united-states, llcQuestion(s): If I had a small business (in the state of Arizona), and it became increasingly desirable to have a credit and/or debit card/account, could I (as a minor) open up one in the business’ name? If so what kind of restrictions are there? What risk would there be (to me/to my personal credit score. i.e. if I opened up an account that only reports to commercial credit bureaus)? How would a bank feel about offering a credit card to a company lead by a kid?
Things to note:
I want to add that it highly depends on where you are living.
For example: in Germany a minor is allowed to conduct business if he has the approval of his parents. With that, he is free to do everything he needs to do to keep his business running, including applying for a bank account and other things normally reserved for adults.
If the bank allows him to open the account is a different question.
Opening a checking account with a debit card is drastically different than applying for a credit card.
Business credit is only loosely tied (short story is it can only hurt your score) to an individual’s credit score, and most likely if you’re a minor, depending on your financial status and the business status, it may be difficult to be approved for a credit line.
Banks don’t “feel” - they automate every credit decision, with occasional manual oversight in serious situations.
While I’m not a legal professional, it’s my understanding that in order for a minor to get a credit card or a checking account via any bank in the United States, the bank would require written permission & joint signing by a parent or legal guardian.
Thus, given you applied for a card with your guardian, and were approved, if you missed a payment it would hurt both your credit score and that of the guardian’s.
Best of luck, Gabe!
Source: I’m a young 20s software dev / entrepreneur with 5 different cards (from the same bank) in my pocket at most given times xD
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