---
title: "Issuing virtual American Express Cards"
slug: "issuing-virtual-american-express-cards"
description: "Issue virtual American Express cards to employees: enable card feed integration, set card limits and activate cards via the Payhawk spend management platform."
updated: 2026-10-27T16:00:02Z
published: 2026-10-27T16:00:02Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/issuing-virtual-american-express-cards"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://payhawk.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Issuing virtual American Express Cards

After you've [linked your Main American Express Card in Payhawk](/help/linking-american-express-main-cards-to-payhawk), you can start using it as a funding source and issue virtual American Express Cards on top of it.

> [!WARNING]
> You can start issuing virtual American Express Cards in Payhawk only after you have [connected the two systems](/help/connecting-payhawk-to-american-express) and linked a Main American Express Card that you'll use as their funding source.

> [!TIP]
> For the terms and conventions on American Express Cards and Cardholders applied across Payhawk's help desk, refer to the [guidelines section](/help/linking-american-express-main-cards-to-payhawk).

## Notes on issuing virtual American Express Cards

- Virtual American Express Cards cannot be issued in bulk.
- For compliance reasons, each cardholder must [activate their virtual American Express Card from the Payhawk Mobile App](/help/activating-your-virtual-american-express-card).
- Expense authorizations and transactions related to virtual American Express Cards appear in real-time as card expenses in **Spend** > **Card spend**.
- Virtual American Express Cards work with fund requests and spend policies in the same way as Payhawk cards do. The [advanced card controls](/help/overview-of-cards-card-limits-and-advanced-card-controls-for-administrators) offer limited card controls for virtual American Express Cards in comparison to native Payhawk virtual cards, yet [the provided card controls are managed the same way for all cards](/help/spend-limits-and-card-controls-for-linked-cards#advanced-card-controls-for-linked-cards).

## Issuing virtual Cards in the Web Portal

To issue a virtual American Express Card:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Cards** > **Cards** tab. Click on the **New** button and select the **Virtual** > **Standard** option.

Alternatively, go to **Cards** > **Linked cards**, select the linked Main Card which you will use as the funding source of the virtual Card you want to issue, and, under **Cardholders**, click on the **New virtual card** button.

![The New virtual card button in the Virtual cards tab of a linked Main Card.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Issuing_virtual_American_Express_Cards_20251015_manual.jpg)
2. In the dialog that opens, select the employee assigned to the card. Note that Payhawk cards must not be issued to users with generic names such as Marketing or Administrator.
3. (Optional) Name the card.
  - [You can name the card later if needed](/help/naming-cards-for-employees).
  - [Your employees can also name their cards](/help/naming-and-renaming-your-payhawk-card).
4. Under **Funding source**, select one of the linked American Express cards. This option will be inactive if you've selected to issue the Card from the **Linked cards** tab.
5. Under **Limits**, [select between a stand-alone monthly limit or a monthly limit based on an existing company spend policy](/help/issuing-physical-cards).
  - For Cards with stand-alone limits, select the monthly recurring limit.
  - For Cards under existing company spend policies, select the policy to which you'll assign the card.
6. Click on **Issue card**. As a result, the issued virtual Cards will be listed under the **Virtual Cards** tab of the linked Main Card for you to view.

![Issuing a virtual American Express Card: the New button in Cards, the Select card type panel with Virtual > Standard, and the card details with limits, funding source, and the Issue card button.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Issuing_virtual_American_Express_Cards_20260522_manual.jpg)

> [!WARNING]
> To be able to issue virtual Cards to employees, they must be registered with Payhawk with a US phone number, as the American Express Card feed linking in Payhawk is only available for US-based companies.
> 
> ![Message saying the American Express Card can't be issued because the employee needs a US phone number.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Help%20desk%20images%20moved/Issuing_virtual_American_Express_Cards_20240403_manual.png)

## Useful resources

- [List of spend policy controls and advanced card controls](/help/overview-of-cards-card-limits-and-advanced-card-controls-for-administrators)
- [Activating your virtual American Express Card in Payhawk](/help/activating-your-virtual-american-express-card)