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Use cases: Remittance & cross-border

A card on both ends of every transfer

Give the sender in the US and the family receiving the money their own cards in your brand, so each transfer lands as a balance they can spend, through one API.

Plan a pilot with us Explore the API

Send money that's ready to spend

Most transfers from the US still end at a bank deposit, a mobile wallet or a cash pickup counter. For the family receiving the money, that can mean a trip to an agent, a queue, a withdrawal fee, or a bank account they may not have. For your platform, the money leaves your app the moment it lands.

Moon lets you run your own Visa card program on both ends of the transfer, in your brand and through one API. The sender gets a card for the balance they keep in your app, and each person they support gets a card that every transfer loads directly. Virtual cards are ready right away, physical cards follow where your program enables them, and the family spends the money in stores and online.

Each card carries your sender and recipient IDs and the transfer reference, so every load and purchase maps back to the right person and send. Webhooks report each one as it happens, and with real-time authorization enabled for your program, purchases can be checked against the balance in your own ledger.

How the money moves

  1. Card issued to the familyrecipient_4410 · Guadalajara
  2. Transfer loads the cardOct 31 · $300.00
  3. Family spendsGroceries · $58.30
See the API call
curl --request POST \
     --url https://api.themooncard.com/v1/api-gateway/card/8f1c611d-098d-4f61-b106-f7b6d344b1ae \
     --header 'accept: application/json' \
     --header 'content-type: application/json' \
     --header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
     --data '{
        "external_id": "recipient_4410",
        "amount": 300.00,
        "metadata": { "transfer": "TR-58213", "sender": "sender_1187" }
      }'

What your card program can do

  1. 01

    A card for the family back home

    Issue each recipient their own card in your brand, virtual right away and physical where your program enables it. Every transfer loads it, and they spend it in stores and online instead of queuing for a cash pickup.

  2. 02

    A card for the sender

    Give senders a card in your brand too, so the balance they keep in your app is spendable in the US and the next transfer starts from the same place.

  3. 03

    Several people, one sender

    Issue a card for each person a sender supports, each with its own monthly limit, and load them separately from one send screen.

  4. 04

    Money for school, food or medicine

    Limit a card to the merchant categories the sender picks, such as groceries, pharmacies or school fees, so support goes where it was meant to.

  5. 05

    Monthly transfers on a schedule

    Load the card on the day each recurring transfer is due, with the transfer reference in its metadata, so the family knows when to expect it and you know which send paid for what.

  6. 06

    Perks at major brands

    Reward loyal senders with discounts of up to 10% at major brands, paid from the same prepaid balance that funds your transfers.

Why remittance and cross-border apps build on Moon

  • Your brand on both ends

    Senders and the families they support get cards in your brand and manage them inside your app. You set cardholder fees, and they can be zero.

  • A balance, not a pickup

    A transfer is on the recipient's card as soon as your system adds the funds. No agent visit, cash pickup or bank account is needed to spend it.

  • The money stays in your app

    With real-time authorization enabled for your program, each purchase is checked against the balance in your own ledger, so the money stays with you until the moment it's spent.

  • Answers for ops and support

    Webhooks report every load, purchase and decline with its reason. Card and load requests accept an idempotency key, so a retry never sends twice, and daily reconciliation files tie each transfer to your books.

How it works

  1. Connect

    Integrate the Moon API, or start with our team on a pilot.

  2. Issue

    Create cards and send payouts from your own product.

  3. Control

    Set limits per card and see every transaction.

Questions

Do we have to replace our current payout partners?
No. Moon runs beside them. Bank deposits, cash pickup and mobile wallets keep working, and the card is one more way to receive, created and loaded by API in the same send flow.
Where can we launch, and which licenses do we need?
Card programs can launch for recipients in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Tell us your top corridors, and we'll plan which ones to launch first. Cards are issued by Moon's partner financial institutions under their licenses, so you don't need a card-issuing license of your own; you keep the money transmission licenses your transfers need in each market.
Does the family need a bank account?
No. The card is prepaid: each transfer adds funds to it, and they spend that balance wherever Visa is accepted, in stores and online.
Do senders and recipients verify their identity?
If your program requires it, yes. Moon gives you a hosted identity verification (KYC) link to send each cardholder, at home or abroad, and a webhook tells you when their status changes. Their card is issued as soon as they're approved.
How are transfers funded?
From your prepaid balance with Moon, which you fund by bank transfer. Each card you create or load draws its amount from that balance, and if the balance falls short the request is refused and nothing is debited. A webhook tells you when new funds arrive.
Can we start with one corridor?
Yes. Start with your busiest corridor, see how senders and families use their cards, then add the next. Before any real transfer, the Sandbox runs the same endpoints as production with its own keys: issue sender and recipient cards, load them as a transfer would, and simulate purchases, refunds and reversals.

Make the next transfer land on a card.

Tell us your top corridors and how families receive money today, and we'll set up a sandbox for your team.

Schedule a demo Read the API reference

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