Your Visa® Prepaid Card comes with Spending Settings, which let you customize where and how the Card can be used. You can set up Spending Settings to meet the cardholder's specific needs, and you can update them at any time from the online dashboard or the True Link mobile app.
In this article, you'll learn what each type of Spending Setting does, how the settings work together, and how to update them.
Before you begin
- You'll need full access. Only users with full access can change Spending Settings. If you have read-only access, please ask a user with full access on your account to complete these steps.
Types of Spending Settings
Spending Settings are organized into the groups below. Click a linked setting name to learn more about it.
- Temporary overrides: Block or allow all purchases for a period of time, overriding every other setting on the Card. When you remove the override, the Card returns to its previous settings.
- Cash access (CalABLE and PA ABLE Cards only): Allow or block cash withdrawals at ATMs, cash withdrawals from a teller inside a bank, and cash back with a purchase. Cards from other ABLE plans and from 529 plans can't be used to access cash. To learn more, see Can I withdraw cash with my Visa® Card?
- Spending limits: Set a maximum dollar amount for a single purchase. For CalABLE and PA ABLE Cards only, you can also set a maximum dollar amount for each cash withdrawal. Some Cards also offer Spending Period Limits, which set how much can be spent in a day, week, or month.
- Merchant Exceptions: Block or allow purchases at specific merchants, down to an individual merchant location. You can also set a maximum amount per purchase at a specific merchant.
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Spending categories: Block or allow purchases at entire categories of merchants, as classified by Visa. Spending categories are grouped into:
- Top-line protections: Block online and phone purchases, international transactions, or purchases at merchants flagged by ScamWatch, a feature that watches for merchants known for scams.
- Commonly blocked: For example, block all purchases at merchants categorized as gambling and casinos, bars and liquor stores, dating services, smoke shops, subscriptions, and money transfers.
- Other spending categories: Choose whether to allow or block purchases across 35 spending categories, such as restaurants, gas stations, travel, and charitable donations.
How the settings work together
- Temporary overrides come first. While a temporary override is on, it takes the place of all other Spending Settings on the Card. For CalABLE and PA ABLE Cards, this includes cash access.
- Merchant Exceptions take priority over categories. If you block a spending category but allow a specific merchant in that category with a Merchant Exception, purchases at that merchant are allowed. The same is true for a merchant blocked by a top-line protection.
- You don't need to allow merchants one by one. If a merchant's spending category is allowed, purchases at that merchant are allowed without a Merchant Exception, subject to any spending limits you've set.
Spending Settings apply at the merchant level
Your Card blocks and allows purchases based on the merchant, not the individual items being purchased. This means that if a merchant is allowed, the cardholder can buy anything that merchant sells. For example, it isn't possible to block the purchase of gift cards, because gift cards are a retail item purchased from a merchant.
Update settings
To update a setting on the online dashboard, go to the Spending Settings tab and click the toggle to the right of the setting to switch it to the red BLOCK button or the green ALLOW button. Settings save automatically, can be updated at any time, and take effect immediately.
In the True Link mobile app, log in and tap Spending Settings to update temporary overrides, spending limits, spending categories, and, for CalABLE and PA ABLE Cards, cash access. Merchant Exceptions are added from the online dashboard.
For step-by-step instructions, see the Spending Settings articles linked in the list above.
If you have any questions about Spending Settings, please don't hesitate to contact our Customer Support team.