Virtual cards are debit card numbers issued to OSC's hosted collectives for paying online expenses like recurring vendor payments, online resources or tools, and subscriptions. They are tied directly to a collective's budget on the Open Collective platform.

HOW IT WORKS

Funds are spent only as transactions occur. (Setting up a card does not remove any money from your initiative's budget.)
Submit a virtual card request with the intended use of the card (please specify the names of the services you will use) and the amount budgeted for that use monthly (e.g. $300/month). We will review your request and reply with any questions.
If your collective needs a higher limit on your virtual card please request a limit increase by contacting us at hello@oscollective.org with the intended use and the amount increase needed.
To receive an increase, the project must have a budget on their Open Collective account that exceeds the corresponding amount and must demonstrate that a higher limit is necessary.
Cards must be used in compliance with our policy below.

ELIGIBILITY
OSC reviews each virtual card request individually. When determining eligibility, we consider:

How long the project has been hosted by OSC
Whether the project is in good standing with OSC
The requesting admin’s history with OSC
The project’s available balance and transaction history
The project's typical incoming contributions and outgoing expenses
The anticipated monthly spending amount
The proposed use of the card

REQUIREMENTS/POLICY

These are virtual cards. No physical card will be issued, so these cannot be used in-store.
All transactions should comply with normal usage of initiative funds as outlined in our Terms of Fiscal Sponsorship
If a card has not been used for more than 15 months, the card will be frozen
Admins requesting a card must have their legal name and address on file on their individual Open Collective user profile (not the collective's profile). Only the display name is public; legal name and address are visible only to OSC as fiscal host.
If no receipt has been uploaded to an expense after 30 days, the card will be frozen
Admins are personally liable for misuse
Virtual cards may not be used for paying/reimbursing people, that should be done on the OC platform.

REQUESTING A CARD

Only project admin's can request a card.
Log in to the Open Collective platform. In the left navigation, click on Virtual Cards -> Request a Card
OSC will assign the card (please allow time for processing)
Once assigned, the card assignee will be notified via email and the card's details will appear in the initiative's Settings for you to use (in accordance with this policy)

CARDHOLDER CONTACT DETAILS:
If you need to input Cardholder contact details/address:

Name: Open Source Collective
Address: 440 N Barranca Ave #3939 Covina, CA 91723, USA

AFTER A PURCHASE IS MADE

Funds are withdrawn from your initiative immediately.
An "Invitation to submit an expense" will be sent to your initiative admins
Admins will be asked to submit your receipt
If the receipt is not submitted within 30 days, the card access will be paused until you do submit the receipt

Erik Lippert

Contributions

Budget

ADD-CE 2026