Attention: OSC hosted collectives currently using Virtual Cards
Open Source Collective has been informed that our provider, Stripe, will be disabling virtual cards issued to our member projects on 1st January 2024. From that date, all payments using issued cards will be declined. We will notify you which services you are using with affected cards so that you can update payment methods.
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In May 2021 Open Collective announced support for Virtual Cards. Virtual cards are debit cards for your Collective that can be used for regular and one-off payments online, using your Collective's balance to pay. Since the launch, hundreds of our Collectives have used virtual cards, spending $1.8m without having to cover those costs personally, requesting a reimbursement.
Last month, our provider, Stripe, notified us that 'subsequent to a routine review', they are unable to continue supporting us due to prohibitions on their restricted business list. We do not believe that we are covered by any of the restrictions on that list and have since been told that Stripe Issuing is 'for employees only'. This policy was not made clear when we first moved to Stripe as our virtual card provider, and the policy seems to contradict some of Stripe's own marketing materials. We are, of course, very disappointed. Virtual cards have been incredibly useful for our member projects, and we will be making arrangements with alternative providers for 2024.
For the time being, we will need our member projects to update the payment details for services that use a virtual card, and to request a reimbursement for those expenses instead. We will notify you which services will be affected in the coming days. As usual, we will continue to pay expenses twice a week and can only apologize for the inconvenience caused.