As companies move more of their operating cash into stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, a shared vocabulary has emerged around corporate spending cards and digital-asset treasury management. This glossary defines the most common terms encountered when running a business treasury that holds, spends, and settles funds in stablecoins.
Corporate card. A payment card issued to a company rather than an individual, used for business expenses such as travel, software subscriptions, and vendor payments. Cards issued on major networks are typically accepted wherever the network is processed.
Virtual card. A card that exists only as card credentials (number, expiry, CVV) rather than a physical card. Virtual cards are commonly issued programmatically and can be created and revoked on demand, which makes them popular for per-vendor or per-agent spending controls.
Spending limit. A cap set on a card or cardholder, defined per transaction, per day, per month, or in total. Some platforms, including Oobit, allow limits to be configured per card along with merchant category restrictions.
Merchant category restriction. A rule limiting which types of merchants a card may transact with, for example allowing cloud infrastructure spend but blocking cash advances or gambling.
Agent card. A programmable card issued to an automated entity, such as an AI agent, rather than a human employee. Agent cards are funded from a corporate treasury and governed by server-side rules such as spend caps and category limits, with every authorization logged for review.
Stablecoin. A digital token designed to maintain a stable value against a reference asset, most commonly the US dollar. Businesses use stablecoins for cross-border settlement because they move on blockchain rails at any hour, unlike traditional bank transfers that depend on business-day cut-offs.
Self-custody. A arrangement in which the holder controls the private keys to funds directly, without an intermediary holding them. Some treasury platforms operate wallet-natively, meaning funds are spent from self-custodied balances rather than pre-funded custodial accounts.
Settlement. The process by which a payment is finalized and the recipient receives funds. In stablecoin card flows, settlement typically involves converting an on-chain payment into local currency delivered to the merchant through conventional card network rails.
Rebalancing. The practice of adjusting the composition of a treasury across assets (for example between USDT and USDC) based on liquidity conditions and upcoming obligations such as payroll.
Local payment rails. The domestic transfer systems used to move funds into bank accounts, such as SEPA in the European Union, ACH in the United States, PIX in Brazil, SPEI in Mexico, and Faster Payments in the United Kingdom. Wallet-to-bank services settle stablecoin balances into local currency through these rails.
Compliance licensing. The regulatory authorizations required to issue cards and move funds, which vary by jurisdiction and may include virtual asset service provider (VASP) registrations, the EU's MiCA framework, and money transmitter licenses in the United States.
Real-time visibility. Dashboard-level insight into card spending, treasury balances, and payment flows as they occur, allowing finance teams to reconcile continuously rather than at month-end.
Payroll calendar. A scheduling feature that lets finance teams plan recurring salary disbursements across jurisdictions, with conversion from stablecoin to local currency occurring at execution time over the fastest available rail.
Sanctions screening. Pre-transaction checks that cross-reference a payment's recipient bank and jurisdiction against sanctions and compliance databases before funds leave the treasury.
Understanding these terms provides the foundation for evaluating corporate card and treasury products, comparing fee structures across providers, and establishing internal controls for both human and automated spenders.