Activate your Spendesk physical card on desktop or in the mobile app to start making payments and access your PIN. This guide covers the steps for both platforms and how to fix common activation problems.
For: Requesters, Admins, and Account Owners who have received a Spendesk physical card.
Before you start
You need a Spendesk account and a physical card that has already been delivered to you.
You must be logged into the correct entity if your company operates multiple entities on Spendesk.
👥 Roles: You can only activate your own physical card. Admins and Account Owners can't activate a card on behalf of another cardholder.
Activate your card on desktop
Log in to your Spendesk account.
Navigate to the Cards page.
Select My physical card page
Click I received my card.
Enter the last four digits of your card.
Click Confirm to complete activation.
View your PIN code on the confirmation screen.
Activate your card on the mobile app
Download and install the Spendesk mobile app.
Log in with your Spendesk credentials.
Follow the guided activation steps that appear automatically when you open the app.
Click I received my card from the homepage.
Enter the last four digits of your card when prompted.
Tap Confirm to complete activation.
View your PIN code, manage your card, or attach receipts from the app.
Expected results
Once activation is complete, you can view your PIN code (in-app or on desktop), manage your card (block or unblock it), check your balance, and ask for a top up. Spendesk never sends PIN codes by email. You can only view your PIN in the app or on desktop after activation.
Troubleshooting
Symptom: The "I received my card" button doesn't appear on desktopor mobile.
Cause: You may be checking the wrong screen, or you're logged into the wrong entity.
Resolution: Confirm you're on the Card tab. If your company has multiple entities, switch to the correct one first.
Symptom: The last four digits you enter are rejected repeatedly.
Cause: Two cards may have been ordered for you, and one was later deleted, you might be entering the digits for the wrong one.
Resolution: Ask your Admin to confirm which card is currently active for you, then retry activation with the correct digits.
Symptom: Activation fails with an error even though the card details are correct.
Cause: You're logged into the wrong entity. Activating a card's last four digits on the wrong entity always returns an error.
Resolution: Switch to the correct entity, on mobile, tap your entity's name and select the right one; on desktop, switch entities from your account menu, then retry activation.
If these steps don't resolve the issue, contact your Admin or Spendesk support for assistance.