Capital on Tap alternatives: which card to pick instead, and when

Why people look for an alternative

The reasons tend to fall into a handful of groups. Capital on Tap is not available to sole traders. It does not publish a representative APR. Some applicants are declined, and some, like me, get a starting limit lower than they hoped. Others want something it does not do: Amex points, a multi-currency debit account, full expense management, or a card inside the banking app they already use. Each section below takes one of those reasons and names the cards that answer it. For the full picture of Capital on Tap itself, read the Capital on Tap review.

(a) You are a sole trader

Capital on Tap accepts only a Ltd, LLP or PLC, so a sole trader needs another card. The main options:

• Barclaycard Select Cashback: £0 fee, 1% cashback, uncapped, but only in months when you spend more than £2,000, 2.99% on non-sterling spend, 25.5% APR representative (variable). The product page does not list a Barclays current account as a requirement.
• British Airways Amex Accelerating Business: £250 fee, 1.25 Avios per £1 (cut from 1.5 on 7 October 2026); 10,000 bonus Avios per £20,000 spent (up to three times a year). Eligibility: sole traders and small businesses with a UK business bank account; £20,000+ personal income. A card for Avios collectors rather than cashback.
• Zempler Bank Business Credit Card: £0 fee, 1% cashback on the first £100,000 of eligible spend a month, 2.99% on non-sterling spend. The APR is stated inconsistently: 21.9% APR representative (variable) on the web page; the linked summary box says 29.9% representative and a maximum limit of £5,000.
• Your own bank’s card: most high-street business credit cards accept sole traders but require a current account with that bank. See the table below.

Our guide to sole trader business credit cards goes through these in more depth, including how to keep business and personal spend apart.

(b) You want a published APR before applying

Capital on Tap advertises rates as low as 13.86% APR (variable) and says your rate depends on your personal and business credit history and the Bank of England base rate. It does not publish a representative APR, so you only see your own rate after applying (it runs a soft search on your personal credit file when you apply). If you expect to carry a balance and want a figure to compare first, these cards publish one:

• British Airways Amex Accelerating Business: 104.9% APR representative (variable), including the fee
• Barclaycard Select Cashback: 25.5% APR representative (variable)
• Barclaycard Premium Plus: 54.3% APR representative (variable), including the fee
• NatWest Business Credit Card: 24.3% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 16.9%
• NatWest Business Plus Credit Card: 29% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 13.9%
• Lloyds Bank Business Credit Card: 15.95% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 14.9%
• HSBC Commercial Card: 22% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 15.9%
• Santander Business Cashback Credit Card: 23.7% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 18.9%
• Metro Bank Business Credit Card: 18.9% APR representative (variable)
• Zempler Bank Business Credit Card: 21.9% APR representative (variable) on the web page; the linked summary box says 29.9% representative and a maximum limit of £5,000
• Funding Circle Cashback Business Credit Card: 34.9% APR representative (variable); from 14.9%
• Virgin Money Business Credit Card: 27.7% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 21.9%
• The Co-operative Bank Business Credit Card: 21.8% APR representative (variable), including the fee; purchase rate 15.9%
• Bank of Scotland Business Credit Card: 15.95% APR representative (variable); purchase rate 14.9%
• iwoca Credit Card: 35.40% APR representative (variable); rates from 14.99%

The two closest to Capital on Tap in shape are iwoca (35.40% APR representative (variable); rates from 14.99%) and Funding Circle (34.9% APR representative (variable); from 14.9%); both are compared side by side below. If you intend to pay in full every month, the APR on any of these cards never applies: Capital on Tap charges no interest on purchases if you pay the statement balance in full by the due date.

(c) You were declined, or the limit is too low

I have first-hand experience of this one. My Capital on Tap limit came in lower than I expected, and it has not changed in the years since. Capital on Tap advertises limits up to £250,000 and runs automatic account reviews for higher limits, and its own advice is 3 to 6 months of on-time history between requests. The credit limit page covers Capital on Tap’s advice alongside my own experience. Your options:

• A different lender: iwoca advertises limits up to £250,000 and Funding Circle advertises up to £250,000. Lenders assess risk differently, so a decline or a small limit from one does not predict the next. Note Funding Circle’s criteria: limited companies only; at least one year trading; £30,000+ turnover.
• Your own bank: a bank that already sees your account may be more comfortable with a larger limit. Bank cards on our list that require an existing account include NatWest Business Credit Card, NatWest Business Plus Credit Card, Lloyds Bank Business Credit Card, HSBC Commercial Card, Santander Business Cashback Credit Card, Metro Bank Business Credit Card, Virgin Money Business Credit Card, The Co-operative Bank Business Credit Card, Bank of Scotland Business Credit Card.
• Preloading, if you already hold Capital on Tap: Preloading lets you spend beyond your limit with your own money. It is a workaround rather than more credit, but it keeps large payments on the card and earning points.

(d) You want Amex points and perks

If Membership Rewards points and travel perks matter more than a flat cashback rate, American Express is the alternative. American Express Business Gold has a fee of £0 in year one, then £195 and earns 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 (2 per £1 with Amex Travel). American Express Business Platinum costs £650 and adds travel credits. Both are charge cards for a limited company or LLP, and both charge 2.99% on non-sterling spend. Our Capital on Tap vs Amex Business comparison sets them side by side, and Amex Business Gold vs Platinum helps choose between the two. Because Amex acceptance is narrower, it is worth keeping a no-fee Visa alongside either card.

(e) You want multi-currency debit, not credit

Some businesses do not want credit at all; they want to hold and spend foreign currencies cheaply. That is a business account with a debit card, not a credit card:

• Revolut Business: Plans: Basic £10, Grow from £30, Scale from £90 a month. FX: interbank rate within a monthly allowance (Basic £1,000, Grow £15,000, Scale £60,000), then 0.6%; +1% outside market hours. On credit, Revolut says: No credit: "we don't provide credit, credit cards, or overdrafts".
• Wise Business card: No subscription; one-off £50 set-up fee for full account features. FX: mid-market rate plus a conversion fee from 0.24%; free to spend a currency you already hold. It is not fee-free on conversions.
• Starling Business: £0 account fee; card spend abroad at 0%, Mastercard rate.

None of these earns rewards on card spend, and none gives you a credit line. Capital on Tap already charges a 0% non-sterling transaction fee, so if what you wanted was cheap card spend abroad rather than holding currency, you may not need to switch. The Capital on Tap vs Revolut Business comparison covers the difference.

(f) You want full expense management

Pleo is built around receipts, approvals and per-employee spending. Pricing: start £8, Build £14, Optimise £18 per user per month (Build and Optimise billed yearly, 3-user minimum). How it is funded: prepaid e-money cards funded from your bank; an optional credit limit (£5k / £20k / £100k by plan) for eligible customers. Non-sterling fees: 2.00% / 1.75% / 1.49% by plan. Rewards: none. It is a better tool for a finance team chasing receipts across a larger staff; for a small team, Capital on Tap’s unlimited free employee cards with per-card limits and accounting sync may cover enough. See Capital on Tap vs Pleo.

(g) You want the same card through your bank app

If you bank with Tide, the credit card offered in the Tide app is Capital on Tap’s card. The issuer line on Tide’s page reads: Tide Platform Ltd (credit broker, FRN 718743); the card is Capital on Tap's. Fee: £0 (it is the Capital on Tap free card, brokered by Tide). Tide's own cards are debit cards on its business current account; it does not issue a credit card. So applying through Tide is not an alternative product; it is the same card via a broker. The Capital on Tap vs Tide page explains the difference in how you apply.

Closest like-for-like: iwoca and Funding Circle

If you are a limited company and want something shaped like Capital on Tap, a no-fee card with cashback, no FX fee and a large advertised limit, iwoca and Funding Circle are the two to look at. On iwoca: launched in 2026; the page describes it as new. Its issuer is Issued by Enfuce UK Limited (FRN 993783) for iwoca Ltd. Funding Circle’s card is issued by Monavate Ltd (EMI, FRN 901097) for Funding Circle.

Where they differ: both rivals publish a representative APR and Capital on Tap does not. Funding Circle has an introductory rate (2% cashback for 6 months (capped at £2,000), then 1% uncapped) and says no need to switch your business banking. Neither allows cash withdrawals. iwoca’s eligibility is worded inconsistently: Page body says director of a limited company; FAQ says limited company or partnership.. Capital on Tap has no minimum trading history, where Funding Circle’s criteria include: at least one year trading; £30,000+ turnover. We also hold an iwoca card. It came with a credit limit four times our Capital on Tap limit, and we use it for larger purchases; against that, the card does not work with Apple Pay, and its transactions have not synced to Xero automatically, so we download them from iwoca and import them by hand. Our Capital on Tap vs Funding Circle and Capital on Tap vs iwoca comparisons go line by line, and the iwoca Credit Card review looks at iwoca on its own terms.

When Capital on Tap is still the one to pick

For a limited company or LLP, Capital on Tap remains the strongest all-rounder on our list, and it is the card I use. The case for it:

• Company type and age: open to a Ltd, LLP or PLC, with no minimum trading history.
• No fee, no FX fee: a £0 annual fee and a 0% non-sterling transaction fee.
• Rewards with no threshold: 1 point per £1 from the first pound, and Avios conversion at 10 points = 8 Avios on the free card, which neither iwoca nor Funding Circle offers on the data we hold.
• Staff: unlimited free employee cards with per-card limits, plus instant virtual cards; I use its card controls in my own business.
• Books: accounting sync to Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and more, which I use.
• Your existing bank: Capital on Tap is not a bank and has no current account to move you to. Its card page says you need a business bank account, with any bank, to apply, and its FAQ says you can connect more than one business bank account, so the account you use is one you already hold.

If that describes your business, the Capital on Tap referral code page explains the welcome bonus, and the business credit cards hub lists every card we track if you want to keep looking.