POST

Create a card

ENDPOINT/v1/cards

Issues a virtual or physical card onto a wallet. Virtual cards are available immediately. Physical cards require shipping address and method. The response never includes PAN or CVV. Send Idempotency-Key so retries return the original card instead of issuing a second one.

Authentication & Headers

Header	Type	Requirement	Description
Authorization	string	REQUIRED	API key passed as an HTTP Bearer token: `Bearer rk_live_...`
X-Program-ID	UUID	PROGRAM-SCOPED	Program boundary UUID that scopes the issuing card, wallet, or transfer.
Content-Type	string	REQUIRED	Must be `application/json`.
Idempotency-Key	string	OPTIONAL	Unique UUID to prevent duplicate execution of financial creations or mutations.

Request Body Schema

application/json

wallet_idstringuuid

REQUIRED

Issuing wallet the card spends against.

form_factorstring

REQUIRED

Physical form of a card issued from a product. `VIRTUAL` cards are available immediately for digital wallets and online spend. `PHYSICAL` cards are manufactured and shipped to the cardholder.

Enum values:VIRTUALPHYSICAL

product_idstringuuid

optional

Product to issue from. Omit to use the wallet's product. Must belong to the same program and allow `form_factor`.

card_art_idstringuuid

optional

Card-art asset to apply. Omit to use the product default.

shippingobject

optional

Destination and carrier service for a physical card. Required when issuing, reissuing, converting, or bulk-ordering a physical card.

Properties of shipping

addressobjectrequired

Postal address. `country` is an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. For US addresses, `state` is the two-letter subdivision and `postal_code` is the ZIP or ZIP+4.

methodstringrequired

Carrier service used to send a physical card. `STANDARD` is the default ground service. `EXPEDITED` and `OVERNIGHT` are faster at program rates.

spend_limitobject

optional

Card-level spend cap. Omit to inherit wallet spend limits. `amount` is a non-negative integer of minor units.

Properties of spend_limit

amountanyrequired

currencystringrequired

ISO 4217 alphabetic currency code.

memostring

optional

Integrator label stored on the card.

pinstring

optional

Four-digit PIN. Write-only; never returned on the card or in logs.

Response Codes & Schemas

201The card was created.

application/json

{
  "id": "0c4e8f16-2a7b-4d93-b5e1-8f3a6c9d0142",
  "object": "card",
  "wallet_id": "4d8f2a10-6c3e-4b91-9e5a-2f7c8d1e0b44",
  "wallet_entity_id": "2e9c4b71-8a5d-4f03-b6e2-1c7d9a0f3e58",
  "program_id": "7c9e6679-7425-40de-944b-e07fc1f90ae7",
  "product_id": "3f0c7a12-5d8e-4a91-b6c2-9e1f0a4d7c33",
  "card_art_id": "8f2b1c40-0c1a-4b7e-9a3d-6d5f2e1a7b90",
  "state": "OPEN",
  "form_factor": "VIRTUAL",
  "last_four": "4242",
  "exp_month": 8,
  "exp_year": 2029,
  "network": "VISA",
  "spend_limit": {
    "amount": 250000,
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "memo": "Primary virtual",
  "shipping": null,
  "replacement_for_card_id": null,
  "digital_wallet_tokens": 1,
  "created_at": "2026-08-12T10:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-08-12T10:30:00Z"
}

400Bad Request: malformed JSON, failed schema validation, or conflicting parameters.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "invalid_request",
    "message": "invalid order by: foo. Valid options are: [created_at updated_at]",
    "param": "order_by",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/invalid_request"
  }
}

401Unauthorized: missing, malformed, or unknown API key.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "authentication_error",
    "code": "authentication_error",
    "message": "A valid API key is required.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/authentication_error"
  }
}

403Forbidden: the API key is denied by RBAC, or it cannot access this program. A resource that exists on another program or organization returns `404 not_found`, not `403`.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "permission_error",
    "code": "permission_denied",
    "message": "The API key cannot access this program.",
    "param": "X-Program-ID",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/permission_denied"
  }
}

404Not Found: unknown id, or the resource is not visible to this API key.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "not_found_error",
    "code": "not_found",
    "message": "No card found for the given id.",
    "param": "card_id",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/not_found"
  }
}

409Conflict: incompatible state, or Idempotency-Key reused with a different body.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "conflict_error",
    "code": "conflict",
    "message": "The card cannot be reissued from its current state.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/conflict"
  }
}

422Unprocessable Entity: the document is valid JSON but violates a business rule.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "insufficient_funds",
    "message": "The source financial account does not have enough available balance.",
    "param": "amount",
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/insufficient_funds"
  }
}

429Too Many Requests: the API key exceeded its rate limit.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "rate_limit_error",
    "code": "rate_limited",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Retry after the number of seconds in Retry-After.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/rate_limited"
  }
}

500Internal Server Error: unexpected failure. Retry with the same Idempotency-Key.

application/json

{
  "error": {
    "type": "api_error",
    "code": "internal_error",
    "message": "An unexpected error occurred. Retry with the same Idempotency-Key.",
    "param": null,
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.rookpayments.com/errors/internal_error"
  }
}