Category limits let you set the most the cardholder can spend in one spending category over a day, a week, or a month. For example, you could allow $150.00 a week at restaurants, while purchases in every other category continue as usual. It's a middle ground between allowing a category and blocking it: the cardholder keeps the freedom to buy what they need, and you know spending in that category won't run past the amount you chose.
You set category limits on the Spending Settings tab for a True Link Visa® Prepaid Card, and you can read more about how categories work in Spending Categories.
In this article, you'll learn how category limits work, how to add, change, or remove one, and how they work alongside your other Spending Settings.
How category limits work
- One limit per category. Each category can have one limit, with its own dollar amount and its own time period. You can set limits on as many categories as you like.
- Daily, weekly, or monthly. Daily limits reset every day at 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Weekly limits reset every Sunday at 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Monthly limits reset on the 1st of each month at 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
- Purchases count as soon as they're pending. A purchase counts toward the limit as soon as it shows as pending, not only once it's finalized.
- Refunds go back toward the limit. If a merchant cancels or refunds a purchase during the same limit period, that amount is added back to what's left.
- Purchases over what's left are declined. If a purchase in that category is more than the amount left for the period, the whole purchase is declined. It isn't split between what's left and the rest of the balance. Purchases in other categories aren't affected.
For example, say you set a weekly limit of $150.00 on Restaurants, and the cardholder has spent $87.60 at restaurants so far this week. They have $62.40 left. A $40.00 lunch would go through, but a $70.00 dinner would be declined. A $70.00 trip to the grocery store would go through as usual, because Grocery Stores is a different category. On Sunday at 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the limit for Restaurants resets.
A category limit never adds money to the Card. The cardholder can only spend what's on the Card, even if more is left in the limit.
Before you begin
- The category must be allowed. A blocked category can't have a limit, because no purchases go through there at all. To set a limit on a category you've blocked, first change it to ALLOW in Spending Categories. Some card programs block certain categories for every Card in the program, and those categories can't have a limit.
- You'll need to have Full or Assistant Access. If you have view-only access, you can see the cardholder's category limits but can't change them. Please ask an administrator on your account with editing access to make the change.
- Setting limits for several cardholders? If you manage many cardholders and would like to set the same category limits in bulk, please contact our Customer Support team, and we'll be glad to help.
How to add a category limit
If you manage one True Link Visa Card, the Client View page is the first page you'll see when you sign in. If you manage multiple True Link Visa Cards, open the Client View page for a cardholder by clicking the View link in that cardholder's row on the All Clients page. Then click View account on the cardholder's True Link Visa Card in the Cards section.
- Click the Spending Settings tab.
- Scroll down to the Category Limits section and click Add Category Limit.
The Add Category Limit window opens.
- Category – click the box and choose a category from the list, or start typing to search for one (for example, "Grocery").
- Maximum spend – enter the most the cardholder can spend in this category each period.
- Frequency – choose Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. The note below the box tells you exactly when the limit resets.
- Click Save Settings.
The limit takes effect right away.
Category limits can also be added, changed, and removed in the True Link Mobile App, in the cardholder's Spending Settings.
In the category list, a category you've blocked appears grayed out with a BLOCKED tag, and a category that already has a limit shows a LIMIT SET tag. To change a category that already has a limit, use its Edit link instead (see below).
See how much is left
The Category Limits section lists every limit on the Card. Each row shows the category, how often its limit resets, and how much the cardholder has left to spend in it this period, for example, "$62.40 remains of $150.00."
When a purchase is declined because of a category limit, the decline reason says so. You can find it in the cardholder's transactions, and you'll get a notice if you've turned on blocked transaction alerts in Customize Alerts. Cardholders who call our automated phone system to check a declined purchase also hear the reason.
How to change or remove a category limit
- On the Spending Settings tab, find the category in the Category Limits section and click Edit.
- In the Edit Category Limit window, change the Maximum spend or Frequency and click Save Settings. Or, to remove the limit, click Delete Limit.
Clicking Delete Limit removes the limit right away, and purchases in that category are allowed again with no cap. If you'd rather stop all purchases in the category, block it in Spending Categories instead.
Please be aware
- Changes count what's already been spent. When you change a limit's amount or frequency, purchases already made in the current period still count toward the new limit. For example, if the cardholder spent $90.00 at restaurants this month and you change a $100.00 weekly limit to a $300.00 monthly limit, they have $210.00 left this month.
- Every limit has to fit. Category limits work alongside your other limits. A purchase goes through only if it fits within the category limit, the Transaction Limit, and any Spending Period Limit on the Card.
- Watch for pre-authorizations. Some merchants, like gas stations, hotels, and restaurants, place a temporary hold for more than the final amount. The full hold counts toward the limit while it's pending, so a purchase can be declined even when the final amount would have fit. When the merchant finalizes the purchase for less in the same period, the difference is added back. If the final charge is more than the hold, for example when a tip is added, the purchase still goes through, and the full amount counts toward the limit. You can read more in Pending and Pre-Authorized Transactions.
- Categories are set at the merchant level. A limit applies to everything bought at merchants in that category. A purchase at a merchant in another category doesn't count toward it, even if the item is similar. For example, groceries bought at a discount store count toward Discount & Variety Stores, not Grocery Stores. True Link can't change the category a merchant is assigned.
- Blocking a category removes its limit. If you block a category that has a limit, the block replaces the limit. To go back, allow the category again and add a new limit.
- Fees don't count. Card fees aren't part of any spending category, so they never count toward a category limit.
- The cardholder can see their limits. When cardholders sign in to check their Card, they can see each category limit and how much of it they've used, but they can't change it.
- Let the cardholder know. If you're adding a category limit for the first time, we recommend telling the cardholder how much they can spend in that category and when it resets. Cardholders who know their limits run into fewer declined purchases.
What happens next
Once you save a limit, it appears in the Category Limits section with how much is left, and it starts counting purchases in that category right away.
From here, you may want to:
- Spending Categories – allow or block whole categories of merchants.
- Spending Period Limits – set one daily, weekly, or monthly limit across all spending on the Card.
- Customize Alerts – get notified when a purchase is declined.
If you have any questions about category limits, please don't hesitate to contact our Customer Support team.