Your Light Card

What is this page about: The cards Light offers, physical and virtual (expense and vendor), how to activate a new one, and how to manage its details, limits, transactions, and receipts, all from the Light app.

# On this page

• The types of Light cards
• Physical cards
• Virtual cards: expense and vendor
• Activating your card
• Viewing your card details
• Checking your spending limit
• Tracking your transactions
• After a purchase: receipts
• Related articles

Your Light card lets you pay for business expenses while every purchase flows straight into Light for coding and receipts. This page covers the types of cards Light offers, how to activate a new one, and how to manage it day to day.

# The types of Light cards

Light offers two formats, a physical card and virtual cards, and virtual cards come in two kinds, expense and vendor. All of them draw from a funded card account and feed transactions straight into Light for expense tracking. Here's the quick version:

When Light issues you an expense card or a physical card, it emails you that the card is ready, with a link to the Light app. For a physical card, the email also says you can use it online straight away and that the plastic arrives in 7 to 10 business days.

# Physical cards

A physical Light card is issued in your name and works wherever you'd use any card: in stores, online, and at ATMs. It's protected by a 4-digit PIN, and its spending limit is set per card by your finance team. You can use a new physical card online as soon as Light issues it. Activate it when it arrives, before using it in stores or at ATMs (see Activating your card below).

# Virtual cards: expense and vendor

A virtual card is a card number generated inside Light, with no plastic. It's issued instantly, works for online and contactless payments, and you can reveal its number, expiry date, and CVV securely in the app whenever you need them. Virtual cards never need activation. They're ready the moment Light issues them, and each stays valid until it's closed. There are two kinds:

• Expense card (also called an employee card on the admin side) covers your own day-to-day spending, like travel, supplies, or online purchases. Each employee has one, and it's created instantly.
• Vendor card is tied to a single vendor and built for recurring payments, like a subscription. You request one from the Cards page with + Request vendor card. If your company has a published card-approval workflow, the request goes to your approver first; if not, the card is created right away. Vendor cards are always virtual.

For the full walkthrough of creating and requesting virtual cards, see Virtual Cards.

# Activating your card

Virtual cards, both expense and vendor, need no activation. They're usable as soon as Light issues them.

A physical card works online from the day Light issues it. Activate it when it arrives so you can use it in stores and at ATMs. To activate it in the Light web app:

1. Go to Cards
2. Select your card
3. Click Unfreeze card
4. At the Activate physical card prompt, confirm you have the card in hand

You can also activate the card by using it with your PIN at any chip reader or ATM. Your 4-digit PIN is visible in the app with the card details.

# Viewing your card details

Light securely stores your card number, expiration date, and CVV:

1. Open the Light app and go to Cards
2. Select your active card
3. Your card number, expiration date, and CVV reveal together

Physical cards also show the 4-digit PIN in the same view; it auto-hides after a few seconds as a security control. Treat your card number like sensitive data, and only use it for authorized business purchases.

# Checking your spending limit

Every Light card carries a spending limit set by your finance team (your admins or controllers), and cardholders can't change their own. Limits apply at three frequencies, and your company can combine more than one on the same card:

• Per transaction: the most you can spend on a single purchase
• Weekly: the most you can spend across a calendar week
• Monthly: the most you can spend across a calendar month

Your current limits show on the Cards page. If a purchase would go over a limit, Light declines it and sends you a notification. To raise a limit, ask your finance team or manager. They update it directly in Light and it applies immediately. For more, see Card Spending Limits and Policies.

# Tracking your transactions

Purchases post to your card in Light straight away. To review them:

1. Open the Light app and go to Cards
2. Select your card
3. Tap Transactions

Each entry shows the date, merchant name, amount, and receipt status (attached or missing). Check in regularly to catch any missing receipts before month-end close.

# After a purchase: receipts

Attach a receipt to every card transaction in Light, since your finance team uses it to code the expense and keep the books accurate. Light's AI reads and matches the receipt for you, so there's very little to do by hand. See Attaching Receipts to Card Transactions for the full flow.

Prefer to pay with your phone or watch? You can add your physical or expense card to Apple Pay or Google Pay, see Apple Pay and Google Pay.

# Related articles

• Virtual Cards
• Card Spending Limits and Policies
• Attaching Receipts to Card Transactions
• Apple Pay and Google Pay

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