Written by
Eric Rosenberg
Edited by
Brendan Dyer
Brendan Dyer holds a Master of Fine Arts in Journalism from Western Connecticut State University and worked previously as a content editor for Regional News Network, a hyper-local TV news station contracted by Verizon FiOS1 News. As a national service volunteer, Brendan exercised a passion for helping underserved communities and demographics through direct, community service. He constantly seeks to apply his expertise as a journalist to the field of personal finance with the goal of helping people navigate the complexities of the credit card industry.
May 7, 2024 / 10 min Share on social mediaAt Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money .
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Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5The Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card is a decent option for businesses with no credit or bad credit that can use the card to earn rewards while potentially building or rebuilding their business credit scores.
*The information about the Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 Bankrate scoreOur writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Recommended CreditIntro offer is not available for this Wells Fargo credit card.
Offer valuation is not available for this credit card.
Earn 1.5% cash back on qualifying purchases. Earn 1 point on every $1 spent and receive 1,000 bonus points every billing cycle when you spend at least $1,000 on qualifying purchases.
Prime + 11.90% on purchases
On This Page Jump toOpening a new business credit card can be challenging for businesses with no credit or bad credit. One benefit of the Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card is that it’s made available to any business, even those with a history of late or missed payments.
This card stands out from competitors thanks to a flexible rewards program, no annual fee and its relatively high credit limit (if you have the funds to deposit). Since this is a secured credit card, business owners must deposit funds as collateral and this can be any amount between $500 to $25,000. It mostly depends on how much of a credit limit you’d like to have because your deposit is equal to your monthly limit. This card could be an excellent choice if you’ve struggled to get approved for a business credit card or want to build credit for your business while earning rewards.
Checkmark Choose your rewards structure: Either 1.5 percent cash back or 1 point per $1 spent, giving you flexible control over how you earn
Checkmark Made for businesses with bad credit or no credit, letting you build back or start out without worrying about past financial missteps
Checkmark No annual fee Checkmark No foreign transaction fees Checkmark High credit maximum for a secured card giving you lots of breathing roomWhile some credit cards come with cash back or points bonus when meeting specific spending requirements, that’s often not the case with secured cards. There’s currently no welcome offer or new cardmember bonus for the Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card. While this isn’t a deal-breaker, it’s always nice to see a little bonus tied to your new card.
Despite the lack of a welcome bonus, the card itself is still very rewarding for the category it falls under. In fact, the card earns rewards as competitively as some of the best, most rewarding secured credit cards. The rewards program for this card gives you two distinct rewards options to choose from. As many secured business cards don’t include any rewards, this standout feature makes the Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card a decent choice among similar cards.
For standard purchases, choose from these rewards options:
For businesses with large card-eligible purchases, it’s easy to see how the rewards can add up quickly, especially with the bonus point rewards option. In fact, if your business is reliably spending at least $1,000 each month on card-eligible and qualifying purchases, then the rewards value you earn in points is higher than the rewards value earned in cash back. If your business is opting for large purchases each month, then you should consider the points as your best bet to earn maximum rewards with this card. Just be wary that your hefty spending doesn’t lead to carrying a balance. You want to pay as little interest as possible.
With monthly card spending of $1,000, not only are you earning 1 point for each $1 spent, but you’re rewarded with 1,000 bonus points—which rounds out to roughly 2 points per $1 spent at this spending level.
With cash back it’s easy to estimate the value of your rewards. For example, if you spend $2,000 on purchases in a statement period, you would earn a flat 1.5 percent back, worth $30. There’s also no limit to what you can earn, but there is a limit to what you can spend and that depends on how low or high your credit limit is as well as how frequently you pay your bill each month. So, calculate your deposit wisely because you certainly don’t want to go over your credit limit, especially because you’re supposed to be on a journey of credit recovery with a secured card. Since you can determine your credit limit with your initial security deposit, you should aim to deposit an amount that’s higher than your regular monthly spend so you aren’t maxing it out every month just to earn rewards.
If you choose to earn Wells Fargo Business Rewards points, you get 1 point for every dollar spent. In addition, you can earn a 1,000 point bonus (posted to the billing cycle following the cycle in which the points are earned) every month when you spend at least $1,000 with the card in a billing cycle. That’s up to 12,000 points per year from the bonus – a $120 value when redeemed.
However, if you have a credit limit of $1,000 then it won’t be wise to maximize it every month just to earn the bonus points. It’s a good idea to use a secured card like this as an opportunity to practice healthy financial habits. If you can and want to spend $1,000 every month, then make sure you have a monthly credit limit of at least $3,500. This will help you keep your credit utilization ratio under 30 percent and give you a little wiggle room in the event you need to make unexpected purchases. While credit utilization isn’t necessarily a large factor with this card because activity isn’t reported to the personal credit bureaus, it’s still worth paying attention to.
For cash back rewards, you don’t have to do anything to redeem. Rewards are automatically deposited to a linked checking or savings account quarterly. Cash back is paid out quarterly in March, June, September, and December.
For point redemptions using Wells Fargo Business Rewards, you have several options:
To redeem points, you can head to the rewards portal to navigate through redemption choices. If you redeem points online, you earn a 10 percent bonus on the number of points on the redemption amount, further adding to your points balance.
If you’re shopping anyway, you should also consider checking the Earn More Mall for links to participating merchants with store-specific bonuses. Bonuses include increased points on purchases that can be anywhere from 2 points to 35 points per $1 spent on purchases with your Wells Fargo Business Secured Card.
Cash back rewards are worth exactly what you expect: 1.5 percent back as cash directly deposited into your checking or savings account with Wells Fargo. This can make for some rewarding value on all monthly spend limits under $1,000, but beyond that spending limit the rewards are potentially more inflated with the card’s other rewards model.
Rewards points are typically redeemable for 1 cent each. That’s half a cent less in value per dollar on a head-to-head basis. However, once you consider the 1,000-point monthly bonus (for spending $1,000 or more) and the 10 percent online redemption bonus, you’ll find you earn more than 1 point per dollar.
You effectively earn 1.1 points per dollar if you redeem online with the 10 percent redemption rebate. If you spend $1,000 or more, you can earn a rewards rate equivalent to 2.2 points per dollar thanks to the monthly bonus and the 10 percent redemption rebate. As you spend more or less and choose varying redemptions, your business rewards rate would land somewhere between 1 point and 2.2 points per dollar.
Savvy card users can earn more from the points option than cash back, but it’s a bit more complicated to earn and redeem. Plus, it’s only worth opting for the points option if you’re spending $1,000 each billing cycle regularly. This means you’ll have to put down at least $1,000 when opening the card or pay your bill more than once a month to get access to that credit limit. However, you should determine how large or small of a credit limit you need before you make your deposit.
Among secured business credit cards, the rewards program is a major selling point. Here are other useful features and perks to know about when considering the Wells Fargo Business Secured Card:
When signing up for a new account, you can choose a credit line from $500 to $25,000. However, you need an existing Wells Fargo business checking or savings account with enough cash to match your credit limit. If you upgrade to a non-secured Wells Fargo business credit card or close the secured credit card account in good standing, the deposit is refunded to the linked account.
Overdrafts can be costly for businesses and consumers alike, and bounced checks and returned payments may come with additional fees from vendors, along with embarrassment when you have to pay again. The overdraft protection feature turns the Wells Fargo secured card into an automatic overdraft line of credit for the linked bank account. This service costs up to $20 per use, however.
Payment history is reported to the Small Business Financial Exchange, a nonprofit data company that collects reports and payment data from credit issuers. Over time, on-time payments and keeping your credit utilization low will help your business establish good credit or improve its credit history. Keep in mind, payments are not reported to the consumer credit bureaus, so your personal credit score isn’t affected by this Wells Fargo credit card.
This card is a winner when it comes to fees. There is no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. As long as you pay off the card in full every month and avoid certain fee-bearing activities, you can keep and use the card without fees indefinitely as long as you maintain healthy financial practices and remain informed about potential hidden fees.
That said, late payment fees go up to $50 for repeatedly late payments and for returned payments, plan on a $29 fee. Cash advances and wire transfers also incur an additional fee.
If you don’t pay the card in full every month, the remaining balance is subject to a variable APR. For standard purchases, the rate is 15.15 percent. A higher 23.99 percent rate is required for cash advance transactions.
Don’t think the Wells Fargo Business Credit Card is right for you? Here are another two secured credit cards for business to consider as alternatives.
