How do Brex credit limits work?
Brex is unique in that its credit model is flexible enough to underwrite many businesses that have limited operating history, revenue, or profitability. In order to give our customers the highest credit limit possible, our underwriting model relies on maintaining visibility into a company’s cash balance and transactions.
Because of this, Brex credit limits fluctuate more than limits on other credit cards, as they adapt to the unique financial characteristics of each business. The information below can help you understand how and why your Brex credit limit may change, as well as highlight circumstances where your credit limit may be reduced to $0.
There are 3 ways Brex determines a credit limit for a Brex card:
Connected bank underwriting (available for cards paid monthly).
Bank statement-based underwriting as an exception if connected bank underwriting is not an option (may be available for cards paid monthly).
Brex business account underwriting (required for daily payments; may be used for monthly payments by qualified customers).
All of these methods use your current balance to determine your limit, meaning that your limit will never be more than the cash you already have available–either in external bank accounts or your Brex business account. This helps to create a safe spending environment from which you can build your business credit.
Please read the relevant section below, which will outline how your credit limit is determined for your Brex card based on your product type.
Monthly payments
Your credit limit is directly related to your cash balance as reported in your bank accounts that are connected to Brex with Plaid/Finicity, your Brex business account balance, or your bank statements in the event you are unable to connect your external bank. We look at both your current cash balance as well as your 30 day rolling average balance. As your cash balance in your linked account increases or decreases, so may your credit limit. For additional details, please refer to Brex credit limits on monthly payments.
Daily payments
Your Brex card limit is directly related to the balance held in your Brex business account—up to 30% of your Brex business account balance if you are approved for a Brex card with monthly payments, or up to 100% of your balance if you are using a Brex business account with daily payments.
Net 60-day statements
For accounts that have been grandfathered into this product, your Brex card limit is directly related to your estimated revenue reported in your accounts that are connected to Brex. Your limit depends on the balances of connected bank accounts and/or bank/financial statements, as well as any connected ecommerce platforms such as Amazon or Shopify. As your revenue increases or decreases, so will your limit. For additional details, please refer to Brex credit limits on net 60-day statements.
Multiple Brex business accounts
Multiple Brex business accounts are currently available to customers chosen to participate in our Early Access Program. In this case, limits for Brex cards with daily payments are based on the balance in your primary Brex business account–not the aggregate balance across multiple accounts. For Brex cards with monthly payments, we consider the sum total of all Brex business account balances, as well as balances from connected external bank accounts.
$0 credit limits
There are several events that may prompt Brex to reduce your credit limit to zero. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
The connection to your linked external bank account loses connectivity or becomes out-of-date.
You don't have connected external bank accounts and have not provided bank statements or they are out of date.
You have an insufficient cash balance to meet minimum underwriting requirements (for monthly statements).
You aren't meeting the minimum monthly revenue requirements (for grandfathered accounts with net 60-day payment cycles).
There are failed payments on your account.
For more details, please read Why is my credit limit $0?. Credit limits are calculated in part by Brex’s ongoing account-specific determination of risk. These credit limits are subject to change at any time at our sole discretion in accordance with our rights outlined in the Platform Agreement.