Bank of America Launches Small Business Charge Cards

Bank of America today announced a suite of small business charge cards designed to give small businesses more choice and control over their payment and expense management needs.

“Our small business clients tell us they need products that offer straightforward solutions,” said Chip Rossi, Bank of America Unsecured Borrowing and Small Business Products executive. “Charge cards provide small business owners with another option for their payment needs – combining the convenience of short-term credit with the ability to manage their spending and cash flow.”

Unlike credit cards, charge cards require payment in full every month, enabling greater control over expenses without finance charges. The cards will be available through Bank of America banking centers and at bankofamerica.com later this month.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. That’s why Bank of America has taken so many steps to provide small business owners with the tools, resources and opportunities they need to run their businesses more effectively,” said Dean Athanasia, Bank of America mass affluent and small business executive. “We are doing more now than ever to understand the changing needs of our small business clients so we can provide them with the best value for their banking relationship.”

The suite of charge cards includes Business Charge™, Business Charge™ with WorldPoints® Rewards and Business Preferred World MasterCard®.

Business Charge is the choice for small business owners who want a straightforward solution for business purchases and vendor payments – with no annual fee. Key features include:

• Free employee cards and ability to set individual credit limits.
• Zero liability protection for unauthorized transactions.
• Expense management tools and customized spending reports.
• Acceptance at more than 31 million MasterCard merchant locations worldwide.

Business Charge with WorldPoints provides all the features of the Business Charge card plus a rewards program:

• Earn one WorldPoints reward point for every $1 spent on purchases.
• Redeem points for cash, gift cards, travel and brand-name merchandise.
• No blackout dates for travel or limit on points.
• Annual fee of $49 is waived the first year and will continue to be waived each year for clients with an open Business Economy, Business Advantage or Business Analysis Checking account at Bank of America.

Business Preferred Charge offers the suite’s most robust rewards options and is designed for businesses with higher monthly spending needs. The card features world-class rewards, service and solutions, including:

• No pre-set spending limit.
• Enhanced rewards program with 10,000 bonus points after first purchase, 10,000 anniversary points each year and no expiration on points.
• Double points on all airline and hotel purchases for the first 12 months.
• Direct access to a Business Preferred service specialist.
• Ability to set employee credit lines and limit employee card purchases to specific merchant categories.
• Complimentary identity theft protection service.
• Annual fee of $125 is waived for the first year and will continue to be waived each year for clients with an open Business Advantage Checking or Business Analysis Checking account at Bank of America.

The features and rewards of each card in the charge card suite were designed by Bank of America and MasterCard in response to the specific needs of small business clients in today’s environment. In addition to focus groups and client research, a survey of small business owners conducted by Bank of America and MasterCard found that small business owners identified “full payment of monthly charges,” “merchant acceptance” and “ease of record keeping” as the most appealing features of a charge card.

“Today’s announcement represents our collaborative effort to provide small business owners with the tools and flexibility they want to help them tackle the financial challenges that come with managing their business,” said Eugene DeSilva, senior business leader, U.S. Commercial Products, MasterCard Worldwide. “With this charge card, small business owners can better structure and manage their monthly operating budgets, while maximizing the rewards and benefits that come with being a MasterCard and Bank of America customer.”

The new charge card products are part of Bank of America’s ongoing commitment to meet small business owners’ credit, deposit and cash management needs. Other efforts initiated by Bank of America to help small businesses include:

• Extending major provisions of the Card Act to small business credit cards, such as no rate increases on existing balances, at least 45 days’ advance notice on any rate changes on future balances, no fee for going over the credit limit and minimum of 25 days from statement closing date to payment due date.
• Expanding the bank’s industry-leading Clarity Commitment® – a one-page summary of customer rates, fees and payment information – to its two million small business credit card accounts.
• Extending $18 billion of credit to small business in 2010, up from $16.5 billion in 2009.
• Committing to hire over 1,000 small business bankers throughout 2011 and into early 2012. These bankers will serve as a dedicated resource for small business owners, helping them assess their companies’ deposit, credit and cash management needs.
• Continuing to award $10 million in Community Development Financial Institution grants to nonprofit lenders for use as loan loss reserves required to access federal microlending capital.
• Increasing spending with small, medium-sized and diverse businesses through a commitment to purchase $10 billion in products and services from those suppliers over five years.
• Enhancing the Advisor AllianceTM retirement plan platform, which serves more than 900,000 people from more than 40,000 businesses. Advisor Alliance combines Merrill Lynch investment and advisory services with a choice of diverse, committed partners to provide competitive recordkeeping and plan administration services for businesses’ retirement plan needs.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,800 retail banking offices and approximately 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

MasterCard Worldwide

As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2010, $2.7 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 23 billion transactions each year and has the capacity to handle 160 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 130 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl®. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.

www.bankofamerica.com