This article explains why you might see a "pending" charge from your Perk Card even though the transaction was declined, and when it will clear.
Does PerkUp hold my funds when a purchase is declined?
No. When a Perk Card purchase is declined, PerkUp never holds any funds — no money leaves your balance. Your spendable balance is exactly what it was before the attempted purchase.
Then why do I see a pending charge at my bank or the merchant?
That pending line comes from the merchant's own payment system, not from PerkUp. Merchants often show a temporary authorization message on their end when a card is used, even if the payment itself was declined. It reflects the merchant's process, not an actual hold on your Perk Card balance.
How long does the pending charge take to disappear?
It drops off on its own — PerkUp doesn't control the timing since the pending line lives on the merchant's or bank's side, not in your PerkUp balance.
Is this different from a hold on an approved purchase?
Yes. When a purchase is approved, PerkUp places a hold on the reward(s) funding it. If the merchant later reverses the charge or the authorization expires, those funds release back to the exact reward(s) they came from automatically. A decline never creates this kind of hold in the first place — there's simply nothing on PerkUp's side to release.
What should I do if the pending charge doesn't go away?
Give it a few days to clear on its own, since it's outside PerkUp's system. If the pending charge is still showing after that and hasn't disappeared, contact support through the messenger on this help center or in the app with the merchant name and approximate date so we can look into it.