9 Places to Order Virtual Cards for Your Startup (2026 Guide)

Why Startups Use Virtual Cards (Beyond Convenience)

Startups don’t adopt virtual cards because they’re trendy. They adopt them because spending gets messy fast. One person buys tools on a personal card “just for now.” Another person connects a card to an ad account and forgets about it. Subscriptions quietly renew. Receipts disappear. And suddenly the founders are doing finance triage instead of product, sales, or hiring.

Virtual cards help because they introduce three things startups desperately need:

• Speed: issue a card instantly without waiting for plastic
• Control: limits, merchant locks, and easy freezing when something looks wrong
• Clarity: who spent what, why, and which tool/campaign it belongs to

If you set it up properly, virtual cards become an operating system for spending: every purchase has an owner, a purpose, and a policy.

Below are nine common places startups order virtual cards—plus how to pick the right one for your stage.

1) Finup

Best for: startups that want virtual cards organised around real-life spend (subscriptions, tools, ad platforms, projects) so money stays trackable and controlled.

Why it’s useful:

• Startups often need to separate spend by purpose (marketing, software, ops) and owner (who’s responsible).
• A clean card structure makes it easier to understand burn rate and stop waste early.

2) Revolut Business

Best for: early-stage teams that want a convenient all-in-one business account with cards and multi-currency functionality.

Why founders like it:

• Simple onboarding compared to heavier finance systems
• Handy if you pay in multiple currencies or have remote contractors
• Works well as a “first system” before finance tooling becomes complex

When it may not be enough:

• If you need strict approval workflows or more granular policy enforcement as headcount grows

3) Wise Business

Best for: startups paying overseas suppliers, agencies, or contractors and wanting transparent currency handling.

Why it’s popular:

• Easy for international payments and vendor relationships
• Useful if your startup is global by default (distributed team, international tools)

Potential limitation:

• You may eventually want a dedicated spend platform if approvals and receipt workflows become a daily issue

4) Airwallex

Best for: startups with cross-border operations, multi-currency accounts, and international vendors—especially if payments are a big part of the workflow.

Why it fits:

• Strong multi-currency approach
• Useful when vendor payments and international spend are frequent

Trade-off:

• Setup can feel more “operations-led,” so it’s best when someone owns finance ops even part-time

5) Payhawk

Best for: startups that are past the “scrappy” stage and want real finance governance (policies, approvals, and visibility).

Why finance teams choose it:

• Strong controls and structured workflows
• Helpful when you need budget ownership by team and clean month-end processes

Best for:

• Startups that already feel the pain of messy receipts and unclear spend categories

6) Pleo

Best for: teams that want employees to actually follow the expense process without constant reminders.

Why it’s a good fit:

• Smooth receipt capture habits
• Often works well when adoption matters and the culture is “move fast, but keep it clean”

Trade-off:

• Some teams later need deeper, more configurable controls as spend scales

7) Spendesk

Best for: startups scaling subscriptions, vendors, and departmental purchasing (marketing tools, SaaS stacks, freelancers).

Why it works:

• Helps organise spend across teams and purposes
• Useful when multiple stakeholders buy tools and need a clear policy structure

Common use case:

• Marketing + product teams with lots of recurring subscriptions and vendor invoices

8) Brex

Best for: fast-growing startups that want speed, card issuance, and structured spend management (depending on region and eligibility).

Why it’s known:

• Often chosen by startups that want a modern card and spend workflow
• Supports issuing cards at scale as teams grow

Note:

• Fit and availability can depend on geography and startup profile

9) Ramp

Best for: startups that want deeper spend visibility and reporting habits from an early stage (depending on region and eligibility).

Why teams choose it:

• Strong focus on spend insights and control
• Helpful when you want to reduce waste, track owners, and keep finance tight without slowing teams down

Note:

• Like other corporate card platforms, suitability depends on location and business details

How to Choose the Right Option for Your Startup

Instead of starting with brand names, start with your spending pattern.

If your spend is mostly subscriptions

Prioritise:

• cards per vendor/subscription
• owner assignment for recurring charges
• easy freezing/cancelling and tracking renewals

If you run paid ads at scale

Prioritise:

• separate cards per ad platform or campaign
• quick replacement if a platform flags a card
• clear attribution for which charge belongs to which budget

If you pay internationally

Prioritise:

• multi-currency accounts and easy vendor payments
• clear FX handling and predictable fees
• ability to pay contractors and tools across regions

If finance governance is your #1 priority

Prioritise:

• approval workflows
• policy rules (merchant/category/time restrictions)
• clean exports and reconciliation structure

The “best” platform is the one that matches how your startup spends money today—and can still work when you’re 2–3x bigger.

Setup Tips: The “First 7 Days” Rollout Plan

Startups get the most value when they don’t overcomplicate implementation.

Day 1–2:

• Define 3 spend categories (e.g., software, marketing, travel)
• Define one rule per category (limit + owner)

Day 3–4:

• Issue cards per category/vendor (not per person yet)
• Require a note for every purchase (“what is this for?”)

Day 5–7:

• Add the next team (e.g., marketing or ops)
• Review charges and fix messy naming immediately
• Create a habit: weekly spend review (15 minutes)

This lightweight rollout avoids confusion and builds a clean habit early.

Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

• One shared card for everything: fast at first, chaos later
• No owner for subscriptions: recurring charges need a person accountable
• Too many cards too soon: start with categories/vendors, then expand
• No spending rules: limits and merchant locks prevent “oops” purchases
• Ignoring ad platform payment risk: keep a backup plan and separate cards

Quick Checklist Before You Order Virtual Cards

• Can we issue cards instantly and freeze them instantly?
• Can we set limits and restrictions that match our policies?
• Can we assign an owner and purpose to every card?
• Will receipts/notes be captured without chasing people?
• Can finance reconcile quickly and consistently?
• Do we need multi-currency support?
• Can this scale from 5 people to 25 without becoming a headache?