Issue and Manage Amex Virtual Cards

Once your organization has set up the Amex Virtual Card Program, admins may issue and manage virtual cards from the American Express parent card(s) enrolled.

Admins and managers can create and assign Virtual American Express Cards for up to 10 employees at once in Emburse Spend. 

Each virtual card may be assigned to only one user at a time.

Cards must be issued with the user's legal first and last names; Emburse Spend can no longer issue physical or virtual cards that have place names, nonusers, or locations instead of a first and last name.

Create a Virtual Amex Card

To issue a new virtual card, navigate to the Card Programs screen under Company Settings.

1. Select the desired Card Program, select the More Actions button, then select New Card. 

Card Programs screen with More Actions button selected and New Card highlighted in the drop-down list

The cardholder must have a valid US address (no PO boxes or Commercial Mail Receiving Agency addresses) and a US phone number in the correct format (no dashes or plusses) in the Account Information section of their Personal Settings in order to be issued an Amex virtual card.

2. Return to the Spend Dashboard. On the Admin tab in the left navigation menu, select Team Cards.  Admin menu with Team Cards link highlighted

3. In the upper right corner of the screen, select Create Card. Top portion of Team Cards screen with Create Card button in upper right highlighted

4. Select the appropriate card program from the drop-down menu to add the new card. 

Create Card screen with account name highlighted under Select the Card Program

5. Choose from recently created cards (if you would like to use them as a starting point), a previously created Card Template, or a Virtual Card (if you would like to start from scratch).

Create Virtual Card Screen with highlight around Virtual Card button

For more information on how to create a Card Template, see Create and Manage Emburse Card Templates.

6. Complete the card details and select Issue Card.

Virtual Cards can only be issued to individuals who already have an Emburse Spend account. Before issuing a card, you can invite employees to Emburse Spend. 

Create Virtual Card screen showing fields you can fill in with card details and a highlight around the Issue Card button at the bottom

  • Employee: You may assign virtual cards to up to 10 users by selecting them from the dropdown menu. You can order multiple cards at once if you are planning for upcoming travel or pre-approved purchases that will be completed by multiple team members. 
  • Parent Card: Select the Parent card to which this child card will be assigned. 
  • Card Purpose: Describe how the card will be used. 
  • Budget: Choose how much can be spent on this card in USD. This will apply a cap to how much the card owner can spend on the card. Managers cannot create cards for an amount higher than their Max Limit Per Card.
  • Frequency: Determine whether the card has a recurring budget and how often the balance is reapplied. 
  • Start Date: Choose when the card will become active.
  • End Date: Choose when the card will cease to be active. Add one day to the desired End Date, as the card could be deactivated up to 4 hours before the specified end date.
  • Allowed Vendors: Select from a list of more than 50 popular vendors. When selected, the virtual card can only be used with this vendor, based on a back-end merchant code.
Once a virtual card is issued, individuals can top up funds on the card at any time before the expiration date. 

Manage Virtual Cards

Once virtual cards have been created and activated, team members can use and manage their cards on the Cards screen. Virtual card details will be displayed in Emburse Spend both on the web and in the mobile application for online purchases.

Amex Virtual Cards cannot be added to mobile wallets.

1. On the Admin tab in the left navigation menu, select Team Cards.

Team Cards screen with a highlight around the Team Cards button in the left-nav menu

2. Your active and deactivated cards will be visible by default. To view other cards, use the Status filter.

  • Active:Physical or virtual cards that can be used
  • Suspended: Physical or virtual cards that cannot be used but can be reinstated
  • Canceled: Physical or virtual cards that can no longer be used or reinstated
  • Not Activated: Physical cards that haven't yet been activated

3. Select the desired card account to open the Card Details screen.

4. By default, all transactions are displayed at the bottom of the screen. To filter the results, select All Transactions and use the drop-down menu to see just Submitted, Unsubmitted, or Skipped transactions.

Card Details screen with Transactions section at bottom and a highlight around the filter showing Transactions, Submitted, Unsubmitted, and Skipped in a drop-down

Cancel Ordered Cards

Occasionally, you may need to pause or suspend a reoccurring card or cancel a card completely. You can cancel cards on the Team Cards screen.

1. Select the desired card program to access the Card Details screen. 

3. Select Manage, then select either Pause Card or Cancel Card from the drop-down menu. 

Card Details screen showing a highlight around the Manage button in the uppper right with Edit, Pause Card, and Cancel Card displayed in the drop-down

View and Manage Cards on Mobile

You can access your Card Details on the Emburse Spend mobile app by selecting Cards in the menu in the upper right corner. You will be able to toggle between the card details and transactions views.

  • Details View: Displays the card information, including the card number; whether you have a virtual card; and the policy settings your admin put in place when creating the card. This includes spending limits, budgets, card availability, and merchant restrictions. You will also see the option to report your card lost or stolen at the bottom of this screen.
  • Transactions View: Show all posted and unexpensed transactions for your card. 

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