Minimum Cash to Qualify for a Corporate Card in 2026: Ramp $25K, Rho $25K for Monthly Terms, Brex Funding, Slash $0, for Pre-Revenue Startups
A corporate card with no personal guarantee still needs some proof that the bill will get paid. For a startup with no revenue, that proof is the cash it holds in an account. Ramp requires at least $25,000 in a linked US business bank account before it approves an application, and Brex asks funded startups for $50,000 before it offers monthly payments.
Slash, a business banking platform, issues the Slash Visa® Platinum Card¹ and publishes no minimum cash balance for it. The card's limit is set from your deposit and a risk-based maximum, so it rises as your balance does, from the first deposit to a funded round.
Ramp, Rho and Brex publish these thresholds in help centers and FAQs, away from the card's product page. A founder who compares rates first can lose a week on an application that was never going to clear. This guide sets out what Slash, Ramp, Rho, Brex and Mercury each require, and where each one wants the cash held.
Key Takeaways
- Slash publishes no minimum cash balance, its card limit rises with the cash you hold, and it pays up to 1.5% cashback on the $0 Free plan and up to 2% on Pro at $25 a month.
- Ramp requires at least $25,000 in cash in a US business bank account linked to the application.
- Rho's default card has no published cash minimum, and its Monthly Terms need $25,000 held at Rho or $75,000 across Rho and linked accounts.
- Brex opens daily payments to companies with equity funding of any amount, a plan to raise soon, or more than $500,000 in annual revenue.
- At Rho, Brex and Mercury, the cash threshold applies only to monthly repayment. A company can get the card without meeting it.
What Does "Minimum Cash to Qualify" Mean on a Corporate Card?
A minimum cash requirement stands in for a revenue history. A card with no personal guarantee needs some other assurance that the balance gets repaid, and a bank balance the issuer can see is the simplest one to check.
The five cards here handle it in three ways. Ramp sets one flat threshold that applies before any review. Rho, Brex and Mercury IO attach a cash threshold to monthly repayment and let a company start on daily repayment without it. Slash sets the limit from funds on deposit, capped by a risk-based maximum, and publishes no threshold at all.
In a SlashGuides video on startup cards, James Cruikshank, Marketing & Communications Manager at Slash, describes what happens when a card ignores that cash. "A regular credit card sets you a limit up front and it doesn't care that you've got millions sitting in the bank," he said. "So, you either bump into a ceiling that makes no sense for your company, or you fall back on checks and debit, which aren't great for managing cash flow and you don't earn anything back."
Five things are worth checking before you apply.
- When the threshold applies. Some issuers apply it to getting the card at all, and others only to monthly repayment.
- Where the cash is counted. In the issuer's own account, in any US bank account, or across linked accounts.
- How the limit is set. From funds on deposit up to a risk-based maximum, from a share of linked balances, or at underwriting.
- Which entities qualify. LLCs, C-Corps and S-Corps, or a narrower set.
- What the card pays. A published cashback rate, or a rate the issuer sets after approval.
1. Slash Visa® Platinum Card: Best Overall, With a Limit That Grows With Your Cash
Slash has no cash balance you need to reach before you apply. The card's effective limit is the lower of a risk-based maximum and the funds on deposit, updated in real time. A startup that deposits a $2 million seed round can spend against it as soon as it lands, up to its risk-based maximum, and the limit moves with the balance as the company spends and raises again. More than 10,000 businesses use Slash, which raised a $100M Series C at a $1.4B valuation led by Ribbit Capital in April 2026.
What a Funded Startup Gets Before Revenue
- Approval on your EIN. Slash's page on corporate cards for startups says the card needs only your EIN for approval and comes with no personal guarantee.
- A checking account behind the card. The card draws on the Slash business checking account, where deposits are FDIC-insured² up to $150 million through a sweep network of partner banks.
- Unlimited virtual cards on both plans. Give each vendor or subscription its own card, with its own spend limit, per-transaction ceiling and merchant restriction. Physical cards are available for any team member.
- Controls from the first card. Set group budgets and role-based permissions, freeze any card instantly, and use expense management to code each transaction automatically.
- Bills and invoices from the same balance.Bill Pay and invoicing run from the account the card draws on, so a small team keeps its spending in one place.
Jay-Jay P., Founder and CEO of Hike Footwear and a Slash customer, described the setup this way. "Slash's platform makes it easy to create virtual cards, support is fast and amazing, and the cashback helps cover our shipping and ad spend."
What It Costs
Both plans are published on the pricing page, so you know the cost before you apply. Free is $0 a month with up to 1.5% cashback, same-day ACH at $1 and domestic wires at $6. Pro is $25 a month with up to 2% cashback and $0 same-day ACH, domestic wires and outgoing FedNow and RTP. Neither plan puts a cash threshold on the card.
The standard in finance
Slash goes above with better controls, better rewards, and better support for your business.
2. Ramp: $25,000 in a Linked US Bank Account Before You Apply
Ramp counts cash in any US business bank account linked to the application, so a company banking elsewhere does not have to move its balance to qualify. NerdWallet's review lists unlimited virtual and physical cards, with no personal credit check and no personal guarantee.
The bar to get in is $25,000. Ramp's qualification page asks for a registered corporation, LLC or LP, an EIN, most operations and spend in the US, and at least that much cash in a linked account, so a pre-revenue company holding less does not qualify. Once a company is approved, Ramp sets the limit as a percentage of linked cash or through revenue-based underwriting.
The rewards rate is harder to budget for. Ramp's rewards terms say points accrue at a rate Ramp determines, and NerdWallet reports that Ramp confirmed a range of 0% to 1.5% in June 2026.
3. Rho: $25,000 Held at Rho for Monthly Terms
You can start on Rho without any cash balance. Its default card runs on Daily Terms, repaid the next day from checking, and Rho's FAQ lists a $0 monthly fee with no minimum balance to open an account. LLCs, C-corps and other US-incorporated entities apply with an EIN and formation documents, and the card needs no personal guarantee.
Monthly Terms need a minimum cash balance of $25,000. The FAQ adds that $75,000 held across Rho and linked external accounts also qualifies, subject to underwriting.
Monthly Terms mean keeping that cash at Rho. Rho Platinum pays up to 2% on Daily Terms and up to 1.75% on Monthly Terms. It requires payroll run from Rho, revenue deposited to Rho Checking, 50% or more of company assets held at Rho, and an open Rho card. The treasury product has its own threshold too, and Rho Treasury opens with a $50,000 minimum.
4. Brex: Equity Funding, a Planned Round or $500,000 in Revenue
Brex screens on funding instead of a bank balance. Its account requirements open daily payments to a company that has taken an equity investment of any amount from an accelerator, angel or VC, or plans to soon, or that earns more than $500,000 a year. A tech startup on its way to those criteria can also get in through a referral from an existing customer or partner. Every applicant needs a US EIN, a US incorporation, US operations and a US physical address.
For monthly payments, Brex asks startups that have raised to hold at least $50,000 in cash, possibly less through certain partner referrals. A funded company under that figure can still apply and start on daily payments. A company with no funding, no plan to raise and under $500,000 in revenue falls outside the published criteria.
Brex has been part of Capital One since April 7, 2026, when Capital One completed the acquisition.
5. Mercury IO: 30-Day Repayment From $15,000 in Balances
Mercury's IO card pays a flat 1.5% cashback on all spend, with no annual fee, no personal guarantee and no credit check at sign-up. Once a Mercury account is open, a business may be eligible for IO immediately, with no separate application. New customers with lower balances start on daily repayment, and 30-day repayment opens up when balances reach $15,000.
The limit is based on what the business holds at Mercury plus any external accounts it links, and Mercury reassesses it after large withdrawals and deposits. IO is open only to Mercury account holders, so a company banking elsewhere has to move its account first.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Provider figures reflect publicly published information as of September 2026 and are subject to change.
How to Choose a Corporate Card Before You Have Revenue
Take the gates in the order an issuer applies them.
- Count the cash you hold today. Under $25,000, Ramp is off the table, and Brex comes down to whether you have raised equity or plan to.
- Decide where the cash will be held. Ramp counts any linked US account, Rho and Mercury count their own balances first, and Slash sets the limit from the Slash account.
- Pick the repayment cycle you need. Monthly terms at Rho, Brex and Mercury each come with a cash threshold.
- Price the rate you can model. A published rate can go into a budget before you apply, and a rate set after approval cannot.
- Work out whether Pro pays for itself. At $15,000 a month on the card, Pro's extra half point of cashback is worth up to $75 a month, or $900 a year, against Pro's $300 annual cost, before any savings on transfers.
Putting a Slash Card to Work After You Raise
In the month after a raise, a company has a bank balance, a handful of software subscriptions and no transaction history. Setup is short. Apply on the entity's details, with no personal guarantee, then fund the checking account and start issuing cards.
Give each subscription its own card with a ceiling and a merchant restriction, so a free trial that converts gets declined instead of billing at full price. Roll those cards into a group with one budget and review the spend by merchant or category in analytics. Mapping rules code card and bank transactions in Slash before they sync to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct or NetSuite through the accounting integration.
Money you have raised but will not spend this quarter can go into a treasury account⁶ backed by money market funds from Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, with no minimum balance, while operating cash stays in checking. Slash's startups page covers how the rest of the platform works for startups as they grow.
Conclusion
For a pre-revenue startup, the cash threshold, the entity type and the repayment cycle decide which card you can get before the rewards rate comes into it. Ramp asks for $25,000 up front, and Rho asks for $25,000 at Rho for monthly terms. Brex asks for funding, a plan to raise, or $500,000 in revenue, and Mercury ties the limit to what you hold at Mercury.
Slash publishes no threshold and prices both plans on a public page, and the card limit moves with every deposit, from the first one to the next round.
Talk to the Slash team about applying with no minimum cash balance.
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FAQs
1. What is the minimum cash needed to qualify for a corporate card in 2026?
It ranges from nothing to $25,000 or more, depending on the issuer. Slash and Mercury publish no minimum, Ramp requires $25,000 in a US business bank account, and Rho's monthly terms require $25,000 held at Rho. Brex screens on funding instead, with daily payments open to companies that have raised equity, plan to, or earn more than $500,000 a year.
How to Choose the Right Corporate Card Program For Your Business
2. Does the Slash Card require a minimum balance?
No. Slash publishes no minimum cash balance for the Slash Visa® Platinum Card. The limit is set from the funds in your Slash checking account, up to a risk-based maximum, so you can use the card as soon as the account is funded.
3. Can a pre-revenue startup get a Slash Card?
Yes, a startup with no revenue can apply. Slash's page on corporate cards for startups says the card only requires your EIN for approval and comes with no personal guarantee, and Slash publishes no cash threshold for the card. A startup that has raised but has no revenue yet spends against the round in its Slash checking account, up to its risk-based maximum.
4. How is the Slash Card limit set compared with Ramp's?
Slash sets the limit at the lower of a risk-based maximum and the funds on deposit in your Slash checking account, updated in real time. Ramp first requires $25,000 in a linked US account, then sets the limit as a percentage of linked cash or through revenue-based underwriting.
5. Which corporate cards accept a startup with no revenue?
Slash, Rho, Ramp, Brex and Mercury IO all have a route in for a company with no revenue, and the condition is cash or funding. Slash publishes no minimum cash balance or revenue requirement for its card. Rho's FAQ says it serves companies before they have revenue, Ramp's entry condition is $25,000 in cash, Brex accepts startups with equity funding or a plan to raise, and Mercury IO bases eligibility on balances held at Mercury.
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