Business Credit Card Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 9 sourced statistics
Credit cards are the most common form of financing for US small businesses. In the Federal Reserve Banks' 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, 62% of small employer firms used a credit card regularly, more than used loans (44%) or lines of credit (36%), and 29% applied for a credit card in the prior 12 months. Many owners still mix business and personal credit: among employer firms that use cards, 58% use only a business card, 8% only a personal card and 34% both, and among one-person (nonemployer) firms the personal-only share rises to 19%. Across the whole economy, credit card payments reached $6.51 trillion in 2024 and grew faster than debit card payments, and business-to-business credit card payments nearly doubled to $1.6 trillion between 2015 and 2024. Every figure comes from the Federal Reserve System.
Key takeaways
- 62% of US small employer firms use credit cards regularly, more than loans (44%) or lines of credit (36%) (Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 survey).
- Of employer firms that use cards, 58% use only business cards, 8% only personal cards and 34% both.
- 52% of nonemployer firms use credit cards regularly, and 19% of those use only personal cards.
- US credit card payments reached $6.51 trillion in 2024, growing 9.6% a year by number from 2021, faster than debit cards (4.1%) (Federal Reserve Payments Study).
- B2B credit card payments rose from $0.9 trillion in 2015 to $1.6 trillion in 2024; receiving a credit card payment costs a median 2.0% to 2.5% (Cleveland Fed).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62% | 62% of US small employer firms use a credit card on a regular basis, the most common financing product, ahead of loans (44%) and lines of credit (36%). | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey) | 2026 |
| 58% | Among employer firms that regularly use a credit card (4,016 responses), 58% use only a business credit card, 8% only a personal credit card and 34% both. | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey) | 2026 |
| 29% | 29% of small employer firms sought a credit card in the 12 months before the survey, second only to loans, lines of credit or merchant cash advances (38%). | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey) | 2026 |
| 52% | 52% of nonemployer firms (businesses with no employees other than the owners) regularly use or carry a balance on a credit card, against 62% of employer firms. | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Chartbook on Nonemployer Firms (2025 survey) | 2026 |
| 19% | Among nonemployer firms that use credit cards (2,656 responses), 45% use only a business card, 19% only a personal card and 35% both. | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Chartbook on Nonemployer Firms (2025 survey) | 2026 |
| $6.51T | US credit card payments by consumers and businesses totalled $6.51 trillion in 2024 across 67.1 billion payments, an average of $97, with value growing 10.1% a year since 2021. | Federal Reserve Board, 2025 Federal Reserve Payments Study: National Payment Volumes, Top-Line Data (CY 2015-2024) | 2024 |
| 9.6%/yr | The number of credit card payments grew 9.6% a year from 2021 to 2024, against 4.1% for debit cards. The Federal Reserve noted that credit card payments grew faster than debit card payments for the first time in almost a decade. | Federal Reserve Board, 2025 Federal Reserve Payments Study: National Payment Volumes, Top-Line Data (CY 2015-2024) | 2024 |
| $1.6T | The value of US business-to-business credit card payments nearly doubled, from $0.9 trillion in 2015 to $1.6 trillion in 2024, though cards still carry a tiny share of total B2B value. | Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Payments Research Brief: B2B Payments, A Gradual Shift from Checks to Electronic Payment Methods (September 21, 2026) | 2024 |
| 2.0%-2.5% | Businesses that accept a credit card pay a median fee of 2.0% to 2.5% of the payment, against 1.0% to 1.5% for a debit card (AFP 2022 data cited by the Cleveland Fed). | Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Payments Research Brief: B2B Payments, A Gradual Shift from Checks to Electronic Payment Methods (September 21, 2026) | 2026 |
The statistics
62% of US small employer firms use a credit card on a regular basis, the most common financing product, ahead of loans (44%) and lines of credit (36%).
Source:Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey)2026
Among employer firms that regularly use a credit card (4,016 responses), 58% use only a business credit card, 8% only a personal credit card and 34% both.
Source:Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey)2026
29% of small employer firms sought a credit card in the 12 months before the survey, second only to loans, lines of credit or merchant cash advances (38%).
Source:Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey)2026
52% of nonemployer firms (businesses with no employees other than the owners) regularly use or carry a balance on a credit card, against 62% of employer firms.
Among nonemployer firms that use credit cards (2,656 responses), 45% use only a business card, 19% only a personal card and 35% both.
US credit card payments by consumers and businesses totalled $6.51 trillion in 2024 across 67.1 billion payments, an average of $97, with value growing 10.1% a year since 2021.
The number of credit card payments grew 9.6% a year from 2021 to 2024, against 4.1% for debit cards. The Federal Reserve noted that credit card payments grew faster than debit card payments for the first time in almost a decade.
The value of US business-to-business credit card payments nearly doubled, from $0.9 trillion in 2015 to $1.6 trillion in 2024, though cards still carry a tiny share of total B2B value.
Businesses that accept a credit card pay a median fee of 2.0% to 2.5% of the payment, against 1.0% to 1.5% for a debit card (AFP 2022 data cited by the Cleveland Fed).
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- The Small Business Credit Survey uses convenience samples of small firms (6,525 employer and 5,027 nonemployer responses in 2025), weighted to the US small business population. 'Use regularly' means the firm regularly uses or carries a balance on the product.
- Federal Reserve Payments Study card totals cover all general-purpose and private-label credit card payments by consumers and businesses. The Payments Study's top-line table does not separate business cards.
- The B2B card value estimate assumes every business-initiated card payment is a business-to-business payment, so it is an estimate rather than a direct count.
- Card acceptance fees are medians from 2022 AFP data cited by the Cleveland Fed. Your processor's rate depends on card type, channel and pricing plan.
- Business credit cards fall under the business-purpose exemption in Regulation Z, so most consumer credit card rules, including the CARD Act's pricing protections, do not apply to them. Only the provisions on unsolicited issuance and liability for unauthorized use (12 CFR 1026.12(a) and (b)) apply. Check the card agreement.
- Consumer credit statistics such as the Federal Reserve's G.19 release measure household borrowing, not business card use, and are deliberately not mixed in here.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed on 2026-10-28. Survey figures were read in the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms (published March 3, 2026) and 2026 Chartbook on Nonemployer Firms (published July 7, 2026), both from the Small Business Credit Survey fielded September to November 2025; chart values were checked on the rendered PDF pages. Payment totals come from the Federal Reserve Board's 2025 Payments Study top-line table (2024 data, updated July 1, 2026) and its July 1, 2026 press release, and B2B card estimates and fees from the Cleveland Fed's September 21, 2026 research brief. The business-card exemption was read in Regulation Z's official interpretation (comment 1026.3) on the CFPB website. Removed from the previous version: a Nilson Report fee total linked to a homepage, a 'more than half' survey claim linked to a homepage, a 2022 card count, an interchange range credited to a Visa fee page and an undated McKinsey 'growing' claim with no figure.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How many small businesses use credit cards?
62% of US small employer firms and 52% of nonemployer firms regularly use or carry a balance on a credit card, according to the Federal Reserve Banks' 2025 Small Business Credit Survey. For employer firms, cards are used more widely than loans (44%) or lines of credit (36%).
Do small business owners use personal credit cards for business?
Some do. Among employer firms that use credit cards, 8% use only a personal card and 34% use both business and personal cards. Among nonemployer firms that use cards, 19% use only a personal card and 35% both.
Are small businesses borrowing more on credit cards?
The Federal Reserve's July 2026 Monetary Policy Report said credit card borrowing by businesses steadily increased in the first half of 2026 while loan originations declined, and that rising revolving balances on small business credit cards suggest small firms have found it hard to get bank loans or credit lines.
Do CARD Act protections apply to business credit cards?
Mostly not. Regulation Z exempts credit extended for business purposes, so business cards are covered only by the rules on unsolicited issuance and liability for unauthorized use. Read the card agreement for rate and fee terms.
What does it cost to accept credit card payments on invoices?
Median acceptance fees cited by the Cleveland Fed (AFP 2022 data) are 2.0% to 2.5% for credit cards and 1.0% to 1.5% for debit cards. On a $2,000 invoice, 2.0% to 2.5% is $40 to $50.
Put these figures to use
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