Product guide
Staying secure with spend controls
Prevent fraud and choose when, where, and how your team uses cards. Learn how to get started with our guide.
Smart, secure spending
In this guide, you'll learn how to use spend controls and other security features to keep your finances safe — empowering your team to spend when they need to, while proactively protecting your account against fraud.
Spend controls can be applied as soon as you set up your Business account. They’re available on all of our plans.
You can apply controls in bulk using spend programs — all cards assigned to a program will have the same rules.
Apply spend programs to existing cards, or any new cards you issue. Create them at any time by going to Cards → Spend programs in-app.
What are spend controls?
Spend controls help keep your company’s money safe. They’re customisable rules you can apply to all cards issued within your business — like spending limits for each transaction, or country controls that determine where a card can be used.
Set budgets with precision
Spending limits prevent over-spend by allowing you to define how much money your team can access. You can customise them to suit nearly any situation:
- Set a budget for a specific time frame — daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or one-off allowances
- Create a maximum transaction amount, like €50 per purchase
- Set a limit in a specific currency on cards for team travel
Define dates for spending
Spending periods let you choose when cards can be used. For example, you can issue a new card for a business trip, then set its spending period for the week that the trip takes place.
Update your spending periods whenever you need to — include an extra weekend if necessary, or remove dates you don’t need.
Transactions made outside your permitted dates are automatically declined. You can even set a card to terminate once a set period ends.
Spending periods prevent unauthorised expenses, keeps company finances safe, and helps you stay in control of team spend.
Open an accountControl where your cards are used
Stay informed, stay secure
These controls help identify misuse or compromised cards — any transaction that breaks your rules is declined and recorded, keeping you informed and your finances safe.- Merchant controls — block or authorise specific merchants, so you only spend with suppliers you trust
- Permitted categories — define allowed spend categories (like airlines or restaurants) to prevent out-of-policy expenses using business cash
- Country controls— restrict card spend by location, so cards issued for international use can only be used within specific countries
Pick the account you pay from
Choose which accounts a card can draw from using our funding accounts feature.
For example, you can avoid exchange fees by connecting a card to a GBP account for domestic spending, and a separate EUR account for travel.
Or, link a card to accounts created for a particular purpose, such as a specific department, vendor, or project. This keeps budgets separate and streamlines expense tracking.
Fees and T&Cs apply.
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Other ways we keep your spending secure
Dedicated control centre
Choose your preferred sign-in method, manage devices (and log out from the ones you don't use), report fraud in seconds, and more.
Wealth Protection
Turn on Wealth Protection to activate our advanced facial recognition technology and withdraw assets with extra security.
Set transfer approvals
Customise expense approval workflows so transactions are always reviewed by the right people — reducing the risk of fraud. Available on Grow, Scale, and Enterprise plans.
Activate cards in-app
Physical cards must be activated in your app before they can be used That’s the only place your PIN is available, too.
Dedicated control centre
Choose your preferred sign-in method, manage devices (and log out from the ones you don't use), report fraud in seconds, and more.
Wealth Protection
Turn on Wealth Protection to activate our advanced facial recognition technology and withdraw assets with extra security.
Set transfer approvals
Customise expense approval workflows so transactions are always reviewed by the right people — reducing the risk of fraud. Available on Grow, Scale, and Enterprise plans.
Activate cards in-app
Physical cards must be activated in your app before they can be used That’s the only place your PIN is available, too.
Freeze out fraudsters
Whether you lose your device, accidentally share a password, or spot unusual activity, don’t wait. Report fraud in seconds to freeze your card in a tap. When account admins report fraud, they even have the option to freeze the entire Business account.
Report fraud