A programme manager places geometric markers along several wooden paths.

Infrastructure

Rules of use, written before the spend

Earmarking consists of attaching rules of use to electronic money: who may use it, with what type of recipient, during what period and within what limit. These rules apply to the operation, at the moment it is presented.

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Rule matrix

What each rule controls, and what it does not prove

The availability of a rule for your programme is settled at scoping, depending on the data and integrations available. No rule is announced as a given before that step.

Indicative scope. The rules adopted for a programme, their values and their exceptions are set out in its contractual documentation.
Rule	What it controls	What it does not prove	Availability
Authorised holder	The holder’s membership of the programme.	The identity of the person physically using the instrument, absent a dedicated authentication mechanism.	Defined at scoping
Recipient category	The type of merchant or organisation with which the operation may be completed.	The contents of the basket. Filtering by category does not establish the item-by-item nature of the goods purchased.	Defined at scoping
Named recipient	Acceptance of a specific recipient, referenced in the programme.	The compliance of the service invoiced by that recipient.	Defined at scoping
Period	The window during which operations are possible.	The right to redemption of the balance, which follows its own contractual rules.	Defined at scoping
Cap	The maximum cumulative amount, per operation, per day or per period.	The economic relevance of the spend made under the cap.	Defined at scoping

Item-by-item control is not a consequence of earmarking

Distinguishing the beneficiary, the merchant, the merchant category, the period and the cap is enough to frame a use. It does not make it possible to state what was purchased in detail: that level of control requires a specific integration and invoice line data, to be examined case by case.

Demonstration

Try a rule on a fictitious scenario

The same simulation as on the home page: choose a recipient and a cap, submit the operation, read the rule that explains the result.

DemonstrationIllustrative programme, fictitious data

Programme

Programme envelope€120,000Fictitious amount, set for the example.

Used and settled€84,000.00Transactions whose settlement is confirmed.

Reserved, pending€0.00Authorised, not yet settled.

Available€36,000.00Envelope less the used and reserved amounts.

Breakdown of the envelope: used, reserved, available. No negative balance is possible in the simulation.

Framework of use defined for this example

The funder has allocated the envelope to food expenditure, at the merchants it has listed, for holders enrolled in the programme, within a daily cap. These four elements make up the framework: they determine the outcome of every transaction.

Rules

Rule 1

Authorised holder

Only holders enrolled in the programme have a usable balance.

Rule 2

Authorised merchant

The programme lists the accepted merchant categories.

Rule 3

Daily cap

Maximum cumulative amount of transactions over one day.

Transaction recipient

Daily cap remaining in the scenario

Transaction to submit €24.50 Cap remaining: €40.00 · Available: €36,000.00

Transactions

No transaction submitted yet. Open the “Rules” tab, choose a scenario, then submit the €24.50 transaction.

Educational simulation, fictitious data. It neither collects nor moves any funds, connects to no system and does not constitute the list of features offered commercially. Each rule available in a real programme is defined with your organisation and documented in the contract.

Exceptions

What must be provided for explicitly

Can a refused operation be authorised afterwards?

Yes, if the programme provides for a derogation procedure: who requests it, who grants it, on what grounds and with what record. Without a written procedure, a refusal remains a refusal.

What happens if a recipient changes category?

The rule applies to the data available at the time of the operation. The programme must specify who updates a recipient’s referencing and how often.

Can the rules of a programme be changed while it is running?

The terms of modification are defined in the contract: who may request a change, its effect on operations already authorised, and the traceability of the change.

What becomes of an unused balance at the end of a period?

The end of a period of use and the right to redemption of electronic money are two distinct questions. The treatment of balances is settled in the contract; no automatic forfeiture is presumed.

Scoping

Define your programme

We start from the use you want to frame, then adopt only the rules actually needed, no more.

Define your programme