The problem
Marketing and social media buying agencies struggle to manage client campaigns with traditional cards, as these cards cannot be customized to cap the spend on ad placement. There is also a risk that a card will be frozen if a predefined credit limit is reached.
The solution
Virtual cards with dynamic spend controls allow for real-time control of card activity to better manage client campaigns. Agencies can simplify media buying activities at the client or campaign level for thousands of ad spaces, while gaining billing efficiencies with improved data visibility and automated reconciliations.
Real world: media buying
Marketing agencies streamline media buying with virtual cards
Media buy requested
A new or existing client approves a digital-marketing campaign.
Campaigns created
Marqeta provides a unique virtual card to pay for each campaign.
Cards charged
Cards are set up for billing just like any other Visa or Mastercard payment.
Transaction reconciled
Single-use card numbers and metadata allow for easy reconciliation and streamlined billing.
Metadata returned
When each payment is processed notifications are sent with metadata and purchase details.
Payment processed
Marqeta’s platform is contacted by the appropriate network for authorization.
Media buy requested
A new or existing client approves a digital-marketing campaign.
Campaigns created
Marqeta provides a unique virtual card to pay for each campaign.
Cards charged
Cards are set up for billing just like any other Visa or Mastercard payment.
Transaction reconciled
Single-use card numbers and metadata allow for easy reconciliation and streamlined billing.
Metadata returned
When each payment is processed notifications are sent with metadata and purchase details.
Payment processed
Marqeta’s platform is contacted by the appropriate network for authorization.
Customer Case Study
A large media buying agency had been using physical purchase cards, but as business expanded it became difficult to secure the $5M+ in credit needed per month. Transactions started getting blocked, and suddenly all of their campaigns were at risk. It became clear the agency needed a modern payment platform to avoid any interruption in their campaigns.
By using virtual cards with Just-in-Time (JIT) Funding, the agency could append data to transaction messages so they could match transactions with client codes. And working from a reserve account rather than a restrictive credit line afforded them the flexibility they needed to increase funding at peak times. With Marqeta, they found a more flexible solution for their growing business.
Key benefits for media and online advertising
Virtual cards
Place thousands of ads and manage each media buying campaign with its own card.
Instant issuance of virtual cards
Accelerate time to value and quickly spin up new cards for campaigns.
Dynamic spend controls
Gain control and reduce fraud in media purchases (e.g., limit spend by campaign, a start and end date, or time).
JIT (Just-in-Time) Funding
Eliminate the need to conform to credit requirements and the risk of freezing your campaigns when limits are reached at peaks.
Webhooks
Receive notifications about card events as they happen (e.g., an alert triggered by a certain transaction amount).
Inject metadata into each transaction record
Add a campaign ID, and/or a start or end date to each transaction record to ease reconciliation of payments across customer accounts and ad buys.
