‘Extra Credit’ for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Small business owners are used to being pressed: for resources, for time, and especially for credit.  Juggling expenses across different credit cards and managing seasonal business spikes and valleys doesn’t leave much room for other spending, like investing in a new oven at a pizzeria or treating a great customer to dinner.

To make it easier for small businesses to pay for their AdWords campaigns and track their spending, last July we piloted AdWords Business Credit in the US, a credit card specifically for AdWords.  More than 1,400 businesses from a variety of industries participated in the pilot — from Kuru Footwear to ‘Get Bats Out’ bat removal—and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  In a survey conducted after the pilot launched, 74% of respondents said they now use AdWords Business Credit as their primary form of AdWords payment.

Starting today, we’ll invite businesses to use AdWords Business Credit in the UK and extend more invitations in the US later this month. Here are a few details about the cards:

• In the UK, AdWords Business Credit will have a variable 11.9% APR Representative.   In the US, AdWords Business Credit will offer an APR as low as 8.99%*, the same rate as in the pilot. Neither card will have annual fees, and they will both have an ample credit limit for AdWords.
• We’re teaming up with Barclaycard, part of the Barclays group, in the UK and Comenity Capital Bank in the US to issue the card. Both are MasterCard cards.
• AdWords Business Credit can only be used for AdWords advertising purchases.

Every day, AdWords enables more than one million businesses, the majority of which are SMBs, to connect with their customers online. We hope AdWords Business Credit will give Small and Medium Sized Businesses more flexibility—some ‘extra credit’—so they're able to focus on growing their businesses even further.

Signed by: Brent Callinicos, VP Treasurer

*Depending on creditworthiness, rates range from 8.99% to 18.99%.