With Tango, you can send prepaid cards like Visa®, Mastercard®, and others, in various countries and currencies such as AUD, CAD, CNY, EUR, GBP, INR, JPY, and USD (availability depends on card and merchant terms).
Your Tango portal includes several Reward Link® options by default, some offering prepaid card redemption. A Customer Success Manager (CSM) can help determine the best prepaid options for your organization and add them to your catalog. Prepaid card availability has restrictions and may not be offered to all customers or use cases. See the full list of prepaid cards available in the Tango reward catalog.
Use this article if you want to add prepaid cards to your Tango catalog for the first time, or expand existing prepaid options.
How do I add prepaid cards to my Tango portal?
To see what prepaid card options would work best for your organization's use case, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or success@tangocard.com. Most requests to add prepaid cards to a Tango platform’s catalog go through an approval process to confirm eligibility and compliance.
Why do prepaid cards require approval process?
Approval are required to make sure each prepaid card is safe, compliant, and appropriate for your use case. Since prepaid cards are a regulated financial product, we’re required to review certain details before allowing them in your catalog. This protects your recipients, your organization, and our issuing partners from misuse, fraud, or regulatory issues.
Which prepaid cards require approval?
You’ll typically need approval for:
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New card types you haven’t used before.
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International or multi‑currency cards.
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Higher‑value or higher‑risk cards such as large load amounts or ongoing reloads.
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Cards used in regulated or sensitive use cases such as payroll, benefits, or government disbursements.
Are any prepaid cards exempt from the approval process?
Some standard, low‑risk value cards in supported countries and card types that have already been approved for your organization may not require an additional approval. Your CSM will confirm what applies to your catalog.
What we review during prepaid card approval
During the approval process, our team and issuing partners may:
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Review your use case: We check how and why the card will be used, who the recipients are (employees, consumers, partners), how often and how much value will be loaded.
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Run risk and compliance checks: We perform Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screenings, check for sanctions and watch‑lists, check for country‑ and industry‑specific regulatory requirements, and so on.
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Validate program details and controls: We check spend limits, allowed merchant categories, funding methods, card management and monitoring, and reporting or audit needs.
Once the review is complete, we’ll either approve the card, ask for more information, or explain why it can’t be approved for your specific use case.
How long does prepaid card approval take?
Most prepaid card catalog requests are reviewed within 5–10 business days after we receive all required information. Some requests take longer if additional documentation is needed, particularly for international or higher-risk card types.
What program details and controls are reviewed during prepaid card approval?
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Type of prepaid card: Domestic or international, currency, and recipient's country.
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Use case and program details: Incentives vs. payroll-like use, one-time vs. ongoing programs.
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Compliance and risk review: Know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) checks; regulatory requirements by country or region.
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Completeness of your application: Whether all requested documentation and business details are provided upfront.
When requesting your CSM to add prepaid cards to your catalog, provide these details to speed up processing. Including more information upfront reduces follow-ups needed for approval and configuration:
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What’s needed?
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Details
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Program and contact details
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Your company / account name
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Your CSM’s name (if sending via a shared or support channel)
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Primary contact person for this request (name, email, role)
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Any relevant contract and order form reference, etc.
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Card details
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Card type such as digital or physical
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Branding requirements (standard branding vs. custom and branded card, etc.)
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Currency / currencies requested
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Countries / regions where cards will be used or where recipients are located
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Denominations / load values (such as fixed denominations or variable loads)
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Whether cards are single‑use or reloadable
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Use case and recipients
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Intended use case (incentives, rewards, promotions, research, hardship, internal recognition, etc.)
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Whether the program is one‑time or ongoing
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Who the recipients are (employees, contractors, customers, partners, participants)
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Approximate number of recipients and expected volume (cards per month/quarter)
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Funding and limits
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Expected total budget or funding range
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Any per‑card or per‑recipient limits
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Any time‑bound constraints (program dates, campaign end date)
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Compliance and risk considerations
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Any special regulatory context (healthcare, government, financial services)
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Whether cards will be used in high‑risk geographies or industries
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Confirmation that the use case is not payroll or wage replacement, unless already agreed with your CSM/contract
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Catalog / product configuration
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The catalog(s) where these prepaid cards should be available
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Any eligibility rules or restrictions (only certain groups can see/use them)
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Requested go‑live date or timeline
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Any reporting or tracking requirements you know about (needing usage reports by program, region, or business unit)
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Can I add international or multi‑currency prepaid cards to my catalog?
In many cases, yes—but international or multi‑currency cards almost always require additional review and documentation. Your CSM will evaluate your use case, countries, currencies, and compliance requirements before confirming what can be added. See Send international rewards with Tango.
Are prepaid cards treated as “cash equivalents” in the Tango reward catalog?
Yes. Prepaid cards are generally considered cash equivalent rewards in the Tango reward catalog and are subject to additional eligibility, risk, and compliance review.
Where can I see the full list of prepaid cards available through Tango?
You can browse the prepaid (cash equivalent) rewards available in Tango’s global reward catalog here: Tangocard.com. Note that this is the global catalog; individual Tango platforms may only have a subset of these rewards based on eligibility and approvals.
Can I send prepaid cards on their own, or only as part of a Reward Link®?
Once prepaid options have been added and approved for your catalog, you can:
Send a prepaid card by itself, and access Reward Link® options that include prepaid card redemption (depending on your configuration). Your CSM will confirm which options your specific catalog supports.
What delivery methods are available for sending prepaid cards?
Tango lets you send gift cards digitally by email or text message, physically through the mail, or a mix of all three.
Can I use prepaid cards for payroll, wages, or wage replacement?
Generally, prepaid card programs used for payroll, wages, or wage replacement are considered higher‑risk and regulated use cases. These require additional scrutiny and may not be approved unless specifically agreed upon with your CSM and reflected in your contracts.
Can I set spending limits or eligibility rules for prepaid cards in my catalog?
Yes. As part of the approval and configuration process, Tango can work with you to:
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Define spend limits and card values.
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Configure which catalogs or user groups can see/use prepaid cards.
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Align the setup with your reporting, compliance, and control requirements.
What countries and currencies are supported for prepaid cards?
Tango supports prepaid cards in multiple currencies including AUD, CAD, CNY, EUR, GBP, INR, JPY, and USD, among others. Actual availability depends on the specific card, issuing partner, your recipients’ countries, and your organization’s eligibility and approval status.
Once prepaid cards are added to my catalog, how do recipients receive them?
When sending prepaid cards digitally through the Tango portal, recipients receive their rewards by email and can redeem them right away, subject to the card’s terms and conditions. You can also choose an email template with personalized messaging and branding when sending rewards. For detailed steps to send rewards once a brand is available in your catalog, see Send digital rewards with Tango.
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