Spending Settings - Merchant Exceptions

When logged into your Dashboard, you can use Merchant Exceptions to block or allow purchases at specific merchants. You can also set rules for maximum spending limits per transaction for individual merchants.  

In this article, you’ll learn about the Spending Settings: Merchant Exceptions, which allow administrators to allow or block individual merchants.

Merchant Exceptions overview

Using the Spending categories, you can allow or block purchases for categories of merchants. You may also want to specifically allow or block an individual merchant within a category. Merchant Exceptions allow you to make these individual exceptions. 

For example, if an administrator wants to block purchases from restaurants, but make an exception to allow purchases at one restaurant or chain in particular, they would block “Restaurants” in Spending categories and allow a specific restaurant using Merchant Exceptions.

Please be aware that you do not have to specifically allow a merchant for purchases to be successful. For example, if “Restaurants” is allowed as a spending category, all purchases at restaurants will be allowed. 

Add a Merchant Setting from the “Transactions” tab

You can add a merchant by going to the “Transaction” tab of your administrator dashboard. 

• Click “Show transaction details” next to a transaction from the merchant you would like to add.

  

• In the expanded window, click on the drop-down list to the right of “Transaction setting” and select “Always allow” or “Always block.” 

  • If you select “Always allow” you will be asked whether you’d like to allow transactions of any amount, or up to a specific amount

    

• Click the green “save” button in the lower right corner of the expanded window.

While Merchant Exceptions that are added from the “Transactions” tab go into effect immediately, they have no impact on transactions that are already pending, blocked, or approved transactions.

Add a Merchant Exception from the “Spending Settings” tab

You can add a Merchant Exception by going to the “Spending Settings” tab of your online administrator dashboard.

• Scroll down to the “Merchant Exceptions” section.

• Click the blue “+ Add Merchant Exceptions” button on the right side of the screen.

  

• In the pop-up window, select the relevant merchant from the drop-down list.

• At the bottom of the window you can choose to block or allow all transactions from the selected merchant. Alternatively, you can allow all transactions under a specified dollar amount.

  

What if the merchant I want to add isn’t listed?

If you are attempting to add a Merchant Exception and don’t see the merchant you’re looking for on the drop-down list, you can still add the merchant by providing us with more information.

To add a merchant that is not listed on the drop-down list, follow these steps:

• Go to the “Spending Settings” tab of your administrator dashboard.
• Scroll down to the “Merchant Exceptions” section.
• Click the blue “+Add Merchant Exception” box on the right side of the screen.
• In the pop-up window, check the box next to “The merchant I’m looking for isn’t on the list!”
• Add the merchant name exactly how you expect it to appear. The setting will apply to any transaction that contains the text that you enter in the merchant name. 
  • Tip: Merchants with multiple locations will often appear in the transaction list with a store number or other details (e.g., “Sheila's Pharmacy 382”).
    • If you include the specific store number in your merchant exception you will be applying a merchant exception that only applies to that specific location.
    • If instead, you want to apply a merchant exception that applies to all of a merchant's locations, we recommend leaving out the store number (e.g., "Sheila's Pharmacy").