On the surface, virtual cards are all about control and security. They allow users to set transaction limits, establish time parameters, and define usage restrictions before a payment ever takes place.
But the forces driving the next wave of adoption go beyond those traditional benefits. This year, virtual cards are gaining momentum because they sit at the intersection of two critical shifts in B2B payments—the demand for better data and the need to accelerate how businesses pay.
As Hugh Thomas, Lead Commercial and Enterprise Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, detailed in The Virtual Economy: Five Forces Driving Virtual Card Adoption in 2026 report, improvements in data standards are becoming a major catalyst for expanded virtual card adoption, but they are only one piece of a much larger transformation.
The emergence of agentic artificial intelligence, embedded payments, and customized pricing models—against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty—is creating the conditions for a breakthrough in B2B virtual card adoption.
The Mandate for Better Data
While not specifically designed to fuel virtual card adoption, Visa’s new rules around Level III data have the potential to provide a strong tailwind for the product. To access Visa’s reduced commercial interchange rates, businesses must provide transaction-level details such as product descriptions, quantities, and total costs.
This is not a new requirement, but Visa has recently begun enforcing the submission of more complete and accurate data.
“Before, it was not a super well-kept secret that some of the purported Level III detail that was going through the card switches was spurious. Suppliers knew that they could get a discount on card costs if they just put something in the Level III field,” Thomas said.
“This is not to cast aspersions, I’m sure most merchants approached Level III in the spirit with which it was intended. But there weren’t any real consequences if what you were providing wasn’t accurate and usable,” he said.
Under the new enforcement approach, if any components of the provided Level III data do not align—such as when invoice details do not match the amount charged—the transaction will no longer qualify for the commercial payments discount.
This enforcement is likely to prompt greater investment in an area many organizations have historically neglected, creating potential ramifications across the industry.
“It will compel people to make an effective Level III provision solution, and whenever one of the switches does this, the other benefits from it,” Thomas said. “It tends to be a tide that rises all boats. You’re unlikely to be handling your data wrangling a different way MasterCard than you do for Visa.”
“That overall creates a big value-add for virtual card payments inasmuch as now there’s data in there that it allows you to straight-through process them and settle them to the appropriate place,” he said. “That’s a good thing, and it comes at a time when other factors driving card use will benefit from it”
Embedded Payments and Customized Pricing
As organizations develop solutions to meet Visa’s mandate, a confluence of trends will drive them toward virtual cards. For one, businesses and consumers alike expect the ability to pay where they already operate, whether within their favorite applications or directly through their ERP system.
This shift has changed how payments are authorized within corporate environments.
“Before, if you bought something via the procurement module on your ERP, you or someone further down the value chain would then make the call in terms of, ‘We’re going to pay this by check, we’re going to pay this by ACH, or we’re going to pay this by card,’” Thomas said.
“Now, what you have is a situation where if a virtual card is the only thing that gives you Level III detail and it travels all throughout the full cycle of transaction, someone in the payment strategy team within the buying entity is going to say, ‘Anything that’s with this vendor now has to be paid with card because it’s the only way to get to Level III detail.”
Virtual cards can eliminate much of the post-purchase invoice decisioning that has become a pain point for many organizations. Instead, payment decisions can be established as policy from the outset.
Beyond saving time, virtual cards can reduce costs. Another trend accelerating adoption is Visa’s introduction of mechanisms that allow buyers and sellers to collaborate on mutually agreeable interchange rates.
This creates more sustainable and scalable use cases for virtual cards.
“If you’ve got a one-time supplier payment, that’s a great way to use virtual cards,” Thomas said. “But with the pricing being more collaborative, you may say, ‘On a go-forward basis, let’s pay this with virtual cards, because we’ve agreed the pricing fits both of our needs.’ That ability to adjust and customize based on tenure and so forth is a big thing to drive greater usage.”
Adapting to Unprecedented Shifts
The growing prevalence of embedded payments and the emergence of customized pricing options have created an environment where AI agents—and virtual cards—can thrive.
“You’ve got something that can go say, ‘I want this level of detail and I want it to come in at this price and I want all these rules to be enforced within my embedded payments regime,’” Thomas said. “Agentic AI is a great way to just enable all that. To say if X, Y, and Z criteria for instrument choice for the buyer are met, then go out to the counterparty to see whether their criteria for instrument choice are also being met, and if so, then initiate the transaction.”
In the past, many organizations may have defaulted to ACH or checks because they lacked the time or resources to evaluate other factors, such as Level III data requirements, chargeback capabilities, or the burden of supplier setup. AI agents, however, can approach transactions with a comprehensive understanding of each payment instrument’s advantages and determine the optimal choice accordingly.
This has the potential to drive virtual card usage because of the substantial benefits they provide, especially from the buyer’s perspective.
Virtual cards also give organizations the flexibility to adapt quickly to unforeseen changes, including shifts in the macroeconomic landscape. For example, global conflicts can contribute to higher weighted average cost of capital and slower cash conversion cycles. In these situations, virtual cards can serve as an almost purpose-built solution.
“Virtual cards can be a working capital accelerant for the supplier,” Thomas said. “I’ll get paid with card in 10 days versus waiting the average 45 or 60 they may typically wait. For the buyer, it’s a bit of the same thing. They’re thinking, ‘I’d like to hang on to more cash longer, so I’ll pay you on day 10 and then take the card cycle plus the grace days on the card cycle on top of that—and keep my days payable outstanding preserved.’”
Anticipating the Trend
The benefits of virtual cards alone are enough to sustain their growth in commercial payments. However, five forces—the Level III data mandate, embedded payments, customized pricing, agentic AI, and macroeconomic uncertainty—have combined to create a powerful catalyst for adoption.
As a result, organizations should develop roadmaps that prioritize virtual cards and account for each of these evolving dynamics.
“Are you ready with a working capital solution if we do see higher inflation rates and higher weighted average cost of capital?” Thomas said. “Are you working with an embedded finance provider to make sure that your solution is ready? Do you have your AI primitives being built right now so that you’re ready to get into that space when the pull begins to come from your buyers?”
“If your strategy in virtual cards doesn’t anticipate or at least take into account all of these to some degree, you may be missing a trick,” he said.
