Importance of Updating Business Information with Credit Card Issuers

When you apply for a business credit card in Canada, the credit card company requires personal information from you along with your credit history and credit score through Equifax and TransUnion. You might already be aware of the importance of maintaining a sound financial history to qualify for a credit card. However, qualifying for a business credit card doesn’t prevent you from sharing required information with the credit card issuer or bank. You are always liable to respond to any query of the issuing body.

If some of the information concerning your nature of business has changed, then you must share this information with the credit card issuer or bank. Such information sharing ensures that there is no room for miscommunication and prevents any potential issues that might arise due to lack of communication. Remember some of this information is required by the credit bureaus working in Canada which requires accurate and latest information without any lie or forgery. This is why it is advisable to share any significant business updates or changes with the credit card issuer and update the business information as per your current standing.

You might be wondering why it is so important to update the business information with the credit card issuer. It seems quite harmless, but in reality, it is not that harmless and needs utmost clarity. A little miscommunication can lead to huge financial chaos and disruption.

Here are some of the prominent reasons why it is important to update the business information:

Seamless Billing and Statement

To ensure seamless and accurate billing and statement, you are required to update any associated business information with the credit card issuer. Say, your business address or contact number has changed due to a shift in business facility. Failing to update the credit card issuer, your bill and statement will be dispatched to the previous address where you no longer work. This way you can miss your billing date as you won't receive the bill to pay on time and might have to pay the interest on late payments which can also affect your credit score. This can create an issue for you to track payments.

To save yourself from these issues, it is best to update the credit card issuer about any such changes in your business details. If you update them timely, then you will receive your bill and statements at the updated address and will be contacted on the updated contact number eliminating all chances of confusion and ensuring seamless distribution of confidential documents.

Prevent Probable Fraud

Updating the business information timely saves you from the probable chance of fraud. There are multiple such scenarios in which accurate business information can save you from fraudulent activities and account abuse.

One such example to give you an idea is to consider that you have fired one of your trusted employees due to shady activities. You need to share this information with the credit card issuer so that they block the employee's card and limit their access to your company’s account. They might try to steal from you once exposed and can withdraw a huge amount from the organization's account.

In the same way, if your contact details have changed then you need to share them with the credit card issuer or someone else can get a chance to take away your right to verify a transaction by looting you. In such cases, you become a victim just because of outdated information and reliance on that information.

Verification of Account

You might have to verify the account details for several purposes while dealing with a business credit card issuer. The details become critical when you are dealing with a phone call with a customer service representative. Updating the information will save you from the burden of remembering the old as well as current details of the business.

It also saves you from accidently sharing the current details with the representative which will be considered invalid as they are not yet updated in the system. This way you can get your account suspended or denied by the representative for verification. To save yourself from all this trouble, it is better to update the current details of your business as soon as there is some alteration.

Assistance During Emergencies

In case of any unfortunate accident such as a stolen card case, you can get timely assistance from the credit card issuer only if they have your updated information. By sharing the updated business information they can offer you a quick response to your emergency and help you resolve the emergency as soon as possible. Such timely action will ensure that your business operations are not interrupted in any way and you can conduct business transactions without any issues.

For instance, if your card is stolen and you want to block it instantly to prevent any abuse you haven’t updated the contact number with the credit card issuer. When you call the credit card issuer in this case, it will take considerable time to verify that it is truly you because the credit card issuer won't trust a call from an unknown and invalid contact number. In such a situation, you will get a delayed response from the credit card issuer in which the thief might have already done a transaction up to your credit limit.

Communication Effectiveness

With updated information, you can expect to have effective communication with the credit card issuer. To understand this, let us look into one example:

Say, your business contact number is changed and you have not updated the credit card issuer who wanted to inform you about the promotional offer that was valid for a month. With that promotional offer, you could have saved a lot of money but just because you failed to get that information owing to outdated information, you didn’t get any benefit from it.

Updated information helps the credit card issuer contact you for any change in policies, or terms and to share offers, and subscription packages or to consult any business credit card-related issues. Effective communication helps you to get a look at the updated credit card issuer’s deals and pick up the best offers that suit your business needs.

Account Disruption

If the credit card issuer fails to reach you for an extended period of time then they can suspend your business credit card or can close it for the time being. This can disrupt your business operations as you won't be able to access your business credit card to make necessary transactions. By timely updating the contact details, you can forego all such issues and chances of miscommunication.

Ensure Creditworthiness

Failing to report any update in business information timely can affect your creditworthiness. Having accurate and up-to-date business information is a requirement to prove the legitimacy and creditworthiness of your business. Many credit card issuers and credit bureaus get confused with wrong or outdated information which can lead to a misconception that you have deliberately hidden some key information. This can lead to a negative credit rating which you won't like to have on your business profile. This is why it is better to update any critical business information with the credit card issuer.

Compliance

In Canada, you must comply with the credit card bureau and state’s policies to share current and updated business information. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and credit bureau require that your latest business profile appears on your credit card issuer form to comply with the policies. It is important to follow all the legal requirements as prescribed by the law of Canada. If you stay in line with the laws and policies of regulatory bodies then you won't get into trouble for any compliance issues.

Reporting

Accurate and updated business information is required to file taxes and conduct financial audits. By concealing key facts about the business and the nature of work, it will be difficult to accurately create reports about the organizational work. The taxation laws and percentages vary from business to business and depend heavily on annual revenue.

If your revenue has escalated then it is important that you report it to the credit card issuer so that they evaluate and report your updated business situation to the credit bureaus and conduct a justified audit.

Business Growth

With growth in financial standing and market exposure, you can qualify for some new offers by the credit card issuer. Without sharing the current status of your business, the credit card issuer will never offer you those updated benefits for your upgraded business.

You can avail of more cashback offers, rewards, and elevated credit limits by sharing the updated financial status of your organization with the credit card issuer. Such important information will help you land the right offers as per your business structure and requirements. This will also help you leave a positive impact on your credit history and escalate your credit score.