Funds are available to spend the moment they land: when a virtual card is issued, when a budget is topped up, or when a top-up request is approved. There's no processing delay, batch job, or waiting period.
Spending only needs two things to have enough room: your budget's available limit and your business's overall account balance (see What is the difference between account balance and budget limit).
How It Works
- Instant card issuance: a virtual card is active and ready to spend on immediately, with no separate activation step (physical cards need one).
- Real-time top-ups: manual and scheduled budget top-ups apply instantly, so funds are ready the moment they land.
- Real-time approvals: when a budget owner or admin approves a top-up request, the funds are available straight away.
- Two balances, one check: your budget's available limit and your business's overall account balance both need room; either running low can cause a decline.
Good to know
- Your budget can show plenty of room but still decline if the business's overall account balance is low, and a healthy overall balance won't help if the budget's own limit is used up.
- Scheduled (recurring) budget top-ups only fire on their set schedule (for example, monthly budgets top up at midnight on the 1st), and that schedule is fixed. Once it fires, the funds are available immediately, just like a manual top-up or an approved request.
- Transferring funds into your account balance from your bank, rather than moving money between budgets? Timing depends on the payment rail used, see How to transfer funds into your account balance. Once those funds land, they're available for card spending instantly.