Emburse Cards FAQ – Abacus

What is the fee per card?

There are no fees per card!

Do I need virtual or physical cards?

It depends on how you want to use your cards. Virtual cards work great for online transactions and can be used with Apple or Google Pay, which may cover over 90% of your transactions. However, most restaurants and hotels only take physical cards.

Are virtual cards real credit cards?

Yes, virtual cards are real credit cards. They work the same as your plastic cards, minus being a physical object you can hold. These cards can be loaded into both Apple and Google/Android Pay.

How long does it take to create a virtual or physical card?

It takes only a few seconds to create both virtual and physical cards. Virtual cards are available instantaneously, and physical cards arrive in 7-10 business days.

Can I use these everywhere?

Emburse Cards are accepted everywhere that accepts Visa/Mastercard globally.

Can I use these to withdraw cash at an ATM?

No, Emburse Cards are not capable of making ATM withdrawals.

Will I be charged transaction fees?

Emburse Cards have no foreign transaction fees for purchases using the currency listed in your Emburse Cards account, but there will be a cross-border fee if the merchant's system is linked to a different country—even if the transaction is made in your currency.

Example: A card is used in the Bahamas for a charge in USD. No foreign transaction fee is charged, but there is a cross-border fee of .80% + $.30.

For purchases made in a currency other than the one listed in your Emburse Cards account, transaction fees are charged by Emburse's issuing processor.

Example: A card is used in the Bahamas for a charge in BSD. A .20% foreign transaction fee is added to the cross-border fee for a total of 1% + $.30.

The combined foreign transaction and cross-border fee for charges made in a currency other than the one listed in your Emburse Cards account is 1% + $.30 per transaction.

Fees will be billed to your account balance in a single lump sum for all foreign transactions during your billing period.

How can I get rid of a pending transaction?

When you use your Emburse Card to make a purchase, the transaction will appear as pending in Abacus. A pending transaction is a recent card transaction or hold that has not yet been fully processed by the merchant.

If the merchant doesn't end up charging you, they will release the transaction and it will be eliminated from your account.

If there is a pending transaction that needs to be released on your Emburse Card, we recommend that you reach out to the merchant to release the pending transaction. Emburse cannot release pending transactions because it's up to the merchant to release them. Some merchants can take 3-5 business days to release transactions. If the merchant doesn't release the transaction, the pending transaction will automatically be released after 60 days.

How do I dispute a charge?

If you don't recognize a transaction or never received goods you paid for, you can dispute it and start the chargeback process.

How can I enable notifications for card activity?

By default, all card notification options are enabled for users. You can adjust the notification settings in your Personal Settings.

What do I put as the description of the card?

Due to Stripe's new Terms of Service, physical cards will only have the assignee's first and last name printed on the front of the card, regardless of what's entered in the Card Description. At this time, our card stock allows for one line for physical cards (40 characters for a virtual card or 21 characters for a physical card). If you enter anything other than the assignee's first and last name in the Card Description, it will appear in your Emburse Card account and be displayed above the card, but it will not be printed on the front.

For virtual cards, the description appears at the top of the card, while the business name remains on the card's face. The description is the billing name associated with the card. See What do I put as the description of the card for more details.

How do I activate my card?

When you receive a new Emburse card, follow these instructions to activate your card.

Only Emburse card admins can reactivate a suspended card. Canceled cards cannot be reactivated and must be reissued by an admin.

Need to confirm a card status?

See our guide on Cards - Status, Reinstatements, Deletions.

Where do I find my Emburse Cards statements?

Admins will need to access the Emburse Cards portal to view your statements. Our guide on Downloading transaction statements (CSV, PDF) and receipts will show you how.

What is my card address?

Users can view their Emburse card details in Abacus.