Specify delivery method for physical cards

To control how physical cards are delivered to cardholders, you can specify a delivery method when creating cards through the Airwallex Issuing API. This allows you to choose between tracked mail delivery and express shipping on a per-card basis.

Before you begin

• Obtain your API credentials from the Airwallex web app.
• Verify that express delivery is available in your target region (see Understand regional availability and delivery options below).

Specify delivery method during card creation

To specify a delivery method when creating a physical card, include the preferred_delivery_mode field in the delivery_details object of your card creation request.

1. Call the Create a card API endpoint with the delivery_details parameter and set the preferred_delivery_mode field to one of the following values:

   • MAIL: Standard shipping with tracking.
   • EXPRESS: Expedited shipping with priority handling and tracking. Requires a mobile number.
   JSON

   1{
   2  "form_factor": "PHYSICAL",
   3  "cardholder_id": "7f687fe6-dcf4-4462-92fa-80335301d9d2",
   4  "postal_address": {
   5    "city": "Melbourne",
   6    "country": "AU",
   7    "line1": "44 Gillespie St",
   8    "postcode": "3121",
   9    "state": "VIC"
   10  },
   11  "delivery_details": {
   12    "preferred_delivery_mode": "EXPRESS",
   13    "mobile_number": "619922334321"
   14  }
   15}

2. Review the response to confirm your requested delivery method:

   JSON

   1{
   2  "card_id": "7f687fe6-dcf4-4462-92fa-80335301d9d2",
   3  "form_factor": "PHYSICAL",
   4  "delivery_details": {
   5    "preferred_delivery_mode": "EXPRESS",
   6    "mobile_number": "619922334321",
   7    "status": "PENDING"
   8  }
   9}

The card is created with your preferred delivery method.

Verify delivery method after card is dispatched

After the card personalization center confirms the actual delivery method used, the delivery_mode field appears in the response and indicates which method was applied. You can subscribe to the issuing.card.modified webhook event to receive card delivery status changes. See Retrieve physical card delivery details for more information.

1. Call the Get card details API endpoint: GET /api/v1/issuing/cards/{card_id}

2. Check the delivery_details object in the response for both preferred_delivery_mode and delivery_mode fields:

   JSON

   1{
   2  "card_id": "7f687fe6-dcf4-4462-92fa-80335301d9d2",
   3  "delivery_details": {
   4    "preferred_delivery_mode": "EXPRESS",
   5    "delivery_mode": "MAIL",
   6    "tracked": true,
   7    "status": "DISPATCHED"
   8  }
   9}

In this example, the preferred_delivery_mode is EXPRESS but the actual delivery_mode is MAIL. This can occur when the delivery vendor's services are suspended due to unforeseen circumstances or the requested delivery method is not supported in the destination region.

Understand regional availability and delivery options

Delivery method availability and delivery time vary based on the card issuing region and the location where physical cards are printed.

Card printing locations for Airwallex branded cards

The following table shows which card printing locations are used for each issuing region for Airwallex branded cards:

Card printing locations for white-label cards

The following table shows which card printing locations are used for each issuing region for white-label card programs:

Supported destinations and delivery methods

The following sections show the supported destination countries, delivery methods, and delivery time (SLA) for each card printing location.

Malaysia

Australia

Hong Kong

Poland

United States

Pricing for delivery methods

The pricing for physical card delivery varies based on the delivery method, card printing location, and destination country. Delivery vendors set these prices and may change them without notice.

Delivery costs appear on your monthly invoice. Contact your Airwallex Account Manager for the latest pricing information.

Next steps

Now that you've specified a delivery method for your physical cards, you can:

• Retrieve physical card delivery details to track shipment status
• Create commercial cards for business use cases
• Create consumer cards for individual cardholders