Connect a Commercial Tier Corporate Card Program

Overview

Emburse Spend supports direct integrations for Commercial Tier corporate card programs using bank-provided data feeds.

Connecting your corporate card program allows transaction data to flow automatically into Emburse Spend for expense tracking and reconciliation.

Though it is not required to connect a Commercial Tier corporate card program before starting implementation, completing this step early is recommended to maximize training and onboarding efficiency.

How the Connection Works

To connect a Commercial Tier corporate card program:

  • You work directly with your bank to configure the data feed
  • Your bank sets up and delivers transaction data to Emburse Spend
  • You send required configuration details (for example, filenames or identifiers) to Emburse Spend Support to complete the setup

Expected Timeline

The time required to configure a corporate card feed depends on your bank:

  • American Express®: 8–10 business days, up to 2 weeks
  • Mastercard: 10-15 business days
  • Visa: 1–2 weeks if your financial institution (FI) participates in Visa Commercial Data Services; otherwise, 4–6 weeks depending on the FI

The timeline begins after your bank receives all required configuration details.

Roles and Responsibilities

Emburse Spend Support does not configure the bank feed. Support completes the final connection after your bank finishes setup.

Role

Responsibility

Customer (You) Initiate setup, complete forms, coordinate with your bank, and send required details to Emburse Spend Support
Your Bank Configure the feed and deliver transaction data to Emburse Spend
Emburse Spend Support Provide pre-filled forms (if required) and complete the final connection using submitted details

Connect an American Express Corporate Card Program

Use these steps to connect your American Express Corporate Card Program to seamlessly bring corporate card transactions into your expense workflow. Once the connection is established with American Express, share confirmation of the active data feed with Emburse Spend Support so we can finalize the setup.

Connection type: Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

Before You Begin

Download and review the required American Express enrollment forms:

Set Up the Feed

  1. Complete all required American Express enrollment forms.
    • Specify which Master Card Accounts (MCAs) or Basic Card Accounts (BCAs) you want to connect. If you are unsure which accounts to include, contact American Express directly to confirm the correct information.
  2. Email the completed forms directly to American Express at electronic.transmissions.team@aexp.com.

American Express reviews the forms and begins configuring the data feed to Emburse Spend.

Complete Setup

  1. After American Express completes configuration, Emburse Spend Support contacts the administrator who submitted the forms to confirm which accounts to connect.
  2. Once confirmed, Emburse Spend Support completes the connection.

Once setup is complete, transaction data is sent to Emburse Spend automatically. If you need historical transaction data, contact American Express directly to request it.

See Connect an American Express Card Program to Emburse Spend for more information.

Connect a Mastercard Corporate Card Program

Use these steps to connect a Mastercard commercial card program to Emburse Spend using a CDF3 (Integrated Direct File) feed. Your bank configures the direct feed to Emburse Spend; once you receive the File Distribution ID, share it with Emburse Spend Support so we can finalize the connection.

Connection type: CDF3 file

Set Up the Feed

  1. Contact your bank representative.
  2. Request a Direct Feed or Integrated Direct File (CDF3) for your expense management solution (Emburse Spend).
  3. Confirm with your bank that the feed is configured to deliver data to Emburse Spend.
Email template:

Hello,

We would like to set up a Mastercard Commercial Card Integrated Direct File (CDF3) feed for our corporate card program and have it delivered to our expense management platform, Emburse Spend.

Please configure a Direct Feed / Integrated Direct File (CDF3) connection with Emburse Spend as the expense management solution, and confirm once the feed is set up. After configuration is complete, please provide our File Distribution ID so we can share it with Emburse Spend Support to finalize the connection.

If you require any additional information from us or from Emburse, please let me know.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Complete Setup

  1. After your bank completes configuration, your bank will provide a File Distribution ID.
  2. Provide the File Distribution ID to Emburse Spend Support to complete the connection.

Activate the Card Program

Once Emburse Spend Support completes the connection, an administrator must:

  1. Go to Company Settings.
  2. Select Card Programs and locate your Mastercard program.
  3. Select ACTIVATE CARD PROGRAMS.
  4. Accept the Mastercard Terms of Service.

    Card Programs page showing ACTIVATE CARD PROGRAMS button for a Mastercard program in Company Settings

The card program becomes active and begins importing transactions. If you need historical transaction data, contact Mastercard directly to request it.

Connect a Visa Corporate Card Program

Use these steps to connect a Visa commercial card program to Emburse Spend through your bank via Visa Commercial Data Solutions. Your bank or Visa representative selects Emburse as the integration partner and configures file delivery. You send the filename or connection details to Emburse Spend Support to complete the setup.

Connection type: Visa SFTP feed (via Visa Commercial Data Solutions)

To set up a Visa corporate card feed:

  1. Contact your bank representative and request a Visa data feed connection to Emburse Spend.
  2. Ask your bank or Visa representative to select Emburse as the integration partner in Visa Commercial Data Solutions.
  3. Work with your bank to configure file delivery and confirm setup.
You do not have direct access to Visa Commercial Data Solutions. Your bank or Visa representative completes this configuration.
Visa Commercial Data Solutions screen showing integration partners with Emburse selected for data delivery

3. Work with your bank to configure file delivery and confirm setup.

Complete Setup

  1. After your bank completes configuration, send the required filename or connection details to Emburse Spend Support to complete the setup.

Once the feed is connected, transaction data is sent to Emburse Spend automatically. If you need historical transaction data, contact Visa directly to request it.

If Visa Data Solutions is not supported by your bank, please contact Emburse Spend Support, who can provide pre-filled configuration forms to assist with the connection.

Alternative: Manual Statement Uploads

Manual statement uploads are available only for specific account types.

If this option is enabled for your organization, you can upload statements instead of using a direct integration.

If you do not see this option in your account, it is not currently supported for your configuration.

See: Create and Manage a Statement Upload Corporate Card Program.

After Setup

Once the feed is active:

  • Assign cards to users
  • Review and manage transactions in Emburse Spend
  • Sync transactions to your accounting software

See Assign & Sync Commercial Tier Corporate Cards.

 

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