Spending controls
You can use spending controls to block merchant categories (e.g., bakeries), or to set spending limits such as $100.00 per authorization or $3,000.00 per month). You can apply them to both Cards and Cardholders by either setting their spending_controls fields when you create them or by updating them later.
The spending_controls object has the following structure:
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
allowed_categories | array | List of categories of authorizations to allow. All other categories will be blocked. |
blocked_categories | array | List of categories of authorizations to decline. All other categories will be allowed. |
spending_limits | array | List of objects that specify amount-based rules. |
Spending controls run before real-time authorizations and can decline a purchase before the issuing_authorization.request is sent, resulting in a declined issuing_authorization.created event.
Spending limits
Spending limit rules limit the total amount of spending for categories over intervals of time.
The spending_limits field within spending_controls is a list of objects that have the following structure:
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
amount | integer | Maximum spend, in the currency of the card. Amounts in other currencies are converted to the card’s currency when evaluating this control. |
interval | enum | Time interval to which the amount applies. See the Card spending_controls for the possible values. |
categories | array (optional) | List of categories this limit applies to. Omitting this field will apply the limit to all categories. |
If you don’t set spending_limits, a default spending limit is applied to the newly created card in the amount of $500.00 per day. Contact Support to disable this behavior.
A card’s spending limits apply across any cards it replaced (i.e., its replacement_for card and that card’s replacement_for card, up the chain). A cardholder’s spending limits apply across all of their cards.
Each spending limit only applies to its own categories. Spending limits alone do not block categories and should be used with either allowed_categories or blocked_categories to restrict spending to specific business types.
If a cardholder has overlapping spending limits (e.g., $100.00 per authorization and $50.00 per authorization for their card), the most restrictive spending control applies.
Additional tips and fees can be posted at a later time, causing a spending limit to be exceeded.
Examples
The following examples demonstrate different uses of spending controls for cards and cardholders.