Block & unblock physical cards

Blocked for incorrect PIN attempts

If a card was blocked without request, it might be because the cardholder made too many incorrect attempts to enter their PIN.

Temporarily block a physical card

You can temporarily suspend a physical card with the suspendPhysicalCard mutation.

Unblock a physical card

To unblock a physical card with the resumePhysicalCard mutation, you must:

• Be signed in.
• Use a user access token in the name of the card's account member.

A consentUrl is returned inviting the user to start the Strong Customer Authentication with Swan.

If you chose to block the card, the card can be used immediately after you unblock it.

Unblock after 3 incorrect PIN attempts

If a card was blocked because the PIN was entered incorrectly 3 times, the cardholder must complete the process to resume the card, with one potential interaction from your side depending on your integration.

1. Wait 24 hours from the last incorrect PIN attempt.
2. You or the cardholder call the resumePhysicalCard mutation to start the unblocking process:
   • Cardholder: In Swan's Web Banking interface, clicking Unblock calls this mutation. Refer to Swan's Support Center for more information. If you don't use Swan's Web Banking, consider designing your integration with a similar action.
   • You: If your integration doesn't allow the cardholder to do so, you need to call the mutation.
   Wait 24 hours

   If the resumePhysicalCard mutation is called before 24 hours pass, it returns an error.

3. The cardholder consents to the operation.
   • After receiving consent, the physical card status returns from Suspended to its previous status, ToActivate. If the card is in the renewal process, the status returns to Renewed.
4. The cardholder enters their original PIN at an ATM (reminder: a card's PIN never changes).

View PIN

• You can display the cardholder's PIN with the API.
• If you use Swan's Web Banking interface, the cardholder can view their PIN themselves.

Finalizing card unblocking at an ATM

To unblock their card, the cardholder must insert it into an ATM and enter their original PIN. They do not need to withdraw money.

The success of this process depends on two factors:

• Whether the cardholder has withdrawal permissions.
• Whether they enter the correct PIN.

Following this process, the card will be either completely unblocked or remain suspended.

Withdrawal permission	PIN entered	Transaction outcome	Rejection reason	Card status change
True	Correct	Accepted	None	Card is completely unblocked
	Incorrect	Rejected	InvalidPin	Card remains suspended
False	Correct	Rejected	TransactionNotAuthorizedForCardholder	Card is completely unblocked
	Incorrect	Rejected	InvalidPin	Card remains active (2 attempts left before suspension)

Special case: Pending unblocking after resumePhysicalCard

If the cardholder has called the resumePhysicalCard mutation but hasn't completed the ATM step, and the payment terminal doesn't support PIN resets:

• The system rejects any transaction attempt (correct or incorrect PIN).
• The rejection reason is InvalidPinAttemptsExceeded.
• The card becomes Suspended again.