For small businesses, access to credit is, in many cases, available. The problem is that many of the products offered do not reflect how those businesses operate.
PYMNTS Intelligence, in tandem with Mastercard, found this month that credit cards are evaluated less on borrowing capacity and more on whether they align with daily spending patterns. Rewards, fees and payment structures continue to miss that mark for a large share of smaller firms, our data has shown.
SMBs Default to Personal Cards
The data shows a pattern that has held for years. More than half of micro small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) do not have a business credit card, and even among those that do, personal cards remain part of routine spending.
The issue is that the value proposition does not translate into immediate, practical use. Rewards programs emphasize categories such as travel or software, while many smaller firms concentrate spending on inventory, supplies and recurring operating costs.
Fees complicate the calculation. Only 28% of SMBs say they would pay for a business card tied to rewards. Many see limited returns once annual fees and interest are considered.
What draws more interest is flexibility. Nearly half of SMBs indicate they would pay for payment timing that adjusts to income or cash flow. That preference reflects the day-to-day pressure of managing liquidity rather than maximizing points.
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Amazon’s Announcement
Amazon’s latest announcement, published on Tuesday (March 31), arrives in that context.
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The company is moving its small business credit card program to U.S. Bank and Mastercard, replacing its existing American Express partnership. The new offering includes two cards: a Prime version with 5% back on Amazon purchases and a non-Prime version with 3% back. Both carry no annual fee and include flexible repayment terms.
The structure places rewards where spending already occurs across the commerce giant. Purchases made through Amazon generate the highest returns, while off-platform spending still earns rewards at a lower rate. The use of Mastercard expands acceptance across merchants, and U.S. Bank provides the issuing framework.
The change also reflects a shift away from the American Express model, which has emphasized premium positioning and category-based rewards. Amazon’s approach, at least in this case, focuses on frequency of use and direct linkage to procurement.
Prime and Procurement
The card sits within a broader system that Amazon has been building for years.
Amazon Business offers purchasing tools that include multi-user accounts, approval workflows and tax-exempt buying across a wide range of categories. The addition of a credit card integrates payments into that same environment, which would conceivably tighten the connection between sourcing and settlement.
Subscription behavior provides additional leverage to expand the ecosystem. PYMNTS Intelligence data shows that nearly one in four consumers now subscribes to both Amazon Prime and Walmart+, a share that has roughly doubled since 2021. These users tend to spend more per transaction than those with a single subscription.
For small businesses, which often follow similar purchasing patterns, membership programs and payments products work together to concentrate spend within a given platform. Rewards reinforce that behavior when they are tied to routine purchases.
PYMNTS Intelligence findings point to a persistent gap between product design and customer behavior. Issuers have often responded with incremental adjustments or features that resemble enterprise tools. The continued reliance on personal cards indicates that many business products still do not meet basic expectations.
The broader challenge remains. Cards that gain traction with SMBs will need to fit into existing workflows, support cash flow management and deliver value that remains readily apparent.
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