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Runa Prepaid Cards are instantly delivered, digital Visa prepaid cards that recipients can spend online or in-store anywhere Visa is accepted. They are sent through the same ordering flow as any other payout on the Runa Network.
  • No bank account needed: Perfect for users without access to traditional financial tools
  • Custom branding options: Make every payout feel personal and on-brand with a fully customizable experience
  • Two prepaid options: Enable both the Runa Reward Card and the Runa Reload Card for your business needs
To get access to Prepaid Visa Cards, please reach out to your Account Manager or email support@runa.io.

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Card types

Runa Reload CardRuna Reward Card
TypeReloadableSingle-load
Expiry47 months from first activation3, 6, or 12 months from first activation
Product codeVISARL-USDVISASL-3M-USD, VISASL-6M-USD, VISASL-12M-USD
For Reload Cards, recipients must use the same email address the card was originally sent to. Future top-ups will fail if a different email is used.

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Getting started

  • Ensure you have created an API key.
  • Ensure you have funded your account with the required balance to cover the cards you intend to issue. You can use the balance endpoint to check your account balance.
  • Retrieve the Prepaid Visa Card products using the product list endpoint. Each Prepaid Visa Card product supports a different use case (reward or reload), and Reward Card products are available with different expiry durations. You can refer to the product listing guide for more information on this endpoint.
  • Familiarize yourself with the ordering endpoint. To make an order for a prepaid card you simply specify the Prepaid Visa Card product code you wish to issue.

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Placing a Prepaid Visa Card order

To place an order you simply specify the Prepaid Visa Card product code you wish to issue. For our example, we will be using the VISASL-3M-USD product code for a $10 Reward Card. The card will be sent to the recipient’s email address via the EMAIL distribution method.
Example Prepaid Visa Card order
POST https://api.runa.io/v2/order
Content-Type: application/json
X-Api-Key: <your API key>

{
    "payment_method": {
        "type": "ACCOUNT_BALANCE",
        "currency": "USD"
    },
    "items": [
        {
            "face_value": 10,
            "distribution_method": {
                "type": "EMAIL",
                "email_address": "<your recipient's email address>"
            },
            "products": {
                "type": "SINGLE",
                "value": "VISASL-3M-USD"
            }
        }
    ]
}

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Distribution methods

In the example above we used the EMAIL distribution method to send the card to the recipient’s email address.
  • You can also use the PAYOUT_LINK distribution method to receive a link in the API response and handle distribution yourself.

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Reloading a Prepaid Visa Card

For Reload Cards, you can use the RECIPIENT distribution method to enable automatic top-ups. Specify a unique recipient_reference to identify the recipient. For subsequent orders, use the same recipient_reference and we will automatically reload the existing card.
Example Reload Card order
POST https://api.runa.io/v2/order
Content-Type: application/json
X-Api-Key: <your API key>

{
    "payment_method": {
        "type": "ACCOUNT_BALANCE",
        "currency": "USD"
    },
    "items": [
        {
            "face_value": 10,
            "distribution_method": {
                "type": "RECIPIENT",
                "recipient_reference": "<your unique recipient identifier>",
                "email_address": "<your recipient's email address>"
            },
            "products": {
                "type": "SINGLE",
                "value": "VISARL-USD"
            }
        }
    ]
}
Refer to the order endpoint reference for more information on the request schema and other options available.

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Recipient redemption experience

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Reward Card

When a recipient opens the payout link, they will immediately see their Visa card and card details. No authentication is required. Recipients can also view their transaction history, including balances, merchant details, and dates for each transaction.

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Reload Card

When a recipient opens the payout link for the first time, they will be guided through the following flow:
  1. Enter their email address to authenticate with Runa
  2. Enter their first and last name
  3. Set a card PIN
  4. View their Visa card details and start spending anywhere Visa is accepted
For subsequent reloads, the card will be automatically topped up with the payout amount. If the recipient wishes to see their card details again, the confirmation email will contain a link where the card details will be securely presented upon authentication. Recipients can also view their transaction history, including balances, merchant details, and dates for each transaction.