Rule Applicability | The Penny Inc

Every spend control rule requires applicable_transaction_authorizations and applicable_card_issuance_modes. Together, these fields define the transactions for which Penny evaluates the rule. State every value you want the rule to cover; there is no default that means all values.

A rule for managed-card purchases

{
  "rule_type": "transaction_amount",
  "applicable_transaction_authorizations": ["debit"],
  "applicable_card_issuance_modes": ["managed"],
  "configuration": {
    "USD": { "maximum": "500.00" }
  }
}

Transaction authorization types

applicable_transaction_authorizations selects the direction or purpose of the authorization:

Value	Applies to
`debit`	A new debit, such as a card purchase, outbound transfer, ACH debit, or the sell leg of a currency exchange.
`credit`	A credit, such as a merchant-initiated refund, inbound transfer, ACH credit, or the buy leg of a currency exchange. A credit is its own authorization and does not have to reference an earlier debit.
`adjustment`	A non-standard change to a previously authorized transaction, such as correcting a hold or expected balance.

Most card-purchase rules should use ["debit"]. Include credit or adjustment only when the same rule should also govern those authorization types.

Card issuance mode

applicable_card_issuance_modes selects how the card involved in the authorization was issued:

Value	Meaning	Availability
`managed`	A card created through the API and managed by your business over its lifecycle. Use this mode for cards you issue for ongoing or repeat use.	Available

Use ["managed"] for every rule:

{
  "applicable_transaction_authorizations": ["debit"],
  "applicable_card_issuance_modes": ["managed"]
}

The applicability fields do not change the rule’s typed configuration; they determine whether that rule participates in an authorization decision. Spend control responses return both fields on each rule. Fetch GET /spend_controls/rule_types for the current schema and a configuration example for each rule type.