If you are experiencing a failed payment, please check your email inbox for a notification—we’ll usually send you a message explaining why your payment was declined and what steps to take next.
Several factors could contribute to this situation. Here, we cover the most common reasons why your Spendesk card might have been declined and how you can resolve these issues.
Card budget too low
Physical Card:
Make sure your card has sufficient funds available. If needed, you can request a top-up by going to Cards > top up.
Single-Use Virtual Card:
If your card doesn’t have enough funds, cancel the current request and create a new one with an amount that covers your expense.
Recurring Virtual Card:
To increase your available budget, go to Cards > Subscriptions, select the relevant subscription, click Edit Subscription, then increase amount per period.
Tip:
If you’re making a payment in a different currency, ensure your card balance is sufficient to cover possible currency conversion fees.
Card restrictions set by your Admin
Restrictions may be placed on your physical card by an account owner or admin, preventing certain transactions or card usage altogether. Those restrictions can limit certain merchant categories, payment types (online, contactless), days of week or cash withdrawals. To check what restrictions may apply to your card:
Go to the Card tab.
View the authorizations
View your spending categories limitations
Contact your admin or finance team if you have any questions on the restrictions that apply to your card. You can also read more about this topic here.
Contactless payment Issues
First card payment: for security reasons, you need to make your first transaction using a PIN before using contactless payments. This activates the contactless feature on your Spendesk card.
Consecutive contactless payments limit: after 5 contactless payments, you will be asked to enter your pin.
Regulatory spending limits
There are standard daily/monthly limits that will apply to your cards, even if you have sufficient funds.
Please see this article for a detailed breakdown of limits per card type.
Card blocked due to late receipts
If you haven't submitted receipts for past transactions, your card might be blocked because you haven’t followed the rules set up by your admin. You can view those rules by going to your Dashboard.
See this article for further information on your rules.
3D Secure (3DS) Authentication
For online payments, there is an extra layer of security. Ensure your phone number is added in My profile > Security phone number. This enables you to log in our mobile app and receive SMS codes.
If your account is based in EEA (EUR)
Download our mobile application, as you’ll be prompted to validate the online payment in-app with 3DS.
If your account is based in the UK (GBP)
Download our mobile application.
Receive a one-time-password SMS code.
Reveal your payment password by going to My Cards.
Incorrect card information
Card Details: Double-check the card number, expiration date, CVV, and card type (Visa).
Cardholder Name: If your name includes an apostrophe, omit it to avoid payment refusals.
Billing Address: Ensure it matches the billing address associated with your Spendesk card. Your billing address appears under every card you have.
Billing Country: Payments may fail if the supplier’s country differs from your card’s origin.
Insufficient funds in company account
Your transaction could be failing due to insufficient funds in your company account. If that is the case, you should contact your admin about it.
Card expiry
Ensure your card hasn't expired. If it has, you'll need to request a new one from your admin.
Physical card issues - on your side
Damaged Chip: request a new card through your account owner.
Incorrect PIN: Ensure the PIN is correct.
Exceeded Contactless Payments: Complete a payment using the PIN to reset contactless functionality.
Next steps
In case of a card decline, here are some actionable steps:
Check Notifications: Spendesk notifications might indicate the reason for the decline.
Contact Your Admin: Reach out to your account owner or admin for any restrictions or necessary actions.
Retry the Transaction: If it was a temporary issue, try the transaction again after a short delay.
By understanding these potential reasons, you can manage your Spendesk card better and reduce the chances of future declines. If further assistance is needed, don't hesitate to contact Spendesk support for help.