canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/mcards.com/mcards

# Mcards Cards API

The Cards API from mCards provides read access to a prepaid card program: distributor cards, the cardholder cards issued beneath them, and the transactions and payment accounts tied to each cardholder. It returns card details, cardholder card lists, and payment account records, along with card and linked bank account transaction histories for reconciliation and reporting.

## For AI agents

Read distributor cards, cardholder cards, payment accounts, and transaction histories from the mCards Cards API.

## Scope

Does not issue cards, move funds, or change cardholder records. Use it to read distributor cards, cardholder cards, payment accounts, and transactions only.

## Capabilities

- Retrieve a distributor's cards and the details of a specific distributor card
- List the cardholder cards issued under a distributor card
- Look up a cardholder card and the payment accounts linked to it
- Read transaction history for a cardholder card or a specific payment account
- Trace linked bank account transactions behind a payment account transaction

## Use cases

### AI Agent Card Data Access

Give an AI agent read access to a card program so it can answer questions about cards, cardholders, and spending. The agent discovers the lookup operations through Jentic, stores the mCards key once, and reads card and transaction records without bespoke HTTP wiring. Because every operation is read-only, the agent reports rather than moves money.

Example prompt: Look up a cardholder card, list its payment accounts, and summarize the recent transactions on each

### Transaction Reconciliation

Pull transaction histories for cardholder cards and their payment accounts to reconcile against internal ledgers. The API exposes card transactions and the linked bank account transactions behind them, so a reconciliation job can match each movement end to end.

Example prompt: Retrieve a cardholder card's transactions and the linked bank account transactions for the last statement period

### Cardholder Account Lookup

Resolve a cardholder card into its payment accounts and current details for support and servicing. Given a cardholder card identifier, the API returns the card record and each associated payment account so a support agent can confirm account status quickly.

Example prompt: Given a cardholder card identifier, return the card details and every payment account attached to it

### Program Reporting

Report on a distributor's card program by walking from distributor cards down to the cardholder cards issued under them. The hierarchy lets a reporting job roll up cardholder counts and transaction activity per distributor.

Example prompt: List a distributor's cards and, for each, count the cardholder cards issued underneath

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/api/cards/v1/distributor_cards` | List a distributor's cards |
| GET | `/api/cards/v1/distributor_cards/{distributor_card_uuid}` | Retrieve a distributor card |
| GET | `/api/cards/v1/cardholder_cards/{cardholder_card_uuid}` | Retrieve a cardholder card |
| GET | `/api/cards/v1/cardholder_cards/{cardholder_card_uuid}/transactions` | List transactions for a cardholder card |
| GET | `/api/cards/v1/cardholder_cards/{cardholder_card_uuid}/payment_accounts` | List payment accounts for a cardholder card |

## Key resources

- **Distributor Cards** — List and retrieve the cards held by a distributor.
- **Cardholder Cards** — Retrieve cardholder cards and the cards issued under a distributor card.
- **Payment Accounts** — Read the payment accounts linked to a cardholder card.
- **Transactions** — Read card, payment account, and linked bank account transaction histories.

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 44 / 100
- **Maturity:** Foundational
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 90 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 63 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 20 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 50 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 65 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/mcards.com/mcards/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the mCards Cards API by hand means learning its Authorization-header auth and walking the distributor-to-cardholder-to-transaction hierarchy yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the API from the API Directory, store the key, and your agent calls the read it needs.
- **Permission scoping:** You decide which mCards operations your agent may call. Because every operation is read-only, a rule can expose cardholder lookups and transaction reads while the agent can never create, update, or delete a record.
- **Credential handling:** Your mCards API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'list a cardholder card's transactions', and Jentic returns the matching mCards operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Adyen Stored Value** — Issues and manages stored-value and gift cards.
- **Stripe** — Processes payments, issues cards, and handles payouts.
- **Plaid** — Connects bank accounts and returns transaction data.
- **Square** — Handles payments, orders, and customer records.

## FAQ

### What authentication does the mCards Cards API use?

The Cards API expects an API key in the Authorization header, as declared by its OpenAPI spec. Through Jentic the key is stored encrypted by your own Jentic One instance and injected when a call runs, so it never enters the agent's prompt or logs.

### Can the mCards Cards API move money or change cards?

No. Every operation in the spec is a read: it returns card, cardholder, payment account, and transaction records. There are no create, update, or delete operations, so an agent can report on the program but cannot alter it.

### What are the rate limits for the mCards Cards API?

The OpenAPI spec does not publish specific rate limits. Check the mCards documentation for current limits, and have your agent back off and retry when it receives a throttling response.

### How do I read card data with the mCards Cards API through Jentic?

Search Jentic for an intent like 'look up a cardholder card', and it returns the matching mCards operation with its input schema. Import the connector once, store your key, and your agent reads card and transaction records without hand-written HTTP code. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.

### Is there an mCards MCP server?

You don't need an MCP server to give your agent the mCards Cards API. Jentic connects it directly from the Jentic API Directory: import the API, store your key once, and your agent calls the lookup operations. Operations are discovered on demand, so no extra tool definitions are loaded into the agent's context.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the mCards Cards API?

Yes. You choose the operations the agent may call, so a rule can allow only the cardholder lookup and transaction reads your workflow needs. Since the API is read-only, the agent can never move funds, and every call is logged.