needs to leave the office. However with a debit card care needs to be taken as the card is designed to be carried around. It is a good idea to make sure that the card has a radically different design from the other credit cards and debit cards that the person has.
