How Virtual Cards Work

What is a virtual card?

A virtual card is a real Visa card number that exists only digitally. It has a card number, CVV, and expiry date — just like a physical card — but it lives in our system and can be created and canceled via API in milliseconds.

How are cards issued?

Cards are issued through Stripe Issuing, powered by Stripe banking partners. When your AI agent calls our API to create a card, Stripe instantly generates a real Visa card number tied to your account.

Spending limits

Every card has a hard spending limit set at creation time. This limit is enforced at the infrastructure level by Stripe — not application code. Even if your AI agent tries to charge more than the limit, the transaction will be declined.

Single-use design

Cards are designed to be used once and immediately canceled. This means even if a card number is exposed, it cannot be reused after cancellation.

Card lifecycle

1. 1.Created — card is active and ready to use
2. 2.Revealed — credentials retrieved, $0.50 fee charged
3. 3.Used — purchase completed at merchant
4. 4.Canceled — card permanently deactivated