Use case · Payroll cards

Virtual payroll cards

Issue bulk payroll cards to your team in a single Excel upload. Funds load from your wallet to each recipient's virtual Visa card. No bank account needed from them.

Create your first card

✓ Issue quickly ✓ Apple & Google Wallet ✓ Bulk via Excel or API

VirtualCardMaker powered by Zil Money. Zil Money is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by our partner bank, Member FDIC. FDIC insurance applies only to eligible products with funds held at the partner bank, subject to applicable limits and requirements.

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The problem

Direct deposit does not work for everyone you pay.

Traditional payroll assumes every recipient has a checking account on file before payday. The reality is different.

New hires on day one. They have not onboarded their banking info yet. Their earned wages still need to land somewhere.
Tipped and hourly workers. They often want flexibility around how and when they get paid. Some may not have a traditional bank account.
1099 contractors. Varying preferences. Varying account setups. Sometimes varying countries.

How we fix it

One spreadsheet. Cards loaded. Recipients paid.

Build a recipient sheet. Upload it. Fund the batch from your wallet. Each recipient gets a virtual Visa card delivered by email. They use it like any Visa card.

No bank account needed from the recipient. They do not share routing numbers or open an account. The funds arrive on the card.
Bulk via Excel. Upload a single spreadsheet for your whole team. We issue and load all cards in one pass.
Reloadable each pay cycle. Same card, new load each pay period. Recipients do not need a new card each time.
Funds held at our Member FDIC partner bank. Loaded balances are held in custody at our partner bank, which is Member FDIC. FDIC insurance applies to eligible balances subject to applicable limits.
Works alongside other use cases. Same wallet funds contractor payments, department spending, and more.

How it works

Four steps from pay sheet to loaded cards.

Build the pay sheet. One row per recipient with name, email, and pay amount. Add a pay-cycle date for recurring loads.
Upload and fund. The dashboard totals the load and pulls from your wallet balance. You approve, the cards load.
Recipients get the cards. Branded email with the virtual Visa details. Recipients push to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet to start spending.
Reload each cycle. Upload the next pay run. Existing cards reload automatically.

See it in action

Your payroll runs in one dashboard.

Watch every load and every charge, by recipient. Issue, freeze, top up, or close any card from the same screen.

Virtual Card Maker dashboard showing active cards, total spending, pending and declined transactions, and recent activity for virtual payroll cards

Live dashboard Active payroll cards, total wages loaded, declined attempts, every charge by recipient as it happens.

Create New Card form in Virtual Card Maker, with options to pick a Visa card type, set a spending limit, and choose between virtual or physical card

Issue a payroll card in minutes Pick the Employee Card type, set the pay amount, choose virtual or physical, send to the recipient.

Controls

What you can set on every payroll card batch.

Control	What you set	Why it matters
Per-recipient amount	Set per row	Different amounts per role, tier, or hours worked.
Pay-cycle frequency	Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly	Recurring loads on the cycle you choose.
Cardholder name	Per row name	Card matches the recipient's ID.
Recipient classification	Employee or contractor	Drives the reporting record you keep for payroll and tax filings.
Reporting tag	Pay run ID or department	Audit trail for your bookkeeping.

In practice

Three ways teams use virtual payroll cards.

Restaurant chain / tipped staff

A 50-location chain runs weekly tipped-staff payouts on payroll cards. New hires get a card the morning of their first shift, with no waiting for ACH paperwork.

Construction crew / 1099 weekly

A contractor crew gets paid every Friday via virtual cards. The foreman uploads the week's sheet Thursday night. Cards reload before Friday's walkdown.

Day labor / onboarding day one

A staffing firm issues cards to day-one workers within an hour of placement. The worker has spending money before the first shift ends.

Need cards for other kinds of spend? See contractor payments, business travel, or department budgets.

FAQ

Common questions.

Can a payroll card be the only way an employee gets paid?+

No. Under federal Regulation E and most state wage-payment laws, employees must be offered at least one no-cost alternative method of receiving wages, such as direct deposit or paper check. Payroll cards must be voluntary. Virtual Card Maker provides the tooling. The employer is responsible for offering compliant alternatives.

Are there fees the recipient should know about?+

Card fee schedules are disclosed to recipients at card activation, as required by federal and state law. Specific fee amounts vary. Please review the cardholder agreement provided at issuance.

How is the money on the card protected?+

Funds loaded onto virtual payroll cards are held at our partner bank, which is Member FDIC. FDIC insurance applies to eligible balances at the partner bank, subject to applicable limits and requirements.

How do I issue payroll cards to a large team?+

Upload an Excel file with each recipient's name, pay amount, and email. We issue and load all cards in one pass and deliver them via branded email.

Is this a substitute for full-service payroll?+

Virtual payroll cards are a disbursement method, not a full payroll system. They do not calculate taxes, file payroll tax forms, or generate pay stubs on their own. Use them alongside your existing payroll provider or for 1099 contractors.