> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.marqeta.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Managing Physical Cards
> Learn best practices for issuing physical cards individually or in bulk, as well as how the card ordering process works for each fulfillment provider.
The Marqeta platform enables you to issue physical cards individually or in bulk. This guide provides an overview of the available card fulfillment options, including best practices for each card fulfillment type.
At the end of this guide, you should understand:
* How to issue physical cards, individually or in bulk.
* Best practices for issuing physical cards.
* How the card ordering process works for each fulfillment provider.
* How to track and understand the status of your physical card orders.
For an overview of payment cards on the Marqeta platform, see [About Cards](/developer-guides/about-cards/).
For information about the `/cards` resource in the Marqeta Core API, see [Cards](/core-api/cards/).
About card fulfillment types
There are four types of physical card fulfillment: full-service mail, full-service bulk, dynamic bulk, and generic bulk. The following sections describe each fulfillment type.
Full-service mail
Full-service mail card fulfillment is appropriate for individual cardholders. Cardholders receive their own personalized cards in the mail at the addresses associated with their user accounts. Full-service mail is the default card fulfillment type for most card programs.
See [Configuring full-service mail card fulfillment](#_configuring_full_service_mail_card_fulfillment) for more information.
Full-service bulk
Full-service bulk card fulfillment is appropriate when your business is the cardholder, and cards are distributed to your authorized users. Cards are shipped in individually identified envelopes to a single address, such as your business address, and you distribute them to your authorized users. Cards and envelopes are identified with the authorized user’s name.
See [Configuring full-service bulk card fulfillment](#_configuring_full_service_bulk_card_fulfillment) for more information.
Bulk
Bulk card fulfillment supports two variants: generic bulk card fulfillment and dynamic bulk card fulfillment. The following sections describe each type.
Generic
Generic bulk card fulfillment is appropriate when you want to have cards in stock to distribute to your authorized users. Cards are shipped in bulk boxes without individual envelopes. Rather than an individual’s name, cards are printed or embossed with a static prefix followed by a serial enumeration, such as "Driver 01," "Driver 02," and so on.
See [Configuring generic bulk card fulfillment](#_configuring_generic_bulk_card_fulfillment) for more information.
Dynamic
Dynamic bulk card fulfillment enables you to create a standing bulk card order to which you can add individual cards on an ongoing basis. Dynamic bulk card fulfillment is appropriate when you want to have more control over individual card details, such as assigning specific user tokens.
See [Configuring dynamic bulk card fulfillment](#_configuring_dynamic_bulk_card_fulfillment) for more information.
Fulfillment providers by location
When you create your card product, you specify your fulfillment provider in the `fulfillment_provider` field of the `config.fulfillment` object, as described in the [Card Products](/core-api/card-products/) page. You can work with fulfillment providers located in North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The tables below list the available fulfillment providers and their locations.
North America
| Provider Name | Allowable Value | Location |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ------------------- |
| ABCorp | `ABCORP` | Canada |
| Arroweye | `ARROWEYE` | USA |
| CPI | `CPI` | USA |
| FIS | `FIS` | USA |
| G+D | `GD` | Canada, Mexico, USA |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA` | USA |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_LA` | USA |
| Perfect Plastic Printing | `PERFECTPLASTIC` | USA |
| Tag Systems | `TAG` | USA |
Europe
| Provider Name | Allowable Value | Location |
| ------------- | ----------------- | ----------- |
| allpay | `ALLPAY` | UK |
| exceet | `EXCEET_DE` | Germany |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_CZ` | Czechia |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_DE` | Germany |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_FR_SC` | France |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_PL` | Poland |
| Nitecrest | `NITECREST_UK_SC` | UK |
| Nitecrest | `NITECREST_PL` | Poland |
| NiD | `NID` | Switzerland |
South America
| Provider Name | Allowable Value | Location |
| ------------- | --------------- | -------- |
| G+D | `GD` | Brazil |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_PE` | Peru |
Asia-Pacific region
| Provider Name | Allowable Value | Location |
| ------------- | --------------- | --------- |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_APAC` | Malaysia |
| IDEMIA | `IDEMIA_AU` | Australia |
For more information about creating your card product and the `fulfillment_provider` field, see [Card Products](/core-api/card-products/).
Configuring full-service mail card fulfillment
To configure an individual card for full-service mail card fulfillment, follow these steps:
Step one — Create your card product
Create your card product as documented on the [Card Products](/core-api/card-products/) page, ensuring that you specify the following items:
Specify your fulfillment provider in the `fulfillment_provider` field of the `config.fulfillment` object.
Specify one of the physical card types in the `payment_instrument` field of the `config.fulfillment` object:
* `PHYSICAL_MSR`: A physical card with a magnetic stripe. This is the default physical card type.
* `PHYSICAL_ICC`: A physical card with an integrated circuit, or "chip."
* `PHYSICAL_CONTACTLESS`: A physical card that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) to enable payment over a secure radio interface.
* `PHYSICAL_COMBO`: A physical card with a chip that also supports contactless payments.
Specify the fulfillment package ID in the `package_id` field of the `config.fulfillment` object. The package ID identifies the design and artwork that you have on file with your fulfillment provider.
Set the `bulk_ship` field of the `config.fulfillment` object to `false`.
Enter your company’s return address in the `return_address` field of the `config.fulfillment.shipping` object.
Step two — Create your users
Create your users as documented on the [Users](/core-api/users/) page, ensuring that you specify each user’s shipping address. The following body fields are required:
* `first_name`
* `last_name`
* `address1`
* `city`
* `state` (USA only)
* `postal_code`
* `country`
Step three — Create your cards
Create your cards as documented on the [Cards](/core-api/cards/) page, ensuring that you specify the required `user_token` and `fulfillment.card_personalization.text` objects.
Optionally, you can also specify the card carrier design in the `fulfillment.card_personalization.carrier` object. The card carrier is the trifold paper to which the card is affixed for shipment.
Configuring full-service bulk card fulfillment
To configure cards for full-service bulk card fulfillment, follow these steps:
Step one — Create your card product
Create your card product as documented on the [Card Products](/core-api/card-products/) page, ensuring that you specify the following items:
Specify your fulfillment provider in the `fulfillment_provider` field of the `config.fulfillment` object.
Specify one of the physical card types in the `payment_instrument` field of the `config.fulfillment` object:
* `PHYSICAL_MSR`: A physical card with a magnetic stripe. This is the default physical card type.
* `PHYSICAL_ICC`: A physical card with an integrated circuit, or "chip."
* `PHYSICAL_CONTACTLESS`: A physical card that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) to enable payment over a secure radio interface.
* `PHYSICAL_COMBO`: A physical card with a chip that also supports contactless payments.
Specify the fulfillment package ID in the `package_id` field of the `config.fulfillment` object. The package ID identifies the design and artwork that you have on file with your fulfillment provider.
Set the `bulk_ship` field of the `config.fulfillment` object to `true`.
Enter your company’s return address in the `return_address` field of the `config.fulfillment.shipping` object.
Step two — Create your users
Create your users as documented on the [Users](/core-api/users/) API reference page. Entering the user’s address is optional, unless your users require [Know Your Customer (KYC) validation](/core-api/kyc-verification/). Your fulfillment provider ships the cards to the bulk recipient address you specify in your bulk card order.
Step three — Create your bulk card order
Create your bulk card order as specified on the [Bulk Card Orders](/core-api/bulk-card-orders/) page, ensuring that you specify your bulk shipping address in the `fulfillment.shipping.recipient_address` object. The following body fields are required:
* `first_name`
* `last_name`
* `address1`
* `city`
* `state` (USA only)
* `postal_code`
* `country`
Optionally, you can also specify the card carrier design in the `fulfillment.card_personalization.carrier` object. The card carrier is the trifold paper to which the card is affixed for shipment.
Configuring generic bulk card fulfillment
For generic bulk card fulfillment, you configure a bulk order that creates generic users and cards. You can update the generic users with user-specific information, such as their name and address, after the bulk card order has been created.
To configure cards for generic bulk card fulfillment, follow these steps:
Step one — Create your card product
Create your card product as documented on the [Card Products](/core-api/card-products/) page, ensuring that you specify the following items:
Specify your fulfillment provider in the `fulfillment_provider` field of the `config.fulfillment` object.
Specify one of the physical card types in the `payment_instrument` field of the `config.fulfillment` object:
* `PHYSICAL_MSR`: A physical card with a magnetic stripe. This is the default physical card type.
* `PHYSICAL_ICC`: A physical card with an integrated circuit, or "chip."
* `PHYSICAL_CONTACTLESS`: A physical card that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) to enable payment over a secure radio interface.
* `PHYSICAL_COMBO`: A physical card with a chip that also supports contactless payments.
Specify the fulfillment package ID in the `package_id` field of the `config.fulfillment` object. The package ID identifies the design and artwork that you have on file with your fulfillment provider.
Set the `bulk_ship` field of the `config.fulfillment` object to `true`.
Enter your company’s return address in the `return_address` field of the `config.fulfillment.shipping` object.
Step two — Create your bulk card order
Create your bulk card order as specified on the [Bulk Card Orders](/core-api/bulk-card-orders/) page, ensuring that you specify the following items:
Specify your bulk shipping address in the `fulfillment.shipping.recipient_address` object. The following body fields are required:
* `first_name`
* `last_name`
* `address1`
* `city`
* `state` (USA only)
* `postal_code`
* `country`
Specify the number of cards allocated in the bulk card order in the `card_allocation` field. For example, to create 10 generic users and cards, enter `10` in the `card_allocation` field. The users are assigned user tokens serially: `user-01`, `user-02`, and so on.
Include the `user_association` object with the `single_inventory_user` field set to `false`.
Set the `name_line_1_numeric_postfix` field to `true`. This will append the serial numeric postfix to the `fulfillment.card_personalization.text` object’s `name_line_1` field.
In the `fulfillment.card_personalization.text` object, enter a generic name in the `name_line_1` field. For example, enter `Driver`. This name will be printed on cards, followed by the serial numeric postfix: Driver 01, Driver 02, and so on.
Step three — Update your generic users
After you have created your bulk card order, you can enter individual user information for your generic cards by updating the relevant user as documented on the [Users](/core-api/users/) API reference page. Use the `PUT` method to update a generic user, such as `/users/{user-01}`, with the relevant information, such as the user’s name and address.
Configuring dynamic bulk card fulfillment
For dynamic bulk card fulfillment, you create a bulk card order with an allocation of `0` as a placeholder, then create users and cards that you add to your bulk order dynamically.
To configure cards for dynamic bulk card fulfillment, follow these steps:
Step one — Create your card product
Create your card product as documented on the [Card Products](/core-api/card-products/) page, ensuring that you specify the following items:
Specify your fulfillment provider in the `fulfillment_provider` field of the `config.fulfillment` object.
Specify one of the physical card types in the `payment_instrument` field of the `config.fulfillment` object:
* `PHYSICAL_MSR`: A physical card with a magnetic stripe. This is the default physical card type.
* `PHYSICAL_ICC`: A physical card with an integrated circuit, or "chip."
* `PHYSICAL_CONTACTLESS`: A physical card that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) to enable payment over a secure radio interface.
* `PHYSICAL_COMBO`: A physical card with a chip that also supports contactless payments.
Specify the fulfillment package ID in the `package_id` field of the `config.fulfillment` object. The package ID identifies the design and artwork that you have on file with your fulfillment provider.
Set the `bulk_ship` field of the `config.fulfillment` object to `true`.
Enter your company’s return address in the `return_address` field of the `config.fulfillment.shipping` object.
Step two — Create your bulk card order
Create your bulk card order as specified on the [Bulk Card Orders](/core-api/bulk-card-orders/) page, ensuring that you specify the following items:
Specify your bulk shipping address in the `fulfillment.shipping.recipient_address` object. The following body fields are required:
* `first_name`
* `last_name`
* `address1`
* `city`
* `state` (USA only)
* `postal_code`
* `country`
Enter `0` in the `card_allocation` field.
Include the `user_association` object with the `single_inventory_user` field set to `false`.
Set the `name_line_1_numeric_postfix` field to `false`.
Step three — Create your authorized users
Create your users, as documented on the [Users](/core-api/users/) API reference page.
Step four — Create your cards
Create your cards as documented on the [Cards](/core-api/cards/) page, ensuring that you enter the required `user_token` and `fulfillment.card_personalization.text` objects.
Ordering cards
Physical cards are automatically ordered upon card issuance if the following conditions are met:
* The card product has a defined physical type in the `payment_instrument` field in the `config.fulfillment` object
* The `config.fulfillment` object has both a valid fulfillment provider and a valid fulfillment package ID
* The card is in the `ISSUED` or `REISSUED` state
* The card has not yet been manufactured
If these conditions have been met, then the card is added to the fulfillment queue. Fulfillment cutoff times vary according to your fulfillment provider:
* For Perfect Plastic Printing and Arroweye Solutions, the cutoff time is 09:00 UTC.
* For IDEMIA, the cutoff time is 23:00 UTC.
Cancelling card orders
If your card order has not entered the fulfillment queue yet, you can transition the card to the `TERMINATED` state to cancel the order. For information about transitioning cards to different states, see [Create card transition](/core-api/card-transitions/#post_cardtransitions).
If your card order is in the fulfillment queue, you must contact [Marqeta Support](mailto:support@marqeta.com) to determine whether your order can be cancelled.
Reordering cards
If your card order fails and is in the `REJECTED` state, you must create a new card for that user. If you want to use the same primary account number (PAN) for the new card, you can reissue the PAN from the existing card token. For more details about reissuing a PAN, see the `reissue_pan_from_card_token` body field details on the [Cards](/core-api/cards/#_request_body) API reference page.
Fulfillment status
When a card is fulfilled, the `fulfillment_status` and `state_reason` fields of the `card` object are updated. You can send a `GET` request to `/cards/{token}` to see these fields. Marqeta sends a webhook request for each transition that occurs for a given card.
Each fulfillment provider offers different shipping options for physical cards. If you choose a shipping option that offers a tracking number, such as UPS or FedEx, the tracking number will appear in the `state_reason` field of your card order. Be aware that most US Postal Service shipping options do not offer a tracking number.
Card fulfillment usually follows this timeline:
**Day 0**: You place your card order prior to the cutoff time. The card is placed in the `ISSUED` state.
**Day 1**: The card goes to `ORDERED` state by approximately 09:00 Pacific Time (UTC-08:00). The card is now being processed.
**Day 3**: The card is shipped. If your fulfillment provider is IDEMIA, allow one additional day. The status of the card order is sent to Marqeta the following morning.
**Day 4**: The card goes to `SHIPPED` state. The card shipping status and tracking information is sent to Marqeta this morning by approximately 03:00 Pacific Time (UTC-08:00).