Your card can be blocked for several different reasons, each with its own recovery steps. This article explains how Spendesk prioritizes block reasons and how to unblock your card.
For: All Spendesk cardholders and Admins, on physical and virtual cards.
Before you start
You need access to your card page to see the exact block reason.
Cardholders can self-unblock only when the block was self-initiated and their permissions allow it.
Admins can unblock cards from the cardholder's profile, regardless of who initiated the block (except banking partner and Spendesk Support blocks).
How priority works
If several block reasons apply to your card at the same time, the card page shows only the most important one, along with who blocked the card (when applicable). A card stays blocked until every active reason is resolved — clearing one reason may not immediately unblock the card if others still apply.
Tip: After resolving a block reason, refresh the card page. If the card is still blocked, a new reason may now be shown.
Blocking reasons and how to fix them
Sorted from most to least important.
Block reason | What it means | What you'll see | How to recover |
User-initiated | The cardholder, or an admin acting on their behalf, manually blocked the card. | "Blocked by [cardholder/admin] since [date]" | Cardholder: Go to the card page and click Unblock (if your permissions allow it). Admin: Open the card from the requester's profile and click Unblock. |
Control rule (Play by the Rules) | Your company's Play by the Rules settings require you to complete an action, such as submitting a receipt or missing payment information. | "Card has been blocked due to missing receipts" | Submit the missing receipts or information for the flagged payments. The card unblocks automatically once requirements are met. |
Agent-initiated | A Spendesk operator blocked the card, typically for security or compliance reasons. | "Card has been blocked by Spendesk" | Contact your admin or Spendesk Support to review the block. Cardholders cannot unblock this themselves — it requires a manual unblock by Spendesk. |
Schedule-initiated | The card can only be used during a schedule set by your company (for example, weekdays 9:00–17:00 in a set timezone). | "Card has been blocked due to configured schedule" | Wait until the next authorized time window, shown on the My Card page. Admins can edit or disable the schedule in the card settings. |
Banking partner | Our banking partner blocked the card, for example due to suspicious activity, repeated failed PIN or chip authentication attempts, or network-level security checks. | "Restricted access" | Contact Spendesk Support (or ask your admin to contact Support) to investigate. Timing depends on the banking partner's review. See Card blocked after 3 attempts with a wrong PIN code if you entered the wrong PIN. |
FAQs
Why is my card still blocked after I fixed one issue?
Multiple block reasons can apply at once. Your card only becomes usable again once all reasons are resolved. Check the card page for the next most important reason.
Can I see who blocked the card?
Yes. When applicable, the card page shows who blocked it (for example, a user or a Spendesk agent).
Can I see all block reasons at once?
No, only the most important reason is shown at a time. Resolve it, then refresh the card page to check for any remaining reasons.
How long do automatic unblocks take?
Play by the Rules: immediately after you complete the required action (a short delay may occur before it reflects).