What Are the Best Business Credit Cards in Germany? (2026)
The verdict for residents
Get the Pliant Visa (Business) at no annual fee. Germany's business credit cards split in two. American Express sells charge cards, settled in full each month, with a payment target of up to 50 days on the Business Gold and 58 on the Business Platinum. Pliant and Moss sell a corporate card with a real business credit line and virtual cards. If you only need spending separated, a business account with a Debitkarte does it without a credit line.
The checks and the application
Two checks, not one. American Express runs a SCHUFA query plus its own assessment of the business: you apply online and the card follows in about five to ten days. Pliant and Moss assess the company itself, name no personal bureau at all, and size the limit on its volume. Pliant issues the virtual card as soon as the company is approved, Moss is sales-led throughout. A sole trader is still assessed as a person alongside the business.
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Which credit card is the best for residents?
Sorted by annual fee, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by eligibility, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
★ Business pick
Pliant Visa (Business)
No annual fee in any year with a foreign-currency fee the issuer does not publish, priced for the issuer's existing customers
Get the Pliant card- Annual feeBest
- Free
- Effective APR
- n/a
- Cost abroad
- Above 1%
- German IBAN
German IBAN
Whether the product needs a bank account with a German (DE) IBAN. Foreign-IBAN accounts are legal to use, but some German employers and billers still refuse them.
- Not required
More details
- Network
Network
The card scheme that moves the payment: Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. It decides where the card is accepted, not who issues it.
- Visa
Fees as of August 2026, verify on the issuer's price list.
Key information
- Annual fee
- No annual fee
- Eligibility
- Settles from any SEPA account
- Support
- English support available
Best for business owners and freelancers who want the safest yes.
Also great
American Express Business Gold Card
EUR 175 a year with a 2% foreign-currency fee on a resident's everyday and holiday spending
Get the American Express cardCards(4)
- American Express Blue CardFree
Free, and builds an Amex record
Cost abroad Above 1% Network American Express German IBAN Not required - No annual fee
- 2% on non-euro spending
- Our pick here. American Express Business Gold CardEUR 175.00/yr
50-day payment target
Cost abroad Above 1% Network American Express German IBAN Not required - Free in year one, then EUR 175
- 2% on non-euro spending
Show 2 more products
- PAYBACK American ExpressFree
0.33% in points on all spending
Cost abroad Above 1% Network American Express German IBAN Not required - No annual fee
- 2% on non-euro spending
- American Express Gold CardEUR 240.00/yr
About EUR 310 in credits
Cost abroad Above 1% Network American Express German IBAN Not required - Annual fee EUR 240
- 2% on non-euro spending
Fees as of August 2026, verify on the issuer's price list.
Key information
- Effective APR
- n/a
More details
- Annual fee
- EUR 175.00/yr
- Cost abroad
- Above 1%
- German IBAN
German IBAN
Whether the product needs a bank account with a German (DE) IBAN. Foreign-IBAN accounts are legal to use, but some German employers and billers still refuse them.
- Not required
- Network
Network
The card scheme that moves the payment: Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. It decides where the card is accepted, not who issues it.
- American Express
Best for business owners and freelancers who need a different issuer.
Best value
Moss Corporate Cards
An annual fee the issuer does not publish with a foreign-currency fee the issuer does not publish, priced for the issuer's existing customers
Get the Moss card- Annual fee
- n/a
- Effective APR
- n/a
- Cost abroad
- Above 1%
- German IBAN
German IBAN
Whether the product needs a bank account with a German (DE) IBAN. Foreign-IBAN accounts are legal to use, but some German employers and billers still refuse them.
- Not required
More details
- Network
Network
The card scheme that moves the payment: Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. It decides where the card is accepted, not who issues it.
- Mastercard
Fees as of August 2026, verify on the issuer's price list.
Key information
- Eligibility
- Settles from any SEPA account
- Support
- English support available
Best for business owners and freelancers who need a different issuer.
Compare two providers
Already down to two? Each comparison declares a winner on every criterion that decides the purchase.
Ranked by: The annual fee, read from each card's own record. Business perks vary too much between a charge card and a corporate credit line to rank honestly on anything else, and a card whose issuer publishes no annual fee at all ranks last rather than being treated as free.
What is ruled out, and why
A blocker is not a drawback. It is something that makes the card unobtainable for this reader, however good its terms are otherwise.
Blocked for this reader
What does a business need to get one?
Two checks, not one. American Express runs a SCHUFA query plus its own assessment of the business. Pliant and Moss run a business credit assessmenton the company itself: their records name no personal bureau at all, and the limit is set on the company's volume rather than on the owner's file.
How you apply differs with that. The American Express cards are an online application and the card follows in about five to ten days. Pliant issues a virtual card as soon as the company is approved and sells the larger volumes with a salesperson attached, and Moss is sales-led throughout, so the approval starts with a conversation rather than a form.
A sole trader is still assessed as a person alongside the business, which is why a thin SCHUFA file matters more the smaller the business is.
Every card we compared
View all 48 cardsThe full market overview: every card from every issuer with its annual fee, APR and cost abroad, filterable and re-rankable.How we compared these
Five criteria, weighted for this reader and published above, fixed before the fees were collected. Every fee comes from the issuer's own price list, dated in the catalogue. Of the 48 cards, 4 are obtainable by residents.
Sources: the issuers' own German price lists, accessed 18 August 2026. Some links earn a commission at the same rate for every issuer, so no weighting favours a payer.
Frequently asked questions
Can a freelancer get a German business credit card?
Yes. American Express issues its Business cards to the self-employed as well as to companies, and the assessment combines a SCHUFA query with a look at the business itself. The corporate-card issuers are built for companies with several cardholders, and the larger tiers are sold with a salesperson rather than through a form.
Is a business debit card a substitute?
For separating spending, yes. Qonto and Finom issue business Debitkarten with per-card controls, and the money leaves the account immediately. That is not credit: there is no payment target and no line to draw on, so it does nothing for cash flow. Their records state plainly that no credit line is granted.
What is the payment target actually worth?
It is an interest-free gap between paying a supplier and the card being settled. On the American Express Business Gold that gap runs up to 50 days and on the Business Platinum up to 58, so a card put to work early in the billing cycle finances that spending for most of two months at no interest, provided the balance is settled in full when it falls due.
Are business card fees deductible?
That is a question for your Steuerberater. The treatment depends on your Rechtsform and on how the card is actually used, and we do not give tax advice.
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