Capital on Tap eligibility: who can apply (and why sole traders cannot)

Capital on Tap publishes its eligibility criteria on its card page and in its FAQ, and the two lists agree with one small exception covered below. This page goes through every criterion, what the credit searches actually do, the personal guarantee you will sign, and what to do if the answer is no. The checker at the bottom asks five questions and stores nothing; the full version is at our Capital on Tap eligibility checker.

The Capital on Tap eligibility criteria at a glance

Capital on Tap’s own summary, from the card page: “Capital on Tap accepts businesses that are active on Companies House, no unsatisfied CCJs in the last 12 months, and not a high-risk industry.” Meeting the criteria makes you eligible to apply; it does not mean you will be approved, and it says nothing about the credit limit you will be offered, which in my experience started lower than I expected. Our credit limit page covers that separately.

Sole traders, partnerships and charities: who is ruled out

The clearest exclusion is sole traders. Capital on Tap’s card page says: “Capital on Tap is not available to sole traders, but some other providers do accept them.” There is no workaround short of incorporating, and incorporating purely to get a credit card is a bad reason to do it.

Ordinary partnerships are not on the eligible list either. Capital on Tap names only Ltd, LLP or PLC. The credit agreement is more explicit about what you confirm when you sign: that you are “not an individual, an unincorporated partnership of two or three partners (unless all of the partners are bodies corporate) or an unincorporated body”. A limited liability partnership is fine because it is a body corporate registered at Companies House; a traditional partnership of individuals is not.

Charities and non-profits are excluded in the FAQ in so many words: Capital on Tap “cannot accept applications from charities, non-profit organisations, trusts, funds, or Royal Charters”. A charitable company limited by guarantee falls under that exclusion even though it is a company.

If you are a sole trader, skip to the alternatives section or go straight to our guide to sole trader business credit cards.

Ltd, LLP or PLC registered in the UK

The business must be a private limited company, a limited liability partnership or a public limited company registered in the UK. The card page quote is: “Your business is registered as an Ltd, LLP, or PLC”. The FAQ says the same and adds “registered in the UK”.

The PLC point is the small inconsistency mentioned above. The main card page and the FAQ both include PLCs; Capital on Tap’s cashback page lists only Ltd and LLP. We take the card page and FAQ as authoritative. Most Capital on Tap customers are small private companies, and the product is designed around them; our guide for limited companies covers the director-liability and bookkeeping side.

An active UK director or a shareholder with 25% or more

You, the applicant, must be an active UK director or a shareholder with 25% or more, and the FAQ adds that you must reside in the UK. Capital on Tap’s wording is “You are an active UK director or majority shareholder (25%+)”, which it clarifies in the FAQ as an active director or a majority shareholder holding 25% or more. In practice the applicant should be listed at Companies House as a current director or as a person with significant control, because that is what Capital on Tap checks against.

A finance manager or office manager cannot apply on the company’s behalf. Once the account exists, other people can be added as users with Administrator, Accounts or Employee roles, and staff can hold their own cards, but the account holder who signs the agreement and the personal guarantee must be a director or qualifying shareholder. A director of several eligible companies can apply for a separate account for each.

No unsatisfied CCJs, and active on Companies House

Two criteria are checked against public records. First, no unsatisfied CCJs in the last 12 months, for both you personally and the business: “You have no unsatisfied CCJs in the last 12 months”. A satisfied judgment, or an unsatisfied one older than twelve months, does not fail this test, though it will still be visible in the wider credit assessment.

Second, the business must be active on Companies House. A company that is dormant, in the process of being struck off, or late with its confirmation statement is a problem. Capital on Tap’s credit-limit guidance also names up-to-date company filings as one of the things it looks at when reviewing limits, so tidy filings help after approval as well as before. Our guide to building a business credit score explains what the agencies record and how a card helps.

Turnover and trading history

There is no minimum trading history. The FAQ says: “There's no minimum trading history required, so businesses of any age can apply.” That makes Capital on Tap one of the few UK business credit cards open to a company incorporated last month.

Turnover is less clear-cut. The eligibility lists on the card page and FAQ do not state a minimum, but the Refer a Friend terms describe a qualifying referral as a business “based in the UK, with no CCJs against them and a minimum £24,000 annual turnover”, and the application asks for your average monthly turnover and business bank details. Treat £24,000 minimum annual turnover as the working threshold. A company below it may still be approved with a small limit, but the referral bonus terms would not be met.

High-risk industries and restricted activities

The final criterion is that the business is not in a high-risk industry. Capital on Tap does not list the industries in its FAQ; it says “for more details on eligibility, including a list of high-risk industries, visit our eligibility guide”. We have not been able to quote that list here, so if your sector is one that lenders commonly treat as higher risk, check with Capital on Tap before applying.

Separately, the FAQ lists merchant categories the card cannot be used for once you have it. Gambling-related activities head that list, followed by securities brokerage, political organisations, fines, wire transfers and purchasing foreign currency. Those are spending restrictions rather than eligibility rules, but a business whose own trade falls into one of them should expect questions. Capital on Tap also says the card will not work in certain high-risk third countries and that businesses with connections to those countries face extra checks.

What the soft search does, and when the hard search happens

This is the part most people worry about, and Capital on Tap is unusually clear on it. From the card page: “Yes, we run a soft search on your personal credit file when you apply, so applying won't affect your credit score. We only run a hard search on your business's credit file once you sign your credit agreement”. The FAQ adds that the hard search on the business file “can be seen by other lenders, but it does not affect your personal credit file”.

• At application: a soft search on your personal credit file. Only you can see it, and it does not change your score. You can check eligibility and get a decision without leaving a mark another lender would see.
• At signing: a hard search on the business’s credit file, visible to other lenders. It is recorded against the company, not against you personally.
• After approval: Capital on Tap reviews accounts automatically for limit increases and rate reductions, and uses Open Banking data from linked bank accounts if you connect one. It does not publicly state which credit reference agencies it reports repayments to.

Because the personal search is soft, being declined does not damage your personal file. The decision itself, according to Capital on Tap, arrives in around two minutes for most applicants; the FAQ notes that in some cases it emails within one business day to ask for more information.

The personal guarantee

Capital on Tap requires a personal guarantee. The FAQ: “Yes, we require a personal guarantee from a director or major shareholder of the company when you apply for a business credit card.” The credit agreement puts it as “we typically require a personal guarantee in connection with this Agreement”. Either way, plan on signing one.

A personal guarantee means that if the company does not repay, Capital on Tap can pursue the director who signed for the balance. Limited liability does not protect you from a debt you have personally guaranteed. It is standard across UK business cards for small companies, but it is the single most important thing to understand before you apply, and it is why the card should be run with a full-balance Direct Debit rather than as a borrowing facility. Our guide to the director’s personal guarantee goes through when it bites and how other issuers compare.

What you need to apply

The application is short. Have these to hand:

• Your company’s registered Companies House number.
• Your own details as director or shareholder, including your UK residential address.
• Average monthly business turnover.
• Bank account details for settling monthly card payments; the minimum payment must be collected by Direct Debit from this account.
• Your referral or promo code, if you are using one. It is pre-filled through a referral link.

If you already hold a Capital on Tap Instant Savings account, log in to the existing portal to apply; Capital on Tap says it already has some of your details. The full walk-through, including timings and what happens after approval, is in how to apply for Capital on Tap.

What to do if you are declined

Capital on Tap’s FAQ does not describe a formal appeals process, so the practical steps are the same as with any lender:

• Check the public records first. Confirm the company shows as active at Companies House with filings up to date, and that no CCJ from the last twelve months is unsatisfied against you or the company.
• Check both credit files. Your personal file with the main agencies and the company’s file with Experian, Creditsafe or Dun & Bradstreet. Errors are more common than people expect.
• Ask. Capital on Tap has 24/7 phone support; it may be able to tell you whether the decline was a criteria failure or a credit decision.
• Do not fire off repeat applications. The personal search is soft, so re-applying does not damage your score, but nothing will have changed in a week. Give it a few months and fix what you can in the meantime.
• Consider whether a card is the right product. If the need is for working capital rather than a payment card, a loan or overdraft may fit better.

Alternatives for sole traders

If you are a sole trader, or a partnership of individuals, Capital on Tap is not an option, and neither are the Amex Business Gold and Platinum cards, which have been limited-company-only since January 2026. Cards and accounts that do accept sole traders include:

• British Airways Amex Accelerating Business: Sole traders and small businesses with a UK business bank account; £20,000+ personal income. Annual fee £250; 104.9% APR representative (variable), including the fee. Earns Avios directly. Amex product page.
• Barclaycard Select Cashback: Business owner or director, UK-based, turnover £10,000 to £6.5 million; sole traders accepted. Annual fee £0; 1% cashback, uncapped, but only in months when you spend more than £2,000; 25.5% APR representative (variable). Barclaycard product page.
• Zempler Bank Business Credit Card: Sole traders accepted, 1% cashback on the first £100,000 of eligible spend a month. Applications have been reported as closed; check the Zempler page before relying on it.
• Business debit cards from Monzo, Starling, Tide and Revolut, which are open to sole traders and separate business spend without credit. Starling and Monzo charge 0% on card spend abroad.

None of these is a like-for-like replacement: the Barclaycard needs a monthly spend threshold for its cashback, the Amex charges a fee and is accepted in fewer places, and the debit cards give no credit at all. Our sole trader guide compares them properly. If your business later incorporates, you can apply to Capital on Tap as soon as the new company is active at Companies House, with no trading history required.