A temporary virtual card is a Relay Visa® Debit Card that expires automatically after 14, 30, 60, or 90 days. Creating one takes about two minutes.
Use temporary cards for one-off vendor payments, short-term contractor spend, free trials you want to time-box, or any purchase where you want the card to shut off on its own.
What you need before you start
Cardholder permissions on your Relay account (Owners and Admins have this by default)
The checking account you want to use as the source account
Optional: a backup account to sweep from if the source account runs low
The name of the primary cardholder (yourself or a team member)
What is a temporary virtual card?
A temporary virtual card is a virtual-only Relay debit card that expires after a period you choose at creation. Once it expires, no new charges can be authorized on it, including recurring merchants.
Temporary cards work anywhere a Visa debit card is accepted online, in mobile apps, or through a digital wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay. They do not have a physical form.
How do I create a temporary virtual card on the web?
Sign in to your Relay account and use the Cards menu to create the card.
Sign in to Relay at app.relayfi.com.
Go to Cards.
Select Create Card.
Choose the Debit card option.
Select Temporary Virtual Card.
Choose Shared or Individual based on who will use the card.
Assign the primary cardholder.
Select the source account that will fund the card. This choice is permanent for the life of the card.
Optionally select a backup account for sweeping.
Configure the spending limit, expiration period (14, 30, 60, or 90 days), international transaction blocking, nickname, appearance, and receipt requirements.
Select Create.
The card is active immediately and available in Cards.
How do I create a temporary virtual card in the mobile app?
Sign in to the Relay mobile app and start a new card from the plus (+) menu.
Sign in to the Relay mobile app.
Tap the plus (+) icon.
Choose Temporary Virtual Card.
Enter a card nickname.
Choose Shared or Individual.
Assign the primary cardholder.
Select the source account. This choice is permanent for the life of the card.
Optionally select a backup account.
Configure the spending limit, expiration period, international blocking, appearance, and receipt requirements.
Tap Create.
What settings can I configure on a temporary virtual card?
You can set six controls at creation, and edit some of them later.
Spending limit: a cap on how much the card can spend before it stops authorizing charges
Expiration period: 14, 30, 60, or 90 days from the day you create the card
International transaction blocking: on by default, blocks charges from merchants outside the US
Nickname: a label that appears in your Cards list, useful for tracking vendor or project cards
Card appearance: the color and design shown in the Relay app and digital wallets
Receipt requirements: a rule that prompts the cardholder to attach a receipt after each transaction
Spending limits, international blocking, nickname, and receipt requirements can be edited after the card is created. The source account and expiration period cannot be changed.
What happens when a temporary virtual card expires?
The card stops authorizing new purchases the moment its expiration date passes.
Recurring merchants that try to charge the card after it expires will be declined. If you still need a card, create a new temporary virtual card and update the merchant with the new details.
Expired temporary cards remain in your Cards list so you can review past transactions, but they cannot be reactivated.
Why was my temporary virtual card declined?
Most temporary card declines come down to one of five causes.
Insufficient funds in the source account, and either no backup account is set or the backup account also lacks funds
Spending limit reached on the card
Card is frozen or terminated by an Owner, Admin, or the cardholder
Card has expired, either at the end of the chosen 14 to 90-day period or because the primary cardholder was removed
International transaction blocked by the international blocking setting, if the merchant processes charges outside the US
Open the card in Relay to check the source balance, spending limit progress, and card status.
Common issues
Card was created but does not appear in a team member's Relay: confirm they have Cardholder permissions and that they are the assigned primary cardholder
Merchant charges keep failing on an active card: check the international blocking setting; some US-headquartered merchants process payments through non-US processors
Source account balance looks fine but the card still declines: confirm the transaction amount is under both the card's spending limit and any available balance holds
Need to change the source account: the source is locked for the life of the card; create a new temporary virtual card with the correct source account and terminate the old one
Related articles
Talk to our Customer Experience team
If this article did not fully answer your question, our Customer Experience team is here to help.