According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study, the year-over-year improvement in customer satisfaction is highest among financially unhealthy small businesses for whom credit cards and their rewards programs have become critical business tools.
“Merchants report few macroeconomic differences in the past year, and 49% of small businesses are still categorized as financially unhealthy,” said John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “It is noteworthy that this group is really driving a significant increase in customer satisfaction with business credit cards. Credit cards are used by 89% of small businesses for business purchases, making them the most frequently used form of payment by a wide margin. As card issuers continue to refine their benefits and rewards programs for this lucrative segment, it will be important to address the needs of small businesses that may be in vastly different financial situations.”
Key findings
Small business credit card satisfaction rises: The overall small business credit card customer satisfaction score is 716 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is up 8 points from the 2024 study. Areas showing the greatest improvement include terms, benefits and rewards earning. The year-over-year increase in customer satisfaction is highest among small businesses classified as financially unhealthy.
Financially challenged businesses find value: Financially unhealthy small businesses, which have less stability and greater financial need, show improved satisfaction (11 points) because of card features that matter most to them, such as availability of card purchase payment plans, balance transfers, and financial management benefits and discounts. The majority (60%) of startup businesses fall into this category and are also using their card as a tool to help fund capital improvements and purchase key supplies.
Co-brand cards excel: Co-brand small business credit cards have significantly higher overall satisfaction (17 points) among merchants than bank brand cards. This difference is largely driven by higher satisfaction with rewards and benefits for designated retail, airline and hotel partners. Annual fee and points/miles rewards cards also have high satisfaction among card product choices.
Credit cards most common payment method, but BNPL grows: 89% of small businesses used a credit card to make recent purchases, followed by digital wallets (47%), cash (38%) and debit cards (37%). Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) was used by 17% of small businesses, an increase of four percentage points from a year ago. BNPL is used most frequently (21%) by financially unhealthy small businesses.
Merchant surcharges deter card use: 28% of small businesses have decided not to use their cards for purchases due to a surcharge added by another merchant. Perception of credit cards as very favorable drops significantly to 40% from 55% among businesses that chose not to use their card when facing a surcharge. The use of cash (44%) and BNPL (24%) get the biggest lifts when cardholders elect for an alternative payment method to avoid a surcharge.
