---
title: "Auto-blocking of cards for late expenses - Payhawk Help Center"
slug: "how-does-auto-blocking-of-cards-due-to-late-expenses-work-in-payhawk-and-how-can-users-resolve-it"
description: "Understand why Payhawk automatically blocks cards when expenses are submitted late, how to avoid blocks, reactivate a blocked card and configure the policy."
updated: 2026-10-27T16:18:29Z
published: 2026-10-27T16:18:29Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/how-does-auto-blocking-of-cards-due-to-late-expenses-work-in-payhawk-and-how-can-users-resolve-it"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://payhawk.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How does auto-blocking of cards due to late expenses work in Payhawk, and how can I resolve it?

To help businesses manage compliance with expense submissions, Payhawk features auto-blocking policies on cards. This article explains how the feature operates, steps to avoid auto-blocking, and guidance for resolving or configuring such policies.

## Overview of auto-blocking policies

A Payhawk card can be set to automatically block if card expenses remain unsubmitted beyond a configured threshold.

An expense is considered late if it remains in **Submit** status beyond the allowed timeframe, which can vary, for example, seven days.

The card can block once a certain number of such late expenses are accumulated, for example, five late expenses over five days.

## Reasons for cards auto-blocking

- When the threshold for unsubmitted expenses is reached, the card will block, and any payments attempted during this time will decline.
- Cards can block due to alerts from the payment network, such as Visa, indicating potential compromised data such as CVV or PAN.
- Cards can block due to network alerts such as potential fraud detected by Visa. These blocks protect funds from unauthorized transactions. If such an issue occurs, contact the Payhawk Support team.
- Entering an incorrect PIN three consecutive times blocks the physical card. To reactivate it, reset your PIN in the Payhawk Mobile App, then perform a balance check at an ATM using the new PIN.

## Avoiding cards auto-blocking

To prevent cards from being blocked by the system:

- Regularly check and complete outstanding expense submissions.
- For pending hotel authorizations or similar cases, attach a placeholder image and submit the expense with a note clarifying it's an expected authorization to expire.
- Payhawk sends alerts prompting users to submit expenses and avoid auto-blocking events.

## Reactivating a blocked card

When a card gets blocked due to unsubmitted expenses:

1. [Expenses must be submitted](/help/company-spend-policies-affecting-payhawk-cardholders#unblocking-your-payhawk-card). In some configurations, submitting even one overdue expense triggers automatic reactivation of the card. However, other policies require all overdue expenses to be cleared before unblocking.
2. Once the card is active again, previously declined payments can be retried.

## Enabling auto-blocking policies

As a Payhawk Administrator, you can configure auto-blocking for an individual card or for a whole spend policy, from its **Advanced controls**:

1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), go to **Cards**, and open the desired card or spend policy.
2. On its **Settings** tab, click on **Edit** next to **Advanced controls**.
3. Switch on the **Auto-Blocking cards** toggle button, then modify the parameters to reflect your requirements:
  - Define the timeline for expenses to be considered late, for example, **3 days**.
  - Set the number of late expenses allowed before triggering auto-blocking, for example, **5**.
4. Click on **Save**.

## Useful resources

- [How can I handle blocked card transactions and payments to restricted merchants?](/help/how-can-i-handle-blocked-card-transactions-and-payments-to-restricted-merchants)
- [Unsupported card transactions and reasons for failed card transactions](/help/unsupported-card-transactions-and-reasons-for-failed-card-transactions)