# Spending restrictions and limits for stablecoin-backed cards

Learn which merchant categories, spending limits, and velocity controls Stripe applies when it authorizes stablecoin-backed card purchases.

Stripe applies the following rules when it authorizes purchases on every stablecoin-backed card program, in addition to any [spending controls](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md) you set. Stripe declines authorizations that break these rules, and can add restrictions to meet evolving bank and compliance requirements.

## Blocked merchant categories

Cardholders can’t use their cards at businesses in the following [merchant categories](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/categories.md):

| MCC | Merchant category |
| --- | --- |
| 5122 | Drugs, drug proprietaries, and druggist sundries (wholesale distributors) |
| 5723 | Guns and ammunition shops |
| 5967 | Direct marketing: inbound teleservices |
| 6010 | Financial institutions: manual cash disbursements |
| 6011 | Financial institutions: automated cash disbursements (ATMs) |
| 6051 | Non-financial institutions: foreign currency, liquid assets, or cryptocurrency |
| 7273 | Dating and escort services |
| 7800 | Government-owned lotteries (US) |
| 7801 | Government-licensed online casinos (US) |
| 7802 | Government-licensed horse and dog racing (US) |
| 7995 | Betting, including lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, and off-track betting |
| 9406 | Government-owned lotteries (outside the US) |

## Limited merchant categories

Spending at businesses in these merchant categories is limited to a weekly amount for each cardholder:

| MCC | Merchant category |
| --- | --- |
| 4829 | Money transfer |
| 6211 | Security brokers and dealers |
| 6540 | Non-financial institutions: stored value card purchases and loads |

## Spending limits

Default spending limits depend on your program type. See [default spending limits](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/controls/spending-controls.md#spending-limits). Your spending controls can set lower limits, but they can’t raise the program limits.

If a cardholder enters an incorrect PIN three consecutive times, the PIN becomes blocked and the card’s status is set to `inactive`. Learn how to [unblock a card’s PIN](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/cards/pin-management.md#unblock-a-cards-pin).

For merchant categories that commonly capture more than they authorize, such as restaurants and car rentals, Stripe holds a reserve at authorization. See [holds for reserves and fees](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/bridge-stablecoin-cards/hold-details.md).