> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.agentcard.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# agent-cards cards preset allow-merchant

> Remember a merchant so the next matching charge is allowed

Remember a merchant so the next matching charge is allowed

```bash theme={null}
agent-cards cards preset allow-merchant --help
```

```text theme={null}
Usage: agent-cards cards preset allow-merchant [options] <card-id-or-account> <pattern>

Remember a merchant so the next matching charge is allowed (card id, or
"account" for the standing preset)

Options:
  --json      Output as JSON
  -h, --help  display help for command
```

Use this after a category or merchant rule refused a charge, or after a `Watch` notification. One step: no form, no support ticket, no new card, and the merchant stays allowed on that card from then on. The loop is three lines: the purchase is refused and you are told why; you run this command naming the merchant; the card resumes and the retry goes through. The pause or watch notice carries this command with the card id and merchant filled in. The pattern is a case-insensitive substring of the merchant descriptor: `starbucks` matches `STARBUCKS #123`. The rest of the preset stays in force; spend, place, currency, time, and `--only-from` rules still apply.

```bash theme={null}
agent-cards cards preset allow-merchant cmtt4mw7s001fbr8zeel9tzse 'GROCERY MART'   # this card only (new version of its preset)
agent-cards cards preset allow-merchant account 'GROCERY MART'                      # the account default: new cards inherit it
```

If this card was created with `Strict` categories, the card network still enforces the category lock it was given when the card was made, and we cannot widen it afterwards. A purchase made directly at that merchant, outside Agentcard checkout, can still be declined by the network; the output tells you when that applies. If you need both to work, create a new card from the same preset. If a multi-use card was paused after settlement: allow the merchant, run `agent-cards cards resume <card-id>`, then retry. See [Allow a refused merchant](/issuing/set-rules-on-a-card#allow-a-refused-merchant).

Captured from a local sandbox after a grocery charge paused a reusable `ai_labs` card:

```text theme={null}
── Merchant remembered (card) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
│ Pattern  GROCERY MART                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    │
│ Preset   Categories: Software, AI vendors. Rewarded merchants: OPENAI, CHATGPT, ANTHROPIC, CLAUDE, GEMINI, GOOGLE AI. Also allow merchants: GROCERY MART.                                                                                                                │
│ Version  v2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              │
│ Remembered GROCERY MART on this card. Matching charges are allowed at Agentcard checkout next time. This card keeps its network category allowlist, so a charge made directly at the merchant can still be declined there — create a new card from this preset for that. │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```