Issue your own branded Visa cards: how a card programme works
By SendPay Business · · Updated · 2 min read
- 1Your card appears in your app
- 2Tap it to pay in a shop
- 3See every payment as it happens
A card with your name on it is the most visible thing a financial brand can offer. Here is what is actually involved in issuing one, and what you can do today.
Who issues the card
Only a licensed issuer can put cards on the Visa network. Your platform works with our card partner, who issues the cards under their licence with your brand on the front. You operate the programme; they issue. Your terms say so.
Approval of you and your programme
Card issuing needs our card partner's approval of you and of what your programme does. It is not switched on the day you launch a platform. We tell you this before you launch, and we walk you through the application.
Try it
Name your platform and watch it come to life
Type a name, tap a colour and pick what it does. The phone changes as you go.
Colour
What it does
Design and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
What your users get
A virtual card in the app straight away and a physical card in the post. Freeze and unfreeze, spending controls, and every payment listed with a receipt. Cards spend from the user's balance in pounds, euros or dollars.
Designing the card
You choose the design in the builder: navy, midnight, ocean, forest, plum, ember, ivory and more, or your own two colours. Your users can pick from the palette you allow, and you can offer a premium design as a paid extra.
How it works
Your own money app- 1Name it and pick your colours
- 2Choose what it does
- 3Launch when you are ready
Why sign up
Create your free SendPay account
It's all about creating your own financial platform with ease. Start with a free account today.
- 🪪A free business accountOpen it in about a minute with your business name, email, password and mobile. No card and no documents to start.
- 💳Get paid from day oneTake card payments, and share your own payment link and invoices so customers pay in a click.
- 🌐A free business websiteFree to build, free to publish and free to keep, with unlimited visits.
- 🚀Your own financial platformDesign and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank. Accounts, cards and payments are powered by licensed partners.
Questions people ask
What would my own card programme earn?
Work out card costs, card income and first-year profit from your own numbers.
Card issuing profit calculator →What do a prepaid card's fees add up to?
Add up a year's fees on a prepaid card.
Prepaid card cost calculator →Can I issue cards to customers in other countries?
Programme approval is per market. Start with the UK.
Mastercard or Visa?
Both designs are available in the builder; which network your programme runs on is agreed with the card partner.
How do I launch a card programme?
Design and preview the Card Issuing Platform free, then launch it from the builder when it is ready. Cards are switched on once the card partner approves your programme.
Can my users choose their own card design?
You decide. Offer a palette, let them pick, and charge for a premium design if you want to.
How can SendPay Business help me issue cards?
Design the card in the builder, preview it on the site, and we walk you through the card partner's approval. We say what is needed in writing before you launch.
Build my platform →Read next
Spotted a mistake or something out of date? and we'll fix it. How our guides are made
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. Other companies named in this guide are reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.