Payroll by Card allows eligible accounts to fund their business payroll using their business credit card. This works even if your payroll provider normally only debits your bank account automatically. This guide walks you through adding your payroll bank account, confirming your preferred funding card, and submitting your Payroll by Card payment.
In this guide, you'll learn:
- What you'll need before you start
- How to schedule funding for your payroll
- How to track your payroll funding payment
What you'll need before you start
Payroll by Card is currently only available for eligible accounts. If you don't see this option in your left sidebar and are interested in the feature, please schedule a call with our sales team.
Before you begin using Payroll by Card, have these ready:
- A Visa or Mastercard business credit card. At this time, Amex isn't supported.
- Your official payroll document from your provider (for example, ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Rippling, or QuickBooks Online Payroll).
- Your payroll bank account details.
- This is the same account your payroll provider already withdraws funds from automatically.
Only account Owners and Admins can access Payroll by Card.
Your payroll documentation must include the following:
- Your payroll provider's name/logo
- Your business name
- The full payroll run total
- Pay date
- Debit date
- Payroll period
The amount you enter for your transaction must match your payroll document exactly, or the payment will be declined.
How to schedule funding for your payroll
1- Select Payroll by Card in the left sidebar.
2- Select + Fund payroll.
The screen may look slightly different if this is your first Payroll by Card payment.
3- Enter your Payroll amount. Be sure to enter the exact total shown on your payroll document.
You can fund up to $3 million per payroll payment.
4- Select or drop your payroll attachment to upload your payroll document. Review your attachment to ensure it includes all of the following details:
- Your payroll provider's name/logo
- Your business name
- The full payroll run total
- Pay date
- Debit date
- Payroll period
Melio accepts JPG, JPEG, PNG, or PDF files from your payroll provider, up to 25 MB.
5- Confirm your preferred funding card under Fund with.
- If you already have an eligible card on file, select it from the dropdown.
- If not, select + Add card and enter your card and cardholder details, then select Save.
Only Visa and Mastercard are eligible funding cards for Payroll by Card. Amex isn't supported.
6- Under Deliver to, select Add payroll delivery method to add your payroll bank account.
If you've already added your Payroll bank account, select it from the dropdown instead of adding it again. Proceed to step 9.
7- Enter your delivery information and select Add. The Payroll bank account delivery method options are:
- Wire transfer - to learn more about the fees associated with this type of payment, check out this page.
- ACH transfer - to learn more about the fees associated with this type of payment, check out this page.
Your available delivery date will be shown before you confirm your payment. Once reviewed, payments will be sent the same day or the next business day, depending on the wire or ACH transfer cutoff time. More details on delivery ETAs can be found in this guide.
Make sure the bank account you enter is the same account your payroll provider already debits from on payday. Adding a different account won't fund your payroll correctly.
8- Confirm your pre-filled Business details (business name, contact name, email, phone number, and company address), then select Save.
Your business name is pre-filled from your account details. To ensure smooth processing, please do not add any suffixes.
9- Review your Payment summary, including your payroll amount, card fees, total amount, and delivery date.
If you choose wire transfer, the wire fee will appear as its own line item, separate from the card fee. More information on wire fees can be found here.
10- Select Confirm and pay.
By confirming, you acknowledge that card payments for payroll are for goods and services received. You'll only see this disclaimer the first time you complete a transaction using Payroll by Card.
11- You'll see a Funding scheduled confirmation with your payment summary, including the Payment ID, destination, funding method, debit date, delivery method, delivery date, fees, and total amount.
Your payment and uploaded payroll document must first be reviewed before your card is charged. Your card won't be charged until this review is complete.
If your organization uses approval workflows, this payment may need approval before funding continues. You can check its status in your Approvals tab.
How to track your payroll funding payment
Once your payment passes review, funds are typically sent the same day or the next business day, depending on your delivery method's cutoff time.
You can view your payroll funding history anytime in your Payroll by Card dashboard or Pay dashboard:
| Status | What it means |
| Pending | Your payment is on hold before it starts processing - for example, if it's awaiting approval from an approver on your account. |
| Scheduled | Your payment has been submitted and our team is reviewing the payroll documentation. |
| In progress | The review is complete, and your card will now be charged as the payment is processed. |
| Paid | Your card has been charged and the funds have also been delivered to your Payroll bank account. |
| Refunded | Your card was charged for this payment and has since been refunded. |
| Failed | The payment was not successful. Common failure reasons include unsuccessful collection of funds or unsuccessful delivery. |
| Declined | This payment did not pass our team’s review process. |
| Canceled | This payment was canceled before it began processing. |
To filter your Payroll fundings by status, select Filters, then choose one or more statuses from the list, and select Apply.
- From your Payroll by Card dashboard:
- From your Pay dashboard:
That's it! You've added your payroll bank account, confirmed your funding card, and submitted your payment with Payroll by Card.