Spending Period Limits allow administrators to set the amount of money that a cardholder can spend from their Visa® Prepaid Card balance during a given time period: day, week, or month. This feature is found on the Spending Settings page and is a tool that allows administrators to fund the card account with a larger transfer and prevent the funds from being spent at once.
When a Spending Period Limit is in place, the cardholder will need to review both their Visa Card balance and the amount remaining for them to spend in their budget period.
For example, if a card has a balance of $500.00 and a weekly spending limit of $100.00, the cardholder could only spend $100.00 each week. If the cardholder attempts to spend more than $100 in a week, the card will be declined.
If a card has a balance of $10.00 and a weekly spending limit of $100.00, the cardholder could only spend up to $10.00 (the amount available on their card) until the card is funded again.
If you are using this feature for the first time, we recommend letting the cardholder know if their card can only be used for a certain amount each spending period. Cardholders who are made aware of the spending period limits experience fewer declined transactions on their Visa Cards.
If you do not see this feature on your cardholder’s dashboard
If you are interested in this feature and do not see it on the Spending Settings page, please reach out to our Support Team at support@truelinkfinancial.com, and we will be happy to enable this feature for you. We invite you to keep reading below for answers to frequently asked questions.
FAQ:
Q: When do the Spending Periods reset?
A:
- Daily spending periods reset every day at 2:00 a.m. PT / 5:00 a.m. ET
- Weekly spending periods reset every Sunday at 2:00 a.m. PT / 5:00 a.m. ET.
- Monthly spending periods reset on the 1st of every month at 2:00 a.m. PT / 5:00 a.m. ET
Q: How do I know when the feature is turned on
A: When the Spending Period Limit box is checked, the feature is enabled.
Q: Can Cardholders view the amount they have left to spend in a given period?
A: Yes, cardholders with Spending Period Limits have several ways to access both the amount they have remaining in a given spending period, as well as their ABLE Visa Card balance.
-
Cardholders can log into our website (using last four of SSN, last four
of card number, and DOB)
- Cardholders can call 1-800-299-7646 and press 1 to hear their current balance and the amount remaining in the spending period
- Cardholders with mobile phones can text the word “balance” and the last four digits of their card number to 1-800-299-7646.
More information about how cardholders account access and setting up text-for-balance can be found in this Help Center article.
Q: Where is the spending period limit setting located?
A: You can find this setting under the Spending Limits section of your Spending Settings page.
Q: If a transaction is pending does it count against the spending period limit?
A: Yes, the amount remaining in the spending period will be impacted as soon as a transaction is pending.
Q: What if the pending transaction amount is higher than the amount the merchant finalizes the transaction for?
A: If the merchant finalizes a transaction for less than the pending amount, within the same spending period that the card was used, the spending period limit will update to reflect the amount the transaction was finalized for. A common example would be gas station holds. If a cardholder has a weekly spending limit of $100.00, the cardholder swipes the card at a gas station pump on a Monday, and the pending gas station transaction is for $50.00, the amount remaining in the weekly spending period will be $50.00. If the gas station finalizes the transaction for $30.00 on Tuesday of the same week, the amount remaining in the weekly spending period will adjust to $70.00.
Q: How do merchant-cancelled transactions impact the spending limit?
A: If a merchant cancels a transaction in the same spending period that the transaction was made, then the amount remaining in the spending limit will update (increase) to reflect that the transaction did not occur. However, if the cancellation happens in a new period (e.g., you have a weekly spending limit, and the transaction takes place in week 1 but is reversed or cancelled in week 2, the reversal will not impact the week 2 spending limit.
Q: What happens if I make a change to the limit?
A: If you switch the time period or the dollar limit, the spending progress for the new time period will be calculated (see question above: When do Spending Periods reset? up above).
For example, let's say a cardholder spends $40 in week 1 of the month and $30 in week 2 of the same month. If an administrator changed the weekly limit of $50 to a monthly limit of $200, in week 3 of the month, then the amount remaining in the monthly spending limit would be $130 (out of $200 for the month).
Q: What happens if I change the limit and my client is already over the new limit I set?
A: All new transactions will be immediately blocked.
Q: What happens if the amount remaining in the spending limit is greater than the card balance?
A: The cardholder would only be able to spend the amount reflected in their card balance.