How your approval policy applies to physical cards

Your approval policy sets spending thresholds for your physical card, separate from your card's monthly budget and regulatory limits. This article explains how the two work together and what happens when you request a top-up.

For: Requesters with a physical card. Admins and Account Owners who set card budgets will also find this useful.

Before you start

You need the Requester role to have an approval policy. Account Owners and Admins are not subject to one—their requests are automatically approved.
An Admin or Account Owner must have ordered your physical card and can set it up with a starting budget and/or a monthly budget.
Your approval policy is configured by your company's Admin or Account Owner and can apply to one or several payment methods.

How your approval policy applies to your physical card

Your approval policy defines two thresholds:

The maximum amount you can spend per transaction without approval.
The maximum amount you can spend per month without approval.

These thresholds apply on top of any monthly budget your Admin has set on your card. For example:

A Requester has an approval policy of €50 per transaction and €500 per month.
Their physical card has a monthly budget of €3,000, approved by an Admin.

If the monthly budget is used up before the end of the month, or the Requester needs more funds for a specific purchase, they can request a top-up. In this example:

A top-up request under €50 is automatically approved.
A top-up request of €50 or more requires approval from a manager.
The Requester can make up to ten top-ups of €50 each (reaching the €500 monthly threshold) without needing approval. Any additional top-up requires approval.

📋 Best practice: If no monthly budget has been set on your physical card, you can still use it—your Admin has simply chosen to fund it only through top-ups.

Check your current approval policy

Click your avatar in the bottom-left corner.
Select My Profile.
Go to the Your approval policy section.
Review the per-transaction and per-month thresholds shown for your card.

👥 Roles: Only users with the Requester role have an approval policy. If you don't see one, contact your Admin.

Request a top-up on your card

Go to the Cards tab.
Select your physical card.
Click Top Up.
Enter the amount you need.
Submit the request.

Depending on your approval policy, the top-up is either processed immediately or sent to your approver. Once approved, the funds are added to your physical card automatically.

Regulatory card limits vs. your approval policy

Your approval policy is separate from the regulatory limits set by Spendesk's card issuer. Even if your approval policy allows a higher amount, you can't exceed these limits:

Limit type	Physical card (EUR)	Physical card (GBP)	Physical card (USD)
Per transaction	€10K	£10K	$50K
Monthly cumulated	€50K	£50K	$50K
Single cash withdrawal	€200	£200	$200
Monthly cash withdrawal	€2K	£2K	N/A
Single contactless payment	€50	£100	$50

💡 Tip: If a top-up or purchase fails even though it's within your approval policy and monthly budget, check whether you've reached one of these regulatory limits.

Troubleshooting

Symptom: A top-up request wasn't automatically approved, even though the amount seems small.

Cause: The requested amount exceeds the per-transaction or per-month threshold in your approval policy.

Resolution:

Go to My Profile > Your approval policy and check your current thresholds.
If the amount is within your threshold but still requires approval, ask your Admin to verify the policy configuration.

Symptom: You can't top up your card, even though you haven't reached your monthly budget.

Cause: The card has reached a regulatory limit (per transaction, monthly cumulated, or cash withdrawal), which is independent of your company's approval policy.