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Thirty-eight percent of small US employer firms applied for a loan, line of credit or merchant cash advance in the twelve months to late 2025, per the Federal Reserve's 2026 Report on Employer Firms. For performance agencies, the need for credit is often structural.
When an agency pays for client media on its own card, it takes on a cash flow gap. Ad platforms charge as the campaign spends, while clients typically pay on net-30 terms. If the card declines before the client pays, the platform pauses delivery and the campaign can drop back into the learning phase. For agencies, a card's limit and how it scales with client spend matter more than its rewards rate.
Key Takeaways
- The first check is whether each ad account can still pay by card. During 2026, Meta began requiring some higher-spend advertisers to pay by monthly invoice or direct debit instead.
- Google Ads and Meta charge a card each time spend reaches a payment threshold, and both raise that threshold automatically. A card whose per-transaction limit only covers today's threshold can decline on the next, larger charge.
- One card per client and per ad account keeps a single decline from pausing every account.
- Providers such as Slash pair the card with a business bank account, so an agency can pay by card or by ACH from the same balance.
- For an agency paying for client media, how the card's limit grows matters more than its rewards rate.
Criteria for comparing a card for client media spend
- Whether the ad account still takes a card: checked in each account's billing settings before anything else.
- How the limit moves: set by underwriting and raised on request, or tied to the cash balance and updated as deposits arrive.
- Per-client isolation: whether every client and ad account can be assigned its own card, with its own custom limit and merchant restrictions.
- A bank account behind the card: whether the same provider can pay an invoice or accept a direct debit when card billing is unavailable.
- Whether the rate is published: a number on a pricing page can go into a client proposal. A number quoted after approval cannot.
1. Slash, for agencies that need the card and the bank on one balance
Slash built its business banking for agencies to cover both sides of the 2026 billing split. Ad accounts still paying by card run on the Slash Visa® Platinum Card. Ad accounts moved to invoicing or direct debit are paid from the same checking balance. Meta's direct debit pulls from that account, and Bill Pay reads the invoice, routes it for approval and pays it over ACH, RTP or FedNow.
Banking services are provided by Column N.A., Member FDIC. Accounts are open to US-registered LLCs, C-Corps and S-Corps, and sole proprietors are not eligible.
The card's limit is the lower of a risk-based maximum and the funds on deposit, and it updates in real time as deposits arrive. Issuer risk checks and each ad platform's own checks still apply to every charge.
- Unlimited virtual cards on both plans: one per client, per ad account or per campaign, each with its own monthly limit, per-transaction limit and merchant restriction, so a card issued for one platform cannot be spent anywhere else.
- Card groups with their own budgets: every card for one client shares one group budget, so an account manager tracks one number per client.
- Published pricing: $0 a month on Free with up to 1.5% cashback, and $25 a month on Pro with up to 2%. Pro charges $0 for same-day ACH, domestic wires and outgoing FedNow and RTP payments.
- Working Capital Financing: 30, 60 or 90-day terms in the same dashboard, as business loans made by Lead Bank through Slope and subject to credit approval, for the gap between paying the platform and collecting from the client.
- Accounting sync: card spend is coded to the chart of accounts before it syncs to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct or NetSuite, and Slash texts or emails the cardholder for a receipt as soon as a purchase is made.
2. Ramp, a fit for agencies that want policy enforced automatically
Ramp pairs its card with spend controls that block out-of-policy purchases before they happen, and it texts the cardholder for a receipt after an in-person purchase. On its Plus plan, AI policy reviews flag exceptions for a reviewer. Unlimited virtual and physical Visa cards come with no personal guarantee, per NerdWallet's June 2026 review.
Ramp sets its business limit from linked cash balances, credit bureau data and other factors, per Ramp's help center. Raising it takes a limit review, or a deposit into a Reserve Account where the funds stay locked. Per NerdWallet, Ramp also requires at least $25,000 in a US business bank account and most operations and spend in the US.
3. Mercury IO, a fit for agencies that keep cash at more than one bank
Mercury's IO card pays 1.5% cashback on all spend with no annual fee, no personal guarantee and no credit check, and virtual cards can be used immediately.
Per Mercury's own IO page, the limit is based on balances held with Mercury and on any external bank accounts a customer links, which suits an agency that holds cash at more than one bank.
Mercury names QuickBooks Online, NetSuite and Xero as its direct accounting integrations and offers CSV downloads for anything else, so an agency on Sage Intacct imports its card data by file.
4. Dash.fi, a fit for advertisers whose ad accounts still pay by card
Dash.fi is a corporate charge card built for advertisers. Its own page lists 3% cashback on ad, shipping and AI spend, 2% on other eligible spend, unlimited virtual cards, no personal guarantee and no platform fee. Net-1, Net-7 and Net-15 terms are live with longer terms listed as coming, and limits come from performance-based underwriting that reads revenue, spend and payment history.
In a June 2026 post on Meta's billing change, Dash.fi itself notes that when Meta moves an advertiser to invoicing or direct debit, card rewards on that Meta spend end.
Working through it in order
Meta's help center says some businesses may be required to move to monthly invoicing, and that an account moved off cards cannot switch back. Open billing settings on every client ad account first and note which still offer card payment. That check decides whether this is a card comparison or a bank comparison, and it runs account by account.
For each account that still pays by card, note the current payment threshold and set the card's per-transaction limit above it. Google raises the threshold without notifying the advertiser. Meta raises it too, and lets an advertiser set a maximum payment threshold that keeps each charge under the card's limit.
Then issue one card per client and per ad account, restrict each to its platform, and set its monthly limit at peak monthly spend. One card shared across six ad accounts means one decline pauses all six.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a media buying agency look for in a corporate card?
A media buying agency should first check which ad accounts can still pay by card, then how the card's limit behaves as payment thresholds rise, then whether each client and ad account can have its own card. Rewards rate comes fourth, because a higher rate on an account that cannot pay by card earns nothing.
Why does one card per ad account matter for an agency?
One card per ad account matters because Meta limits the number of accounts a payment method can be used on, and a decline on a shared card pauses every account attached to it. Separate cards confine a decline to one account and keep spend attributed to the right client.
What happens to card rewards when an advertiser is moved to invoicing?
Card rewards do not apply to spend paid by invoice or direct debit, because the card no longer makes the payment. A provider that also offers business checking can pay the invoice or accept the direct debit from the same account, so delivery continues without adding a second bank.
