Capital on Tap eligibility checker: six questions, nothing stored

Skip to the checker if you just want the answer. This page explains what it tests, what it cannot test, and why the result is a likelihood rather than a promise.

What it checks

Six things, all taken from what Capital on Tap publishes. The business structure, because the card is for companies registered as Ltd, LLP or PLC and not available to sole traders. Your role, because the applicant must be an active UK director or a shareholder with 25% or more. Court judgments, because Capital on Tap asks for no unsatisfied CCJs in the last 12 months. Location and status, because the business must be UK-based and active on Companies House. Turnover, because the referral terms set a £24,000 minimum annual turnover. And whether you have been a customer before, which does not affect eligibility for the card but does decide whether the referral bonus can apply.

If every answer passes, the checker says “likely eligible” and shows the referral link. If you are an existing or former customer it says so and does not show the link, because the bonus goes only to brand-new Capital on Tap customers only. If any answer fails, it tells you which one, quotes Capital on Tap’s own wording for that rule, and lists the alternatives that fit. The longer eligibility page covers the same ground in prose, with the reasoning behind each rule.

Why the criteria exist

The company-type rule follows from how the product is regulated. Lending to a limited company is not regulated consumer credit, which is also why Section 75 does not apply to Capital on Tap cards. A sole trader borrowing for their business is, in law, an individual, and a lender that wants to serve sole traders needs a different product and permissions. Capital on Tap has chosen not to; the limited companies guide explains what that means for directors in practice.

The applicant rule exists because of the personal guarantee. Personal guarantee required: the FAQ says “Yes, we require a personal guarantee from a director or major shareholder of the company when you apply for a business credit card.” A guarantee is only worth taking from someone with authority to bind the company and a personal stake in it, hence director or 25% shareholder. What you are actually signing is set out in the personal guarantee guide; read it before you apply, not after.

The CCJ and Companies House rules are basic lender hygiene. An unsatisfied judgment in the last year is the clearest public signal that a business is not paying its debts, and an active Companies House record with filings up to date is the minimum evidence that the company exists and is trading. Both are things you can check yourself in a minute before applying. Capital on Tap also excludes what it calls high-risk industries, which the checker cannot test because the list is not published.

The turnover figure is the least clear-cut. The card page does not state a minimum; it says the application asks for your average monthly turnover and business bank details. The £24,000 minimum annual turnover appears in the referral programme terms as a condition on who counts as an eligible referral. We use it because it is the only figure in writing, and because a business below it should expect either a decline or a very small limit. The credit limit page explains how turnover feeds into the limit you are offered, which is a separate disappointment from being declined.

What it cannot know

Passing the checker is necessary, not sufficient. Capital on Tap makes a lending decision using information this page never sees. It runs a soft search on your personal credit file at application and a hard search on the business file when you sign, and it can decline on either. It assesses affordability from the turnover you declare and, if you connect a bank account, from Open Banking data: Open Banking data is used to assess limit increases. It applies its own view of your industry. None of that is visible to a six-question form, and we would be misleading you to pretend otherwise.

The checker also says nothing about the credit limit you will be offered. That is the part most likely to disappoint. Capital on Tap advertises limits up to £250,000, but starting limits for small companies are often modest, and increases depend on regular use, on-time repayments, an active Direct Debit, current Companies House filings, an Open Banking connection and a clean record elsewhere. If a particular limit is essential to your plan, an approval at a lower figure is not much use, and it is worth reading about that before applying rather than after.

If your personal or business credit file is thin, the business credit score guide explains what the agencies look at and what actually moves the score. It is slower than any checker, and more useful.

Privacy: nothing stored

Your answers exist only in the page’s memory in your browser tab. They are not written to a cookie, to local storage or to any server, and they vanish when you leave the page or press Start again. There is no email capture and no form submission. The one thing this site records is an anonymous analytics event carrying the outcome, one of “likely”, “existing” or “ineligible”, so we can see whether the tool is useful. It does not carry your answers, and it cannot be tied to you. Our privacy policy describes everything else the site collects, which is very little.

When you click through to Capital on Tap, you leave this site. What Capital on Tap collects is governed by its own privacy notice, and the application form asks for considerably more than six questions: your average monthly turnover and business bank details, plus your details as director. The application guide walks through the form step by step, including where the promo code goes.

If the answer is no

The checker gives specific alternatives for each failed criterion rather than a generic list, because the right answer depends on why you failed. Sole traders and partnerships have real options: Barclaycard Select Cashback (£0 fee, 1% cashback, uncapped, but only in months when you spend more than £2,000), the British Airways Amex Accelerating Business card (£250 fee, Avios), and business debit cards from Starling, Monzo, Tide and Revolut for anyone who wants a separate card without credit. Amex Business Gold and Platinum are not options, as both are limited to Ltd and LLP applicants. The sole trader guide compares them properly, including the interest rates, which are higher than most people expect.

A business below the turnover threshold is usually better waiting a few months than applying and being declined, while using a debit card to keep business spend separate. A business with a recent unsatisfied CCJ should settle it and get the register updated before applying anywhere. A business that is not UK-registered cannot use Capital on Tap at all. And a company whose applicant is not a director or qualifying shareholder simply needs the right person to apply and then issue employee cards, which are unlimited free employee cards with per-card limits. Whatever the outcome, the referral code page explains what the bonus is and is not, so nobody applies expecting more than the terms provide.