# Issuing

Learn how to issue cards.

Use [this guide](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing.md) if you’re interested in using Issuing for businesses or customers on your platform.

Use Stripe Issuing to programmatically create virtual cards for your business, employees, contractors, or AI agents to make purchases on your behalf.

## Activate your sandbox

[Sandboxes](https://docs.stripe.com/sandboxes.md) let you test your integration before going live. You can activate Issuing in a sandbox in the Stripe Dashboard without contacting sales. Sandbox access is instant. When you’re ready to go live, you can apply for an eligibility review in the Dashboard after testing your integration.

Functionality is different in a sandbox and in live mode:

- In a sandbox, all card transactions are simulated. No real funds move.
- In live mode, real funds and cards are used for actual purchases.

### Migrate a v1 sandbox to v2

In some cases, you might need to migrate a v1 sandbox to v2.

This video shows the migration process.
![](https://docs.stripecdn.com/717adb34358232ce5ea568d7ec78ed03f5aacfa6f9a685f3e85aa2fdb4cea755.mp4)
## Fund your financial account

To spend money using cards, you need to add funds to the financial account associated with your account. You can use your financial account across other Stripe products, and to store funds that back your cards.

You can fund your financial account from an external bank account or transfer funds from your payments balance either [one time](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury.md#transfer-funds-stripe-balance-once) or on a [recurring basis](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury.md#transfer-funds-stripe-balance-recurring).

### Retrieve your financial account ID

First, you need to get your financial account ID.

```curl
curl https://api.stripe.com/v2/money_management/financial_accounts \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY" \
-H "Stripe-Version: 2026-01-28.preview"
```

Example response:

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "{{FINANCIAL_ACCOUNT_ID}}",
      "object": "v2.money_management.financial_account",
      ...
        ...
  }
  ]
}
```

### Retrieve your funding credentials

Use this method to return a routing number and account number. You can use this routing and account number to initiate funding from your external bank account.

```curl
curl -G https://api.stripe.com/v2/money_management/financial_addresses \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY" \
-H "Stripe-Version: 2026-01-28.preview" \
-d "include[0]"="credentials.us_bank_account.account_number"
```

### Retrieve your financial account balance

Depending on which financial rail you used to fund your financial account, it can take 1 business day for those funds to become available.

Use the Financial Accounts API to see your available balance.

```curl
curl https://api.stripe.com/v2/money_management/financial_accounts/fa_65NvTFNdpXXUx1kx1rB16NoTesLDSQ1IgNPigisRKq09iq \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Stripe-Version: 2026-01-28.preview"
```

Example response:

```json
{
  "id": "fa_65NvTFNdpXXUx1kx1rB16NoTesLDSQ1IgNPigisRKq09iq",
  "object": "v2.money_management.financial_account",
  "balance": {
    "available": {
      "usd": {
        "value": 0,
        "currency": "usd"
      }
    },
    "inbound_pending": {
      "usd": {
        "value": 0,
        "currency": "usd"
      }
    },
    "outbound_pending": {
      "usd": {
        "value": 0,
        "currency": "usd"
      }
    }
  },
}
```

## Create cardholders and cards

### Create a cardholder

A cardholder is an individual authorized to use the card. Create one before issuing any cards.

```curl
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/issuing/cardholders \
  -u "<<YOUR_SECRET_KEY>>:" \
  -d "name=Jenny Rosen" \
  --data-urlencode "email=jenny.rosen@example.com" \
  --data-urlencode "phone_number=+18008675309" \
  -d status=active \
  -d type=individual \
  -d "billing[address][line1]=123 Main Street" \
  -d "billing[address][city]=San Francisco" \
  -d "billing[address][state]=CA" \
  -d "billing[address][postal_code]=94111" \
  -d "billing[address][country]=US"
```

Example response:

```json
{ "id": "ich_123", ... }
```

### Issue a card

Reference the cardholder ID from the step above to issue a card for the cardholder. You can create multiple cards per cardholder.

```curl
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/issuing/cards \
  -u "<<YOUR_SECRET_KEY>>:" \
  -d cardholder=ich_123 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d type=virtual \
  -d status=active
```

Example response:

```json
{ "id": "ic_123", ... }
```

### Retrieve card number and CVC

```curl
curl -G https://api.stripe.com/v1/issuing/cards/ic_123 \
  -u "{{SECRET_KEY}}:" \
  -d "expand[]=number" \
  -d "expand[]=cvc"
```

## Set controls

Use the following features to customize your integration.

- [Spend controls](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md)
- [Real-time authorizations](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/real-time-authorizations.md)
- [Advanced fraud tools](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/advanced-fraud-tools.md)

## Programs

Stripe offers a set of standard issuing programs, and lets you customize your own if needed.

### Standard program use cases

These are some examples of how businesses can use Issuing:

#### Corporate expense management

Your business can issue cards to its own employees or contractors to make purchases on behalf of the business. Your business controls what can be spent, where it can be spent, and how much your business can enforce transaction approvals at the card level. Instead of reimbursing employees after the fact as with a programmable corporate card, your business sets the rules up front and the card enforces them automatically.

Examples:

- An employee card locked to software subscriptions and travel
- A contractor card capped at 500 USD per month for office supplies

In this use case, the cardholder and the business that benefits from the card spending are a part of the same business. There’s no resale and no customer on the other end.

#### Reseller

Your business uses Stripe-issued cards to purchase inventory or goods from a supplier, which then resells to its own customers in a separate transaction. Your Stripe card handles the buy side only. The sell side happens outside of Stripe.

Examples:

- A travel platform purchasing wholesale airline tickets from a carrier using a Stripe card, then reselling those tickets to customers.
- A subscription reseller buying streaming service licenses in bulk, then reselling them to customers.

In this use case, the card is used for procurement, not for the final customer transaction. Your business is buying to resell instead of buying to consume.

#### Fulfillment and on-demand services

Your business purchases goods or services from another business to fulfill a service it’s providing to your own customers. The purchase is incidental to the service. Your business is buying because completing the service requires it. It isn’t buying to resell.

Examples:

- A meal curation service buying ingredients to fulfill a customer’s meal plan.
- A home design service purchasing decor items to execute a customer’s design brief.

In this use case, there’s always a customer whose need is being fulfilled. The purchase is a means to delivering a service.

### Standard program limits

There are limits for different standard program use cases, card amounts, and transactions.

Use case limits:

- Reseller programs can only create virtual cards.
- Reseller and on-demand services programs can only create single use cards.

Program limits:

- Create 25 cards per week
- Spend 5000 USD per week
- Spend 500 USD per card per day

### Custom program

If you’re interested in a more custom offering that lets your business expand to new use cases, currencies (USDC and global fiat), regions, revenue sharing opportunities, and so on, [Contact sales](https://stripe.com/contact/embedded-finance) to learn more.