Automatic card locking helps enforce your company's spend policies by locking a cardholder's card when a policy violation goes unresolved for a set number of days. This gives cardholders a clear deadline to resolve issues — like adding a receipt or transaction category — before losing access to their card.
Setting up automatic card locking
- Go to All Settings > Spend Policies > Card spend
- Under Automatic card locking, click Enable
- Configure the number of days a violation can remain unresolved before the card is locked
- Optionally, create exemptions for specific employees or departments
- Click Save to apply changes
What cardholders see
Cardholders can view lock warnings and locked card status from the Cards page on web and mobile.
- If a violation is upcoming or unresolved, a warning icon appears on the card
- If the card is locked, a notice indicates that the card is locked until policy violations are resolved
Notifications
Cardholders receive email notifications about upcoming and active card locks, depending on their notification settings:
- 24 hours before a lock: an email warning that the card will be locked
- At time of lock: an email confirming the card has been locked, with a link to resolve violations
To adjust notification preferences, go to Settings > Notifications.
Unlocking a card
To unlock a card, the cardholder must resolve all outstanding policy violations.
- Go to the Cards page on mobile or web and click into the locked card
- Click Unlock
- Complete the requirements shown — for example, uploading a missing receipt or adding a transaction category
Non-admin cardholders can't unlock a card themselves without resolving the violation — an admin can also manually unlock a card from the Cards page.
Requesting a receipt exception
If a receipt is required but unavailable, cardholders can request an exception instead of uploading one.
- Click Don't have it on the violation
- Provide a reason for the missing receipt
- Submit the request for admin review
If approved, a receipt will no longer be required for that transaction.
Temporary unlocks
In an emergency, a cardholder can temporarily unlock a card for 24 hours to continue using it while violations are pending resolution.
- The first temporary unlock is self-serve
- Any subsequent temporary unlocks must be requested and approved by an admin