Virtual Cards
Virtual cards are an additional benefit offered to collectives through some hosts. Hosts create virtual cards and assign them to a Collective. Anyone with access to that card can then use it to make payments on behalf of the Collective. This is particularly useful for covering recurring costs like hosting a website.
Hosts will have particular requirements and policies that will need to be followed.
Some Hosts accept requests for virtual cards. If you would like to request a Virtual Card select 'request card' from the 'action' menu on your collective's profile page:
Request a virtual card from your host from your collective's profile page
Complete the form, adding an assignee (who will responsible for uploading receipts) a reason and any required spending controls. Your host will respond to your request.
Virtual cards can be used to make purchases on behalf of your collective. Each card has an individual who is assigned the card for the purpose of filing expenses. Expenses are automatically created when the card is used, and the assignee will be notified.
Our payments provider does not accept payments to money transfer services like PayPal, Payoneer or Paysend.
Virtual cards should not be used to pay individuals or contractors including through intermediaries like Upwork, 99Designs, Fiver etc. Attempts to pay for services via these providers are likely to be declined by your host.
There are a few websites that don't accept virtual credit cards. Here are a few that we are aware of:
- Google
- Zipcar
- DigitalOcean
- Sendle
In most cases, cards charged using your personal details will be accepted. If you wish, you can add the details for your host organisation, which you'll find alongside your Collective's name on your Collective's profile page. Address information for Open Source Collective and Open Collective Foundation can be found at:
To view virtual cards associated with a collective, select 'virtual cards' from the Collective Settings menu:
View Virtual Cards assigned to your Collective from the Collective's Seting menu.
To view the details of a card click 'view card details'.
Be aware of your surroundings when viewing a card's details, as others may be able to see them.
Hosts can choose to pause virtual cards if there are any incomplete expenses. This is a protective measure to prevent abuse. If your host has paused a card, you will not be able to use the card to make purchases until a receipt has been attached to the previous expense by the assignee.