Posted by Molly Nelson - While small business owners have taken the brunt of the recent credit crunch,
according to the Wall Street Journal, some banks may be trying to win them over with offerings of new small business-specific credit and charge cards.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Chase Card Services is launching a suite of four "Ink from Chase" cards targeted at different types of small business owners.
One of the cards, the Ink Bold, is the first charge card offered by a Visa or MasterCard issuer. Every card in the suite allows cardholders to track and report business expenses online, as well as add additional cards and set spending limits for employees at no extra cost.
However, there is some concern that banks are pushing these small business cards because they aren't covered under new protections for cardholders. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 does not currently cover businesses with 50 or fewer employees, although legislation to extend protections to these businesses has been introduced in the House.