Core concepts

Understand card forms, funding modes, and configurable settings before issuing cards.

Before you start issuing cards, familiarize yourself with the key concepts that determine how a card behaves: its form (virtual or physical), its mode (Single or Share), and the settings you can configure at creation time.

Card forms

Every card is either virtual or physical. You choose the form when you create or assign the card — it cannot be changed afterward.

Virtual cards

A virtual card has no physical representation. It includes a PAN, expiration date, and CVV for digital transactions and is available immediately after creation.

• Created through the Create Card endpoint.
• No activation required — the card is ready to use as soon as the card.create.succeeded webhook fires.
• Does not support ATM withdrawal.

Physical cards

A physical card is a pre-manufactured card that must be assigned to a cardholder and activated before use.

• Assigned through the Assign Card endpoint.
• Requires activation before first use.
• Supports ATM withdrawal (for eligible BINs).

Comparison

Feature	Virtual card	Physical card
How to issue	Create Card	Assign Card
Activation required	No	Yes
ATM withdrawal	Not supported	Supported
Time to first use	Immediate	After activation

Card modes

Every card operates in one of two funding modes: Single or Share. The mode determines how funds flow between your issuing balance and the card.

Single mode

Single mode works like a prepaid card. Funds are transferred from your issuing balance into the card at creation time.

• The issuing balance must be greater than or equal to the card_limit at creation time, or the request fails.
• Supports recharge (add funds) and withdraw (remove funds).
• Does not support changing the card limit after creation.
• When the card is cancelled, the remaining balance is returned to the issuing balance automatically.

Share mode

Share mode works like a debit card. The card draws directly from your issuing balance, with spending deducted in real time.

• No prior deposit is required — the card can be created even if the issuing balance is less than the card_limit.
• The card_limit acts as a spending cap, not a pre-funded amount.
• Supports changing the card limit after creation.
• Supports recharge (increases card_available_balance without transferring funds) and withdraw.
• No refund is needed on cancellation since no funds were transferred into the card.

Comparison

Feature	Single mode	Share mode
Funding mechanism	Pre-funded from issuing balance	Draws from issuing balance in real time
Balance requirement at creation	Issuing balance ≥ card_limit	No requirement
Card limit changes	Not supported	Supported
Recharge	Transfers funds from issuing balance into the card; increases card_available_balance	Increases card_available_balance without transferring funds
Withdraw	Returns funds from the card to issuing balance; decreases card_available_balance	Decreases card_available_balance without returning funds
Cancellation refund	Remaining balance returned automatically	No refund needed

Card settings

You configure these settings when creating or assigning a card:

Setting	Description	Changeable after creation
Card form	VIRTUAL or PHYSICAL	No
Card mode	SINGLE or SHARE	No
Settlement currency	USD or SGD	No
Card limit	Maximum spending amount for the card	Share mode only
Spending controls	Per-transaction spending limits	Yes — see Spending controls
MCC controls	Allowed or blocked merchant category codes	Yes — see MCC controls

Next steps

• Quickstart — Issue your first virtual card
• Create cardholders — Register cardholder identities before issuing cards