Brex card overview
This article refers to a feature that might not be available in your current Brex plan. If you'd like to learn more about this feature and how to unlock additional capabilities in Brex's upgraded plans, please have your account or card admin reach out to Brex Support by clicking on Support in your dashboard.
Overview
Brex cards are the tools that you use to spend on your account, and can be issued to users of any role type. We offer each of your team members one physical Brex card and a virtual card for every spend limit they have assigned to them. Our physical cards resemble a typical corporate card. These cards are perfect for your day-to-day spend while you’re out operating your business. Virtual cards exist solely on your Brex dashboard, which makes them the best option for recurring software and online purchases. Since you can’t lose your virtual cards, we recommend identifying accounts that store your payment information and adding your virtual cards to those. That way, you’ll never have to go through the pain of updating your payment method if you were to lose a card. Lastly, you can also add these virtual cards to your mobile wallet to use them at physical locations. We offer metal cards on a very limited, case-by-case basis. We don’t have any hard qualifications we can share and there isn’t a way to request one. However, if we’ve determined that your account qualifies for one, we will reach out to let you know.
Issue a card
Each user on your account will need to issue cards for themselves.
Physical card
You can request a physical card from your Brex dashboard in four scenarios below. When requesting a physical card, you’ll be asked to confirm your delivery address and you can expect to receive your card within 7-10 business days. If you need your card sooner than this, click I need my physical card sooner on the Processing your delivery page as you are ordering your card in your dashboard or the Confirm your order details screen in your app.
- Upon activating your account for the first time: When you sign into your Brex dashboard for the first time, you’ll be asked to order a physical Brex card. You can skip this step, however.
- If your physical card has been terminated: If your physical card was canceled, you can issue yourself a new physical card. If you have a virtual card that is not permanently tied to a spend limit or vendor, you can order a physical card by replacing the virtual one. For security purposes, the replacement card will have new card numbers.
- If you don't already have a physical card: If you didn’t order a physical card when you set up your account, you’ll see a virtual card issued to you, instead. This virtual card won’t be permanently tied to a spend limit or vendor, and you can replace the virtual card with a physical card. For security purposes, the replacement card will have new card numbers.
- After switching from reimbursement-only to card access: If you started out with reimbursement-only access to your company’s Brex account, but have since been given card access, you can order both a physical card and a virtual card at this time.
Account admins, card admins, and users will automatically be issued a virtual card upon account activation if you skip the step to create a physical card. You can issue yourself one new virtual card per spend limit assigned to you. To issue an additional virtual card for a new or existing spend limit, follow the steps below.
Virtual card
In your dashboard Essentials
Step 1: Go to Wallet > Create new card. Step 2: Select the spend limit you want the card assigned to or create a new vendor spend limit for this card. If you choose to create a new vendor spend limit, include vendor details.
In your dashboard Premium Enterprise P-card
Step 1: Create a spend limit. Step 2: Once a spend limit has been created, either go to Cards and Limits or Wallet > Create virtual card. Select the spend limit you want the card tied to. Step 3: Click New card. A virtual card will be created instantly and will be tied to this spend limit.
In your app
Step 1: After opening your app, tap New virtual card. Step 2: Choose the spend limit you want to assign the card to and tap Next. Each spend limit can have up to one virtual card. Step 3: You’ll now see your newly created card and its credentials. You can name the card by tapping the pencil icon beside Card name. Once you’re done, tap Finish.
Card shipping
If you’ve requested a physical card, you’ll be asked to input the address where you want the card shipped to. This can be a domestic or international address (we ship cards to most international addresses). Note: To get a Brex card, international founders will need to apply for a Brex business account, or have an existing US bank account. Incorrectly formatted addresses are one of the top reasons for undelivered physical cards. Please review the suggestions below for suggestions on how to enter your address.
- Add relevant secondary address details: Make sure to include the secondary address, especially if the delivery location doesn’t have a central delivery address. If you're shipping a card to an office or apartment building, remember to include the floor, suite, or apartment number.
- Remove names from address fields: Do not add anything other than primary or secondary addresses to the address fields. The cardholder name and company will be added automatically to the shipping information above the address fields.
- Don't add ATTN or ℅ to secondary address: An ATTN descriptor must be above a primary address. If added to the secondary address it will get appended below the primary address which may affect the deliverability of the package.
- Remove special characters: Special characters such as double spaces, asterisks, periods, parentheses, quotation marks, colons, semi-colons, apostrophes, at-symbols, or ampersands should not be used in the address. Hyphens may be added in a ZIP-4 code or in the primary address number when necessary. Spaces before or after hyphens should be removed.
- Add identifiers for private mailboxes: Mail sent to a private mailbox must include the private mailbox number or identifier. The identifier should be prefixed with PMB or the # sign. Failure to add this increases the chance that the package will not be delivered.
- Select your country: Make sure you choose the correct country that the card’s being shipped to so the address can be formatted correctly.
Shipping status
You can expect your physical Brex card to arrive within seven to ten business days after you or a team member orders one. If you need your card sooner than this, click I need my physical card sooner on the Processing your delivery page as you are ordering your card in your dashboard or the Confirm your order details screen in your app.
In your dashboard
You’ll see the general shipping status of your physical card in your Wallet beneath the card icon. However, you can follow the steps below for a more in-depth update on your card’s status. Step 1: Go to Wallet and click the three dots on the top right of your card icon. Step 2: From the dropdown menu, choose View shipping details. If you’re looking for the shipping details of a different card, click View all cards and budgets and find the card you’re looking for. Step 3: You’ll see the current status of your physical card below the icon. Possible statuses are as follows:
- Physical card ordered
- Physical card shipped
- Physical card arriving soon / Physical card delivered
- Delivery issue
For any update to your card’s shipping status, you’ll also receive a notification in your dashboard, as well as through any other channels you have enabled. Step 4a: If your status is Physical card ordered or Physical card shipped, click Details to find your estimated delivery date, tracking number, and general card location. Step 4b: If your status is Delivery issue, click Reorder card to request another physical card. Step 4c: If your status is Physical card arriving soon or Physical card delivered, you can click to activate the card to start using it.
In your app
Step 1: Beneath the card icon, you’ll see an alert with current status of your physical card. Possible statuses are as follows:
- Physical card ordered
- Physical card shipped
- Physical card arriving soon / Physical card delivered
- Delivery issue
For any update to your card’s shipping status, you’ll also receive a notification in your dashboard, as well as through any other channels you have enabled. Step 2a: If your status is Physical card ordered or Physical card shipped, tap Details to find your estimated delivery date, tracking number, and general card location. Step 2b: If your status is Delivery issue, tap Reorder to request another physical card. Note: If you need to cancel your physical card’s shipment, please reach out to Brex Support as soon as possible. We generally have up until 4pm PT on the day the card is requested to cancel the shipment.
Card activation
Upon receiving your physical card in the mail, you must activate it before you can make purchases. You’ll have three options to do so:
Via SMS
Step 1: If you’re US-based, text the last four digits of your card number to 70159 from the phone number associated with your Brex account. If you’re an international user, you can activate your card via the dashboard or mobile app, instead.
Note: Be sure to only contact this number via text, it does not accept incoming calls.
Step 2: Look for a text stating that your card is active and ready for use.
Note: You must have added a phone number to your Brex account during onboarding for this option to work.
Via your dashboard
Step 1: Go to Wallet and find your primary card on the left. Its shipping status is listed below. Step 2: Click Activate physical card. Alternatively, click the three dots at the top right of your primary card and select Activate physical card. To activate a card other than your primary card, click View all spend limits and cards, choose it from the list, and click Activate physical card. Step 3: When prompted, set your card PIN.
Via your app
Note: Please make sure you’ve updated your Brex app to the latest version.
Step 1: In your Brex app, go to Wallet and tap the primary card at the top of your screen.
If you’d like to activate a different card, select it from the Other cards section.
Step 2: Find the status of your new physical card below your primary card icon and tap Activate physical card.
Step 3: When prompted, set your card PIN.
View card information
You can view your card details, including your full card number, your CVV, and the billing address tied to your card in both the Brex app and dashboard. Note: Before you can view your card’s number, expiration date, and CVV, you’ll need to add brex.com and token-manager.brexapis.com to your internet provider’s allowlist.
Your primary card
In the dashboard
Step 1: Go to Wallet. Step 2: Hover over the card icon to view the card number, expiration date, and CVV. The billing address will be visible right below your card. You can copy your card details by clicking on them.
In the app
Step 1: Go to your Wallet and tap your primary card at the top of the page. Step 2: Tap the eye icon to view the card details for your active Brex card (including card number, expiration date, CVV, and billing address). You can long press to copy the details.
Your other cards
You can tell whether or not a card is exclusive to a single spend limit based on the color of its icon. If the icon is of a white card, the card was permanently assigned to a spend limit when it was created. If the icon is of a black or gold card, you can reassign the card to a different spend limit.
In the dashboard
Step 1: Go to Wallet. Step 2: Click View all limits and cards and choose it from the list. You will be able to see all of your spend limits and cards associated with each spend limit. Click into a card to view the card number, expiration date, and CVV. Hover over the card icon to view the card number, expiration date, and CVV. You can copy your card details by clicking on them.
In the app
Step 1: Go to your Wallet and tap your primary card at the top of the page. Step 2: Scroll down to Other cards and tap on another card to find its details. You can long press to copy them. Note: You can tell whether or not a card is exclusive to a single spend limit based on the color of its icon. If the icon is of a white card, the card was permanently assigned to a spend limit when it was created. If the icon is of a black or gold card, you can reassign the card to a different spend limit.
Another user's card
Account and card admins can view the broad details of cards owned by other users on their account. Note: For security purposes, you’ll only be able to see the details of your own cards. Account and card admins can see the last four digits of other users’ cards, but not the full card details, regardless of the user’s role type.
General card details and expenses tied to a card
Step 1: In your dashboard under Team > Cards, search the name of the user. Alternatively, you can search all cards by the last four digits of the card, card name, and user, and filter cards by type, and spend limit currently assigned, and card status. Step 2: You’ll be able to view the last four digits of the associated card and its status. Click the three dots at the end of the card’s row to lock, rename, replace, or cancel the card, as well as view all associated expenses. You can also filter results in the Expenses tab by the last four digits of a specific card.
All cards associated with a spend limit
Step 1: Go to Budgets and Limits. Step 2: Select the spend limit for which you’d like to review the associated cards. Step 3: Under Member cards, click on View all cards. You’ll get an overview of all cards currently assigned to a spend limit, the cardholder, the status of the spend limit, and the card type. You can also filter your results by specific card details, including card status, and card type, or search by user, card name, and the last four digits of a specific card.
Switch primary card
Your primary card refers to the default card that you see the details of when you open your Brex app. If you only have one assigned Brex card, it will be set as your primary card by default — but if you have more than one assigned Brex card, you can switch any of them to act as your primary.
In your dashboard
Step 1: Go to Wallet and click View limits and cards. Step 2: From the list, pick the card you want to act as your primary. Only Brex cards indicated by a black or gold card icon can be set as a primary card. Cards indicated by a white icon are virtual cards that are permanently assigned to an existing spend limit.
Step 3: Click the three dots on the top of the card and choose Make primary card.
In your app
Step 1: In your app, go to Wallet. Step 2: Tap on your current primary card at the top of the page. Step 3: Scroll down to Other cards and tap your preferred Brex card from the list. Note: Only Brex cards indicated by a black or gold card icon can be set as a primary card. Cards indicated by a white icon are virtual cards that are permanently assigned to an existing spend limit. Step 4: Choose More > Make primary card.
Add card to virtual wallet
You can add your Brex Mastercard to various virtual wallet services, including your Apple, Google, or Samsung wallet. Visa is not supported at this time.
Apple Pay
If you use Apple Pay, you can add your card directly from the Brex mobile app with the click of a button. Step 1: From Wallet, tap your primary card at the top of the screen. Step 2: Choose the card you want to add to your Apple Wallet. If it’s not already selected, tap it under Other Cards. Step 3: Tap Add to Apple Wallet. When the Add Card to Apple Pay pop-up appears, tap Next. Once your card is in your Apple wallet, you’ll receive a verification code that you can use for confirmation. If you don’t receive your code, try removing the card from your Apple Wallet and adding it again. After you’ve finished adding your card to your Apple Wallet, you can use your card immediately in all apps and at certain retail locations with Apple Pay.
Google Pay and Samsung Pay
You can add your Brex card to either Google Pay or Samsung Pay by copying your card details from your Brex app and inputting them into your preferred virtual wallet. Once your card is added to your Google Pay, you’ll receive a verification code that you can use for confirmation. If you don’t receive your code, try removing the card and adding it again.
WeChat Pay
If you plan to use your Brex card in China, adding your card to WeChat Pay has a higher success rate compared to using your card at a terminal. You can do this by following these steps: Step 1: Open WeChat Pay and go to Me > Wallet. Step 2: Tap Bank Card and choose Add a New Bank Card. Step 3: Enter your card number, select the type of card, choose the organization it belongs to, fill in your card information, and add your personal information. Step 4: Verify the card number, expiration date, CVV, and the billing address. Note: You can also use Alipay or Apple Pay for success with local Chinese vendors.
Cheq
If you’ll be transacting with your Brex card in India, you might consider adding your card to Cheq’s UPI app for better success. This is done by setting up a tourist wallet by verifying yourself in-person at any of Cheq’s partner branches across India. Make sure to bring your passport and Indian visa for successful registration. You can find more information here on Cheq’s tourist wallet. Note: This feature is only available to citizens of G20 nations and non-resident Indian citizens.