Configure authorisation rules

Our API allows you to configure a set of authorization rules based on your needs.

You can block or allow transactions based on the MCC (merchant category code) or the currency of the transaction, allowing for better control on your card programs as you scale up.

Applying a rule will enable this rule on all your card transactions. It means a transaction will be approved or declined according to the rules in place.

Currency codes follow the ISO-4217 standard, please refer to iban.com.

Note that the MCC list is based on Visa or Mastercard schemes.

The Rule resource

The Rule resource returns information on the existing rules that have been created/applied.

Object
idinteger

The unique ID for the authorisation rule

typestring

The type of authorization rule. One of MCC or CURRENCY

operationstring

Determines whether the transactions should be allowed or blocked. One of ALLOW or BLOCK

descriptionstring

The description of the authorization rule

valueslist of values

A list of values based on the type of rule configured

Rule Resource
{
  "id": 123,
  "description": "my authorization rule",
  "type": "MCC",
  "operation": "BLOCK",
  "values": [
    "1234",
    "5678"
  ]
}

Creating an authorization rule

Creates an authorization rule. It won't be enabled unless it is applied.

Request
typetext

The type of authorization rule. One of MCC or CURRENCY

operationtext

Determines whether the transactions should be allowed or blocked. One of ALLOW or BLOCK

description (optional)text

The description of the authorization rule

valueslist of text

A list of values based on the type of rule. For example, setting MCC as type will requires values to be set as ['1234', '5678']

Example Request
curl -X POST 'https://api.sandbox.transferwise.tech/v3/spend/applications/{{clientId}}/spend-controls/rules' \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <your API token>' \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{
        "description": "Blocking all transactions from MCC 1234 and 5678",
        "type": "MCC",
        "operation": "ALLOW",
        "values": ["1234", "5678"]
     }'

Response

Returns a Rule

Applying an authorization rule

Apply an authorization rule. This will result in a rule being evaluated against every incoming card authorisation requests.

Request
ruleIdtext

The ID of the authorization rule

Example Request
curl -X POST 'https://api.sandbox.transferwise.tech/v3/spend/applications/{{clientId}}/spend-controls/rules/apply' \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <your API token>' \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{
        "ruleId": "123",
     }'

Response

Returns a 200 - OK

Unapply an authorization rule

This endpoint deactivates an authorization rule. This will result in all card transactions NOT being evaluated against this rule.

The rule still exists and can be applied again.

Request
ruleIdtext

The ID of the authorization rule

Example Request
curl -X POST 'https://api.sandbox.transferwise.tech/v3/spend/applications/{{clientId}}/spend-controls/rules/unapply' \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <your API token>' \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{
        "ruleId": "123",
     }'

Response

Returns a 200 - OK

Retrieve all applied authorization rules

Returns the list of all the active authorisation rules that have been applied.

Example Request
curl -X GET 'https://api.sandbox.transferwise.tech/v3/spend/applications/{{clientId}}/spend-controls/rules/applied' \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <your API token>'

Response

Returns a list of all authorisation rules that are applied.

Example Response
[
  {
    "ruleId": 123,
  },
  {
    "ruleId": 456,
  }
]

Retrieve all authorization rules

Retrieves all the existing authorization rules, regardless of whether or not they were applied.

Example Request
curl -X GET 'https://api.sandbox.transferwise.tech/v3/spend/applications/{{clientId}}/spend-controls/rules' \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <your API token>'

Response

Returns a collection of Rules.

Example Response
[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "description": "Blacklist gambling MCCs",
    "type": "MCC",
    "operation": "BLOCK",
    "values": [
      "7801",
      "7802",
      "7995",
      "9754"
    ]
  }
]

Deleting an authorization rule

Deletes an authorization rule that is currently not applied. If a rule is applied, you should unapply the rule before deleting it.

Example Request
curl -X DELETE 'https://api.sandbox.transferwise.tech/v3/spend/applications/{{clientId}}/spend-controls/rules/{{ruleId}}' \
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <your API token>' \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json'

Response

Returns a 200 - OK