Your choice of business credit card says more about your startup than you think. After analyzing spending patterns from over 1,700 tech companies, we found a market in dramatic flux—and some clear winners emerging.
Here's what surprised us: Just two companies now control 91 percent of the tech business credit card market. Brex and Ramp have essentially carved up the startup world between them, leaving traditional banks scrambling for scraps.
Current market leaders (May 2025):
But here's the twist—this wasn't always the case.
The corporate card space has seen dramatic shifts over the past three years. Ramp has gained significant ground, growing 11.5 percentage points in market share since 2022, while newer players like Mercury Credit Card have jumped from 0.5% to 8.7%.
What's driving this change? Tech founders want more than basic corporate cards. They need integrated spend management, real-time reporting, and software that connects seamlessly with their existing tools.
The winners are the platforms that treat corporate cards as just one piece of a larger financial operations puzzle—not the main event.
American Express holds steady at 15.6 percent, but every other traditional player is in decline. Chase, Bank of America, and Capital One barely register in the tech space.
The reason is simple: Traditional banks built their business credit cards for law firms and consulting companies, not software startups burning through venture capital. They don't understand the unique cash flow patterns of tech companies or the need for granular spending controls across remote teams.
Mercury Credit Card and Rippling Spend Management represent the next wave. Mercury jumped from virtually zero to 8.7 percent market share in three years by focusing specifically on startups and early-stage companies.
Rippling's approach is different—they're bundling credit cards with payroll and HR systems. For tech companies already using Rippling for people management, adding spend management is a no-brainer.
Traditional bank cards often lack the reporting and integrations that growing companies need. If reconciling expenses takes hours each month, corporate card platforms like Ramp, Brex, or Mercury offer better automation and visibility.
Corporate card platforms vary significantly in their strengths. Ramp excels at spend controls and cost savings, Brex offers broader financial services for scaling companies, and Mercury focuses on early-stage startup needs. The right choice depends on what problems you're actually trying to solve.
Your choice should match your priorities. Need tight spending controls? Ramp's approval workflows and spend management shine here. Want integrated banking and credit? Brex's broader platform might fit better. Early-stage with simple needs? Mercury's streamlined approach could be plenty.
The market shift tells us one thing clearly: companies want their corporate cards to work harder, not just process payments.
Your credit card isn't just about earning points—it's about cash flow management, expense tracking, and financial visibility. The tech companies thriving in 2025 are using financial tools built for their specific needs, not generic solutions designed for every business type.
The data shows a clear trend: Tech founders are gravitating toward specialized financial partners who understand their world. The question isn't whether you should switch—it's whether you can afford not to.
This analysis is based on anonymized credit card usage data from 1,700+ tech companies tracked over three years. Want to see how your financial stack compares to other tech companies? We help startups and SMBs make sense of their finances so they can focus on growth.