Managing business expenses used to mean hours of manual data entry, stacks of receipts, and the constant worry about human error creeping into your financial records. Card feeds have transformed this landscape, offering finance teams a way to automatically import transaction data directly from credit cards into their expense management systems.
This glossary serves as your comprehensive guide to understanding card feeds – from basic definitions to advanced troubleshooting techniques. Whether you're a finance professional exploring automation options or a business owner looking to streamline expense reporting, you'll find the answers you need to make informed decisions about implementing card feed technology.
What is a Card Feed?
A card feed is an automated data connection that imports credit card transaction information directly into expense management or accounting software. Instead of manually entering each purchase, receipt, and expense line item, card feeds create a real-time or scheduled sync between your credit card provider and your financial management platform.
Think of it as a digital bridge. When an employee makes a purchase using a company credit card, that transaction data – including the amount, merchant name, date, and transaction details – automatically appears in your expense management system within hours or days. This eliminates the need for manual data entry while providing immediate visibility into company spending patterns.
Card feeds work through secure API connections established between financial institutions and expense management platforms. These connections are encrypted and follow banking-grade security protocols, ensuring that sensitive financial data remains protected during transmission.
For example, when your marketing team purchases software subscriptions using the company American Express card, that transaction data flows directly into your expense platform. The finance team can then categorize, approve, and process the expense without anyone having to manually type in transaction details or hunt down receipts.
Benefits of Card Feeds
Efficiency
Card feeds eliminate the time-consuming process of manual expense entry. Finance teams that previously spent hours each week inputting transaction data can redirect their focus toward strategic analysis and decision-making. The automated import process means expenses appear in your system almost immediately, allowing for real-time expense tracking and faster month-end closing procedures.
Consider a mid-sized company with 50 employees using corporate cards. Without card feeds, each employee might spend 30 minutes weekly on expense reports, while finance teams spend additional hours reviewing and processing submissions. Card feeds can reduce this combined time investment by up to 80%, freeing up valuable resources for higher-value activities.
Accuracy
Manual data entry introduces inevitable human error – typos in amounts, incorrect dates, or mismatched merchant names. Card feeds pull transaction data directly from the source, ensuring that amounts, dates, and merchant information match exactly what the bank recorded. This precision reduces discrepancies during reconciliation and minimizes the back-and-forth communication typically required to resolve expense report errors.
The accuracy improvement is particularly noticeable with complex transactions. Foreign currency purchases, for instance, are automatically converted and recorded at the correct exchange rates used by the card issuer, eliminating guesswork about conversion calculations.
Time-Saving
Beyond eliminating manual entry, card feeds accelerate the entire expense management workflow. Transactions appear in your system within 24-48 hours of purchase, allowing employees to add receipts and categorize expenses while details are still fresh in their minds. Finance teams can review and approve expenses continuously rather than waiting for monthly batch submissions.
This speed improvement has a cascading effect on cash flow management. Faster expense processing means quicker reimbursements for employees and more timely visibility into company spending patterns. Finance leaders can identify budget variances or unusual spending trends weeks earlier than traditional expense reporting allows.
Types of Card Feeds
Corporate Card Feeds
Corporate card feeds are designed specifically for business credit cards issued to companies for employee use. These feeds typically offer the most robust feature set, including the ability to map transactions to specific employees, departments, or cost centers. Corporate card feeds often include additional metadata like merchant category codes (MCCs) that help with automatic expense categorization.
Most corporate card programs from major issuers (American Express, Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) support direct feed connections with popular expense management platforms. These feeds can handle multiple cards under a single corporate account, making them ideal for organizations with distributed spending across multiple employees or departments.
Corporate feeds also tend to offer more frequent data updates – sometimes multiple times per day – ensuring that expense data is as current as possible. This real-time visibility is particularly valuable for companies with strict spending policies or those operating in fast-moving industries where budget control is critical.
Personal Card Feeds
Personal card feeds connect individual credit cards to expense management systems, typically used by freelancers, small business owners, or employees who use personal cards for business expenses and seek reimbursement. While functional, personal card feeds often have more limitations compared to corporate alternatives.
Personal card feeds may update less frequently (daily rather than multiple times per day) and might not include the same level of transaction detail available through corporate programs. Additionally, mixing personal and business expenses on the same card can create complications, as users need to manually identify and categorize which transactions are business-related.
Some expense platforms offer tools to help filter business expenses from personal card feeds, but this still requires more manual oversight than dedicated corporate card programs. Personal card feeds work best for small teams or solo entrepreneurs who need basic expense tracking without the complexity of corporate card management.
How to Set Up Card Feeds
Prerequisites
Before establishing a card feed connection, ensure you have the necessary administrative access to both your credit card account and expense management platform. For corporate cards, this typically means having account administrator privileges or working with someone who does. You'll also need to verify that your card issuer supports direct feed connections with your chosen expense management software.
Check your expense management platform's integration list to confirm compatibility with your specific card issuer and account type. Some platforms support hundreds of financial institutions, while others focus on major issuers only. Banking relationships and technical capabilities vary, so verification prevents setup frustration later.
Gather essential account information including your credit card account numbers, online banking credentials (if required for setup), and any specific account identifiers your expense platform requests. Some setups require temporary access to online banking, while others use account and routing numbers for identification.
Step-by-Step Guide
- Access Integration Settings: Log into your expense management platform and navigate to the integrations or card feed section. This is typically found in account settings, administration panels, or finance configuration areas.
- Select Your Card Issuer: Choose your credit card provider from the list of supported institutions. If your issuer isn't listed, check if they offer generic OFX or CSV export options that your platform can accept.
- Provide Account Information: Enter your credit card account details as requested. This might include account numbers, online banking credentials, or both, depending on your issuer's integration method.
- Authenticate the Connection: Complete any required authentication steps, which may include multi-factor authentication through your banking app or temporary verification codes sent to your registered phone number or email.
- Configure Import Settings: Specify which transactions to import (all transactions vs. business-only), how far back to pull historical data, and how frequently you want updates. Most platforms offer daily updates, though some support real-time or multiple daily syncs.
- Test the Connection: Verify that transactions are importing correctly by checking recent purchases against your credit card statement. Allow 24-48 hours for the initial sync to complete, as some systems require time to establish the data flow.
- Set Up User Assignments: For corporate cards, assign specific cards to individual employees so transactions automatically appear in the correct person's expense account.
Common Challenges
Authentication failures represent the most frequent setup obstacle. If your card issuer requires multi-factor authentication for online banking access, ensure you have access to your authentication device (phone, token, or app) during setup. Some banks temporarily lock accounts after multiple failed authentication attempts, so take your time with credential entry.
Network timeouts can interrupt the initial connection process, particularly when importing large amounts of historical transaction data. If setup fails partway through, wait a few hours before retrying, as your expense platform may need time to process partial data before accepting new connection attempts.
Duplicate transaction imports sometimes occur when users attempt multiple setup procedures or when switching between different integration methods. If you see duplicate transactions, check whether you have multiple active connections to the same card account and disable any redundant feeds.
Supported Banks and Cards
Major U.S. Issuers
American Express offers robust card feed support across most expense management platforms, with frequent updates and detailed transaction metadata. Their corporate card programs typically provide same-day transaction visibility and include merchant category codes that enable automatic expense categorization.
Chase Business cards support direct feeds through most major expense platforms, though update frequency varies by specific card product. Chase's integration typically includes transaction-level detail sufficient for most business expense tracking needs.
Bank of America business cards offer feed connections with popular expense management systems, with particular strength in their corporate card programs that serve larger organizations. Their feeds include departmental coding options for companies that need detailed expense allocation.
Wells Fargo business credit cards support direct feed connections, though their integration catalog is somewhat smaller than major competitors. Wells Fargo feeds typically update daily and include standard transaction details like amount, date, and merchant information.
Citi business cards provide feed support through select expense management platforms, with robust corporate programs that include advanced reporting features and spend analytics.
Regional and Credit Union Options
Many regional banks and credit unions offer card feed capabilities, though support varies significantly by institution size and technical capabilities. Larger regional banks often provide direct API connections, while smaller institutions may offer file-based exports that expense platforms can import automatically.
Credit unions typically support feed connections through third-party aggregation services rather than direct API connections. While functional, these connections may update less frequently and provide fewer transaction details compared to major issuer direct feeds.
International Considerations
Card feeds for international credit cards depend heavily on the specific country and banking system involved. European banks increasingly support PSD2-compliant connections that enable secure data sharing with expense management platforms. Canadian banks offer varying levels of feed support, with major institutions like RBC and TD providing direct connections to popular expense platforms.
For companies with international operations, verify that your expense management platform supports the specific international cards your employees use. Some platforms excel at U.S. bank connections but have limited international capabilities.
Troubleshooting Card Feeds
Data Discrepancies
When transaction amounts don't match between your card feed and bank statements, currency conversion timing often explains the difference. Credit card processors may apply different exchange rates or conversion dates than those shown in preliminary transaction data. Allow 2-3 business days for international transactions to settle at final amounts.
Missing transactions typically result from timing differences between when purchases are made and when they appear in your card issuer's systems. Restaurant tips added after the initial charge, for example, may appear as separate transactions or modify original amounts days after the initial purchase.
Merchant name inconsistencies occur because card processors and expense platforms may display different versions of business names. "Amazon.com" might appear as "AMZN Mktp US" in your feed, requiring manual categorization rules or merchant mapping to maintain consistency.
Connection Problems
Authentication failures often stem from changed banking passwords or expired multi-factor authentication settings. If your card feed stops working, check whether your online banking credentials have changed and update them in your expense platform's integration settings.
Temporary bank system maintenance can interrupt card feeds for several hours or days. Most expense platforms will automatically retry failed connections, but you may need to manually refresh the connection after extended outages.
Account closure or card replacement breaks existing feed connections. When you receive a new card with a different number, you'll need to establish a new feed connection and may lose access to historical transaction data from the old card.
Firewall or security software sometimes blocks the secure connections required for card feeds. If you're experiencing persistent connection issues, work with your IT team to ensure that your expense platform's servers can communicate with your card issuer's API endpoints.
Streamline Your Expense Management with Mysa
Implementing card feeds and optimizing your expense management processes can feel overwhelming, especially when balancing multiple financial priorities. At Mysa, we understand the challenges finance teams face when modernizing their expense workflows and selecting the right technology solutions.
Mysa’s AI-powered accounting platform integrates directly with card feeds to automate expense tracking, reconciliation, and reporting, giving finance teams real-time visibility and control over company spending. Our team has helped hundreds of organizations successfully implement automated expense management systems, from initial platform selection through ongoing optimization.
Book a demo today to see how Mysa can help you streamline expense management and transform your financial operations with intelligent automation.
FAQs
What are the costs associated with card feeds?
Most expense management platforms include card feed functionality in their standard pricing, though some charge per-feed or per-transaction fees. Card issuers typically don't charge for providing feed access, as it's considered a standard business service. However, some premium corporate card programs may include feed access as part of higher-tier service packages that carry additional annual fees.
How secure are card feeds?
Card feeds use bank-level encryption and security protocols, often including OAuth 2.0 authentication and TLS encryption for data transmission. Your credit card numbers and sensitive account details aren't stored by expense management platforms – instead, they maintain secure tokens that allow access to transaction data only. Most feeds are read-only, meaning the expense platform can retrieve transaction information but cannot initiate purchases or account changes.
How quickly do transactions appear in card feeds?
Transaction timing varies by card issuer and expense platform combination. Most corporate card feeds update daily, with transactions appearing 24-48 hours after purchase. Some premium integrations offer multiple daily updates or near real-time transaction visibility. Pending transactions may appear immediately but could change amounts or disappear if the final transaction is declined.
Can I import historical transactions when setting up a new card feed?
Historical import capabilities depend on your card issuer and expense platform. Most systems can import 30-90 days of historical data, while some extend to 12 months or more. Be aware that importing large amounts of historical data may take several days to complete and could require manual review to ensure accuracy.
What happens if I change credit cards or banks?
Changing cards requires establishing a new feed connection, and you'll lose automatic access to historical data from the old card. Most expense platforms allow you to maintain multiple feed connections simultaneously, so you can overlap old and new cards during transition periods. Export important historical data before closing old card accounts to maintain complete expense records.
Do card feeds work with personal credit cards used for business expenses?
Yes, many expense platforms support personal credit card feeds, though you'll need to manually identify which transactions are business-related. This approach works well for freelancers or small business owners who occasionally use personal cards for business purchases, but dedicated business cards offer better expense tracking and separation.
