Table of contents
All payment cards begin as virtual cards, with the option to issue physical or tokenized cards. This guide provides an overview of issuing virtual cards using the Highnote dashboard.
Payment card lineage
When a new payment card is issued, a hierarchy of cards called a "lineage" is established. This lineage is made up of a Payment Account Reference (PAR) and a unique primary account number (PAN):
- Payment Account Reference (PAR): The highest level in the payment card lineage; a non-financial reference value assigned by the network to a lineage of payment cards
- Primary account number (PAN): Sits under a PAR in the payment card lineage; refers to the card number of the cardholder's payment card
A cardholder can only have one active payment card (PAN) in an existing lineage at a time. This is important to note for issuing new cards, reissuing cards, and terminating cards. Refer to the following guidelines for each use case:
| Use case | Example | Notes |
| Issue a new card | An account holder applies for your card product and is issued a payment card for the first time. | When the new card is issued, a new PAR is established, with the new payment card as the PAR's one active PAN. |
| Reissue a card | An account holder's payment card expired and they need a new one. | A payment card is reissued under the same lineage (PAR) and when activated, the old PAN is automatically deactivated. |
| Terminate a card | An account holder loses their payment card and needs a new one. |
Lost or stolen cards are reported to the card network, which results in the PAN and any predecessors in the card lineage being deactivated.
To ensure a proper card termination and re-issuance flow, we recommend terminating the original PAN and issuing a new card to establish a new PAR. This ensures that the card network does not deactivate the new payment card for being associated with the lost or stolen card's card lineage. |
Issue card
Use the following steps to issue a virtual card:
- Use the dashboard search bar to search for an account holder. For tips on using the search bar, see Using the Highnote dashboard.
- From the account holder page, click the Financial Accounts tab and choose a financial account.
- On the financial account details page, click Issue Card.
- Assign the virtual card an expiration date.
- Optional - Use the toggle to turn the activate card on creation setting on or off.
- Click Issue Payment Card.
Next steps
After issuing a virtual card, you can issue a physical card. For more information on physical cards, see Order physical cards.