Card Issuance enables you to create and manage payment cards through a single integration. Using this capability, you can issue debit cards linked to customer accounts or prepaid cards funded before use and allow spending up to the available balance on the card, depending on your program requirements. The behavior of each card—such as format, issuance flow, and controls—is governed by your configured Card Program.

Each issued card can be configured with program-level controls such as spending limits, usage rules, and lifecycle management. This allows you to build card experiences tailored to your platform—whether for customer payments, business expenses, or controlled spending programs.

Through the unified Card Issuance APIs, you can:

Issue physical or digital cards
Configure spending rules and limits
Manage card lifecycle events such as activation, freezing, and replacement
Enable secure payments across online, in-store, and mobile wallet channels

Example Usecases

Card Issuance can support a variety of business scenarios. Depending on your platform’s needs, you can issue cards to enable different types of spending experiences for your customers or internal users.

Corporate Cards

Issue cards to employees to manage business expenses with configurable spending controls.

Consumer Debit Cards

Provide debit cards linked to customer accounts for everyday purchases and ATM withdrawals.

Prepaid Cards

Distribute pre-funded cards for controlled spending across specific programs or initiatives.

Supported Card Models

The platform supports multiple card funding models, allowing you to choose how funds are accessed during card transactions.

Debit Cards (Account-Linked)

Debit cards are directly linked to the cardholder’s active account. Transactions are authorized in real time against the available balance of the linked account, providing instant access to funds.

Common use cases:

Everyday consumer spending
Business operational expenses
ATM withdrawals
Retail purchases

Prepaid Cards (Pre-Funded)

Prepaid cards are funded with a specific allowance before they can be used.

Instead of accessing the full account balance, these cards only allow spending up to the allocated funded amount, making them useful for expense control.

Note: Prepaid cards are supported only for Business Customers. Individual customers can only be issued Debit cards.

Common use cases:

Employee expense cards
Controlled spending programs
Corporate budgeting workflows

Card Formats

Once you choose a funding model, you can decide how the card will be delivered to users.

Card Type	Description	Use Case
Physical Card	A physical card shipped to the customer for in-person purchases and ATM withdrawals.	Retail spending, ATM withdrawals, everyday card usage
Digital Card	A virtual card issued instantly and accessible online or through mobile wallets.	Online purchases, subscriptions, instant card access
Digital-First Card	A digital card issued immediately, with the option to request a physical card later or issue both together based on configuration.	Immediate access while waiting for the physical card

Mobile Wallet Support

Digital and Digital-First cards support push provisioning, allowing users to add cards directly to mobile wallets such as:

Apple Pay
Google Pay

This enables customers to make secure contactless payments immediately after card issuance.

How Card Issuance Works

Issuing a card involves selecting the right card program, identifying the cardholder, and configuring how the card should be issued and used. The following workflow outlines the typical steps involved in setting up and issuing cards.

1. Enable Card Issuance

Contact your Account Manager to enable the Unified Card Issuance capability for your Program Manager.

2. Configure a Card Program

Define your Card Program, which acts as a master configuration template for all cards issued under your program.

This setup determines:

Spending rules
Transaction limits
Program policies
KYC and compliance requirements

Your Account Management team will assist in configuring this setup.

3. Select a Cardholder

Determine which customer or user will receive the card.

The selected cardholder must:

Have an ACTIVE account
Successfully pass Customer Identification Program (CIP) checks

4. Issue the Card

Use the Card Issuance API to create a Debit or Prepaid card for the selected cardholder.

5. Fund the Card

Ensure funds are available for card transactions.

Debit cards: Transactions draw funds from the linked account balance.
Prepaid cards: Funds must be loaded onto the card before use.

6. Manage your Cards

After issuance, you can manage cards through their lifecycle by performing actions such as:

Freezing or unfreezing cards
Replacing lost or stolen cards
Reissuing expired cards

7. Control Spend Limits

You can configure spending limits and usage controls to regulate how the card can be used.