Increasingly, small businesses in the US are being built on plastic. More small businesses are turning to credit cards to meet their business credit needs, rather than traditional lines of credit. According to PSI Global’s annual study of U.S. small businesses the use of business credit cards to finance equipment or inventory increased 9% since 1999. In the same period, the number of small businesses using established lines of credit at their banks dropped 15% for unsecured lines and 21% for secured lines. PSI found that these companies, on average, have been in business for about two decades and typically have traditional lines of credit in place. According to the survey, 18% of small businesses use company cards for financing equipment or inventory.Four percent use personal credit cards for financing, up from 2% from last year. While attractive interest rates are one reason for the increased card use, many small business owners like the convenience of the card, and some like to rack up personal frequent flyer miles with relatively large business purchases. Each year, PSI Global, an NFO Worldwide Company, surveys 876 businesses with yearly sales of $500,000 to $10 million. For more information visit NFO Worldwide on the Web at www.nfow.com.