business card VS visiting card (2024)

Hi there again,

Do you mind telling me the difference between business cards and visiting cards, if there is any? There might be a difference between different dialects I reckon. How would you call the card that contains basically your name, the company you work for, your telephone number and your address maybe with a little logo of your company. Up until now I was only familiar with the former, with business cards, having done a little research, I became none the wiser what the contrast is.

Thanks.

I have never heard of a 'visiting card'. That sounds like some form of visa someone uses to visit a country or something!

What you describe above is definitely a business card (at least in Canadian English).

I've just read up on what a visiting card is. Historically it was more for social reasons (if you wish to visit someone you would send your visiting card or 'calling card' to their home and await a response). It usually only contained the person's name.

A business card is for business purposes and contains much more information.

I agree with CanuckPete. To me, a visiting card would contain only the person's name, along with any titles.

For example, here is a photograph of Kaiser Wilhelm's visiting card:

Sometimes you will see them used in older movies. A visitor places his visiting card on a tray which is then carried in by the butler and handed to the man or woman of the house.

That said, when googling for images I saw many examples that I would call business cards, including company name, logo and contact information. Perhaps business cards are called visiting cards in some parts of the world.

They are also known by the name "calling card." ("Calling card" has now expanded to a figurative meaning that refers to to the particular style, mark or behavior of an individual.)

brian genaldo said:

I think visiting cards are used in England, they aren't used in the US.
I read about it at bizcardcreator.com

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See Also

Business Card vs. Visiting Card - What's the Difference? | This vs. That

Not any more! People who joined the RAF 10 or more years before I did had their visiting card plate (ie, the plate used to print the card) made during initial officer training, but by the time I arrived on my first station in the early 1970s nobody had a tray for visiting cards in their hallway and nobody left one when visiting.

Andygc said:

Not any more! People who joined the RAF 10 or more years before I did had their visiting card plate (ie, the plate used to print the card) made during initial officer training, but by the time I arrived on my first station in the early 1970s nobody had a tray for visiting cards in their hallway and nobody left one when visiting.

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Brings back memories of my naval officer training in the 1960s ... The first thing a new ensign, or prospective ensign-to-be, had to do was get cards to drop off on these courtesy calls.

If I heard anyone say "visiting card" today I'd wonder what century they were from. It wouldn't be the 20th, either.

A business card will typically have your name and the name, address and contact details of your business, or the company you work for. These will be typically used for business purposes.

A visiting card or 'calling card' (from the WR Dictionary): "a small card with the name and often the address of a person or of a couple, for presenting when making a business or social call, for enclosing in gifts, etc. " I think these are used more for social purposes.

I don't know how frequently visiting cards are used nowadays - they sound rather dated to me.

Difference Between Visiting Card and Business Card

Visiting cards come in shapes that are easy to hold and to keep in one’s wallet and they usually contain the name of the person most prominently. They may additionally contain his contact number as well as his address. ..........

A business card typically contains more information than a visiting card as the real purpose here is to inform about one’s company, products and services along with contact information.

<Link to previous WR thread removed. I have merged this thread with the older one. Nat>