Charge Card

Business, Legal & Accounting Glossary

Definition: Charge Card


Charge Card

Quick Summary of Charge Card


A card used for making payments. Similar to a credit card except that the balance must be paid in full when the statement is received.




Full Definition of Charge Card


A charge card is a physical card that records an account number of a buyer in a retail payment system. In a charge card transaction, the buyer presents the charge card to a merchant, the charge card issuer guarantees the merchant will be paid for the authorized transaction, and the cardholder receives an invoice from the charge card issuer. Although the term charge card is often used interchangeably with the term credit card, a charge card is different from a credit card in that the invoice must be paid in full each month. (Credit issued is therefore for one month at most.) The leading brand of charge card in the US is American Express, issued solely by the financial services firm of the same name. American Express is also a credit card issuer. Businesses often issue a charge card to employees for business expenses. Part of the services of the charge card issuer to the company is assistance tracking and controlling employee purchases.

A Charge Card is your not-so-flexible friend! A Charge Card may look like a credit card, feel like a credit card and you can spend money with it like a credit card. But, unlike a credit card, the day of reckoning comes each month.

Charge card accounts insist that you must settle the debt in full each month. Most charge card operators will operate penalty interest charges which are significantly higher than credit card interest rates for failure to pay.


Cite Term


To help you cite our definitions in your bibliography, here is the proper citation layout for the three major formatting styles, with all of the relevant information filled in.

Page URL
https://payrollheaven.com/define/charge-card/
Modern Language Association (MLA):
Charge Card. PayrollHeaven.com. Payroll & Accounting Heaven Ltd.
March 28, 2024 https://payrollheaven.com/define/charge-card/.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMS):
Charge Card. PayrollHeaven.com. Payroll & Accounting Heaven Ltd.
https://payrollheaven.com/define/charge-card/ (accessed: March 28, 2024).
American Psychological Association (APA):
Charge Card. PayrollHeaven.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024
, from PayrollHeaven.com website: https://payrollheaven.com/define/charge-card/

Definition Sources


Definitions for Charge Card are sourced/syndicated and enhanced from:

  • A Dictionary of Economics (Oxford Quick Reference)
  • Oxford Dictionary Of Accounting
  • Oxford Dictionary Of Business & Management

This glossary post was last updated: 21st November, 2021 | 0 Views.