flutterwave-virtual-cards

name	flutterwave-virtual-cards
description	Model virtual card issuance and lifecycle controls in a safe internal abstraction.

flutterwave-virtual-cards

Purpose

Model virtual card issuance and lifecycle controls in a safe internal abstraction.

Implementation Pattern (TypeScript)

const FLW_V3_BASE_URL = process.env.FLW_V3_BASE_URL ?? "https://api.flutterwave.com/v3";
const FLW_V4_BASE_URL = process.env.FLW_V4_BASE_URL ?? "https://developersandbox-api.flutterwave.com";
const FLW_SECRET_KEY = process.env.FLW_SECRET_KEY;

type FlwResponse<T> = {
  status: "success" | "error";
  message: string;
  data: T;
};

class FlutterwaveApiError extends Error {
  constructor(
    message: string,
    public readonly statusCode: number,
    public readonly payload?: unknown,
  ) {
    super(message);
    this.name = "FlutterwaveApiError";
  }
}

function getBaseUrl(version: "v3" | "v4") {
  return version === "v3" ? FLW_V3_BASE_URL : FLW_V4_BASE_URL;
}

async function flwRequest<T>(
  version: "v3" | "v4",
  path: string,
  init: RequestInit = {},
): Promise<FlwResponse<T>> {
  if (!FLW_SECRET_KEY) {
    throw new Error("Missing FLW_SECRET_KEY");
  }

  const response = await fetch(`${getBaseUrl(version)}${path}`, {
    ...init,
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      Authorization: `Bearer ${FLW_SECRET_KEY}`,
      ...(init.headers ?? {}),
    },
  });

  const body = (await response.json()) as FlwResponse<T>;

  if (!response.ok || body.status === "error") {
    throw new FlutterwaveApiError(
      body.message || "Flutterwave API request failed",
      response.status,
      body,
    );
  }

  return body;
}

Endpoint Operations and References

Version	Method	Route / Operation	Use Case	Reference
v3	POST	/virtual-cards	Create virtual card	https://developer.flutterwave.com/docs/introduction-1
v3	POST	/virtual-cards/{id}/fund	Fund card	https://developer.flutterwave.com/docs/introduction-1
v4	POST	/payment-methods	Create reusable payment method object	https://developer.flutterwave.com/reference/payment_methods_post
v4	GET	/charges	Track card-related charge activity	https://developer.flutterwave.com/reference/charges_list

Country / Rail Matrix

Market	Rail	Integration Notes
USD cards	Cross-border spend	Watch card funding limits.
NG	Card top-up source	Validate source-of-funds rails.
All	Card status controls	Block/unblock via policy checks.

Usage Example

export async function runVirtualCardsExample() {
  return flwRequest<unknown>("v4", "/payment-methods", {
    method: "GET",
  });
}

Reliability Checklist

• Re-verify successful payment state server-side before fulfillment.
• Store provider ids, internal ids, tx_ref, and event ids for reconciliation.
• Keep webhook consumers idempotent and return HTTP 200 quickly.
• Separate version-specific request/response types to avoid schema mixups.

v4 Delta Note

v4 is resource-centric in the public reference. Keep route maps and payload types versioned in code so agent-generated integrations remain accurate.