Card freezes

Card freezes let you choose where and how your credit card is used. It’s in your control, which means you can switch them on or off at any time. 

Here are the types of freezes you can use:

• Freeze your card
• Abroad
• Online and remote
• In person
• ATM withdrawals
• Freeze gambling

Contactless transactions - stops contactless transactions worldwide –including digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The contactless limit increased to £100 on 15 October 2021.  To give you even more control over your card, you can now change your contactless limit in the Card freezes and limits section of our app.

‘Freeze card’ is a quick way to apply all available restrictions to your credit card, while ‘set specific restrictions’ lets you apply individual freezes.

When you report your card as lost or stolen, we will cancel it and order you a new one. You won’t need to do this with Card Freezes; they are temporary, so you can switch them on or off as you need.

This stops your card being used in physical terminals and ATMs outside of the UK -including digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

It does not stop:

• Transactions where merchants don’t request prior authorisation e.g. payments on TFL or on planes

Please note: Card freezes depend on how and when payments are processed. Some payments are processed instantly and others, like some public transport services or online merchants, are processed later. If you turn on your Card Freeze before the payment is processed, the transaction may be stopped.

We also rely on transactions being categorised correctly. In the rare case that this doesn’t happen, we can’t always stop the transaction through Card freezes.

If you don’t recognise a transaction, please call us on 03456 062 062 (or +44 1244 659 005 from outside the UK).

This stops transactions where your card isn’t there when you pay. For example, online, in-app, phone and mail order payments. It includes digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

It does not stop:

• Anything the merchant considers to be a recurring transaction 
• Transactions where merchants don’t request prior authorisation e.g. payments on TFL or on planes

Please note: Card freezes depend on how and when payments are processed. Some payments are processed instantly and others, like some public transport services or online merchants, are processed later. If you turn on your Card freeze before the payment is processed, the transaction may be stopped.

We also rely on transactions being categorised correctly. In the rare case that this doesn’t happen, we can’t always stop the transaction through Card freezes

If you don’t recognise a transaction, please call us on 03456 062 062 (or +44 1244 659 005 from outside the UK).

This stops transactions where you use your card to make a payment in person,–including digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

It does not stop:

• ATM withdrawals 
• Transactions where retailers don’t ask for bank authorisation e.g. payments on TFL or on planes

Please note: Card freezes depend on how and when payments are processed. Some payments are processed instantly and others, like some public transport services or online merchants, are processed later. If you turn on your Card freeze before the payment is processed, the transaction may be stopped.

We also rely on transactions being categorised correctly. In the rare case that this doesn’t happen, we can’t always stop the transaction through Card freezes

If you don’t recognise a transaction, please call us on 03456 062 062 (or +44 1244 659 005 from outside the UK).

This stops ATM withdrawals worldwide.

It does not stop:

• Other ATM activities e.g. PIN services

This stops most credit card transactions but there are some exceptions.

It does not stop:

• Balance transfers and money transfers 
• Payments into your account e.g. refunds 
• Recurring transactions. Your card can still be used for recurring payments such as household bills 
• Transactions where retailers don’t ask for bank authorisation e.g. payments on TFL or on planes

Every time you pay for something with your card, we know the type of merchant you’ve paid by the code they use to identify themselves.

When your freeze is turned on, we’ll block any transaction attempted with those who identify themselves as gambling merchants.

If the transaction doesn’t appear to have been made at a gambling merchant, or the merchant hasn’t authorised it with us first, then we won’t be able to stop it –even if you believe it to be gambling related.

Payments made in to your account, like winnings, withdrawals or refunds, will not be affected and will still go through.

How do I turn it off?

To turn this off, just tap the ‘Remove freeze’ button in the MBNA Card Services App. You won’t need to call us.

Once you’ve done this, we’ll remove the freeze after 48 hours to give you time to change your mind –and your ‘Freeze gambling’ status will change to ‘OFF’.

Card Freezes don’t stop all transactions. Each freeze has some exceptions. Read more details on the Card Freeze you’re looking for in the How does Freeze card workWhat does it exclude question.

Card freezes depend on how and when payments are processed. Some payments are processed instantly and others, like some public transport services or online merchants, are processed later. If you buy something online with the ‘online and remote’ freeze off but turn it back on before the payment is processed, it may still be stopped.

All settings will be copied over to new cards unless your old card has been reported as lost or stolen. If this happens, you will need to reapply your freezes to your new card.

We’ll stop the transaction and send an SMS to the UK mobile number we hold on record for you. This will tell you the details of the transaction.

Currently, you can only use Card Freezes on our MBNA Card Services App.

If you need to turn off Card Freezes but can’t access the MBNA Card Services App, we can help if you call us.

As the primary cardholder, only you can apply Card Freezes to your primary and additional cards and each card can have different freezes.

If we stop a transaction because of a freeze, we’ll send you an SMS.

If you have additional cardholders, your cards won’t show in Card Freezes if more than one card under your account shares the same card number. If this applies to you, please order a new primary card and all cards with the same number will be replaced. Once you get your replacement cards, you'll be able to use Card Freezes.

Please note: when ordering your replacement, please use the ‘replace card and PIN’ service and not the ‘lost or stolen’ service. Using ‘replace card and PIN’ lets you use your existing cards until your new cards arrive.