Mastercard has added new issuer controls to its virtual card number platform, Mastercard In Control, the payment network announced on Thursday.
The new controls let issuers set baseline guardrails—including spending limits, transaction caps and validity periods—at the point of the creation of a VCN. That lets issuers have controls in place from the start and reduces the risk of fraud in virtual card programs, according to Mastercard.
In addition, Mastercard announced expansion of virtual card clearing controls, in which transactions can be blocked prior to settlement in the clearing stage, which it first introduced last year. New features include the ability to block invalid transactions as well as better management of payment timing, the company said.
Citi has gone live with both capabilities and should be the first issuer to roll them out globally later this year, according to Mastercard.
Mastercard also announced that its embedded VCN program, in which third-party systems can more simply embed the VCN technology, has grown to "dozens of partners" since its March 2025 launch, including SAP, HBX Group, TravelSoft and Juniper Travel.