---
title: How Issuing works
subtitle: Learn how to start building your commercial card program.
route: /issuing/how-issuing-works
---

# How Issuing works

Learn how to start building your commercial card program.

[Stripe Issuing](https://stripe.com/issuing) allows you to create, manage, and scale a commercial card program for your users without setup fees. You can programmatically control every detail of your program, from card design to approving transactions in real time. A common use case for Issuing is spend management, which enables customers to store funds on your platform and manage spending with branded cards.

You can also use Issuing in conjunction with [Stripe Treasury](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury.md) to offer your customers additional transaction options.

Issuing is available in the US, UK, and many *European Economic Area* (EEA) countries. In the US, you can provide cards to individuals who live in the same country where the business is established. If your business is established in the EU or the UK, you can provide cards to individuals who live in EEA countries and the UK.

To learn more and see a full list of supported countries, see [Globally integrate Issuing](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/global.md).

## Get started with Issuing 

Complete the following steps to set up your commercial card program with Issuing:

1. Determine your eligibility to use Issuing by [contacting Stripe sales](https://stripe.com/contact/sales).
   - If you want to use Treasury with your Issuing integration, fill out the [Treasury form](https://go.stripe.global/treasury-inquiry) instead.
1. Choose whether to offer virtual or physical cards. Learn more about Issuing [card types](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/choose-cards.md).
1. Customize your card program, including choosing a network and a card product type. Learn how to [customize your card program](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/customize-your-program.md).
1. To enable card spend, you need to fund an Issuing balance. Learn how to [add funds to your card program](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/adding-funds-to-your-card-program.md).
1. Take steps to identify and limit transactions fraud. Learn more about [managing fraud](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/manage-fraud.md) with Stripe controls and tools.
1. (Optional) Set up spending controls, including spending limits and blocking specific business categories, countries, or business IDs. Learn more about setting [spending controls](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md).
1. Simulate purchases in a sandbox environment to test your integration. Learn more about [testing Issuing](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/testing.md).

## Building blocks for financial offerings

Stripe Issuing provides the tools and components needed to build a full-featured financial offering for your customers.

* [Identity verification](https://docs.stripe.com/connect/identity-verification.md)
  * Reduce risk
  * Perform KYC checks
  * Run sanctions screening

* [Offer users digital wallet functionality](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/cards/digital-wallets.md)
* [Create physical cards](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/cards/physical.md)
* [Create virtual cards](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/cards/virtual.md)

* [Setup spending controls to block or allow certain merchant categories (MCCs)](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md)
* [Tune spending limits for a specific amount or time period](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md#spending-limits)
* [Leverage real-time authorizations with webhook events](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/real-time-authorizations.md)

Platforms fund their cards using an Issuing balance by default, enabling funds to be set aside from their Connect balance.

* [Separate funds from the Connect balance to ensure visibility on a card’s available balance](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/funding/balance.md)
* [Fund the Issuing balance through transfers from a Connect balance or through top ups from an external account](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/funding/balance.md#add-funds-using-the-dashboard)
* [Payout funds from the Issuing balance to an external account](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/funding/balance.md#pay-out-your-issuing-balance)

US-based platforms can use Stripe Treasury with Issuing to gain additional functionalities

* [Open FDIC insurance-eligible accounts with account and routing numbers](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury/account-management/financial-accounts.md)
* [Track available balances](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury/account-management/working-with-balances-and-transactions.md#balances)
* [Gain access to ACH, domestic wire-transfers, and instant transfers between accounts](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury/moving-money/moving-money-out-of-financial-accounts.md)
* [Offer users faster payouts into Treasury accounts](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury/moving-money/payouts.md#payouts)
* [Save payee account details for repeated transactions](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury/examples/moving-money.md#paymentmethods-explained)

We’ve partnered with multiple trusted banks to provide the banking-as-a-service infrastructure for you to build new financial service offerings.

We also partner with both Mastercard and Visa card networks so you can choose the network on which you want to issue cards. You can also issue cards on both networks.

## Issuing architecture

With Stripe *Connect*, you onboard customers to your platform with connected accounts. For each of these connected accounts, you can create accountholders and provide cards to authorized users. The following diagram demonstrates a platform with a Stripe Issuing integration using an Issuing balance and a Treasury balance:

### Connected accounts

Issuing only supports connected accounts that don’t use a Stripe-hosted Dashboard, and where your platform is responsible for requirements collection and loss liability, also known as a Custom connected account. Learn how to [create connected accounts](https://docs.stripe.com/connect/design-an-integration.md?connect-onboarding-surface=api&connect-dashboard-type=none&connect-economic-model=buy-rate&connect-loss-liability-owner=platform&connect-charge-type=direct) that work with Issuing.

### Issuing balance

An Issuing balance is a funding source attached to a connected account that provides the funds for spending with the associated card account. Funds can be added to the connected account’s Issuing balance either by transferring from the connected account’s Stripe account balance, or through a top up from an external bank account. Funds can also be paid out from the Issuing balance to an external bank account.

Connected accounts can also use a Stripe Treasury account to fund cards for a full banking-as-a-service solution.

### Connected accounts

Connected accounts are businesses, sellers, or service providers that use a platform. For example, as an expense management platform, you provide software that small businesses can leverage to manage and control their business spend. Each digital store owner that uses the storefront platform to collect payments is a connected account.

Treasury only supports connected accounts that don’t use a Stripe-hosted dashboard, and where your platform is responsible for requirements collection and loss liability, also known as a Custom connected account. Learn how to [create connected accounts](https://docs.stripe.com/connect/design-an-integration.md?connect-onboarding-surface=api&connect-dashboard-type=none&connect-economic-model=buy-rate&connect-loss-liability-owner=platform&connect-charge-type=direct) that work with Treasury.

### Financial accounts

Using Stripe Treasury endpoints of the [Stripe API](https://docs.stripe.com/api.md), you can create an individual financial account for your connected accounts. These financial accounts have routing numbers from our US banking partners, and their balances are eligible for FDIC pass-through insurance. You can fund the financial accounts of your platform’s connected accounts and move money between them. The connected accounts on your platform can also fund their financial accounts using an external bank account. Stripe Issuing allows you to link commercial cards to the financial account balance of your connected accounts.

We currently support multiple financial accounts per connected account in a [limited beta](https://docs.stripe.com/treasury/account-management/financial-accounts.md).

## See Also

* [Learn how to set up Issuing as a Connect platform](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/connect.md)
* [Review compliance requirements pertaining to Issuing](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/compliance-us.md)
* [Review best practices and tools for testing an Issuing integration](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/testing.md)
* [Learn about setting card rules to control spending](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md)
* [Learn about fraud controls and tools offered through Stripe Issuing](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/manage-fraud.md)