BitPay completed the rollout of instant card freeze and reissue across all three operator surfaces today. A card can be frozen, reissued, or both in under one second from the web cabinet, the Telegram Mini App, or the REST API. The previous 5-second freeze and 30-second reissue windows are now history.
Reissue is the operation operators reach for in the most common scenarios - vendor termination, suspected card compromise, or routine quarterly card rotation. The new card number, expiry, and CVV are available immediately. Old card details are invalidated the instant reissue completes, which closes the window where a leaked card number could still be used.
Freeze is the operation for active incidents - a card spotted in a sketchy transaction, a vendor reporting a billing dispute, or an account-takeover scenario. The freeze action propagates to all surfaces within seconds, so a card frozen in the web cabinet is also frozen on the Telegram Mini App and the API.
Pending transactions on a frozen card continue to settle within the standard 7-day clearing window. Operators do not need to dispute legitimate charges that were authorized before the freeze. Refunds continue to credit the USD wallet regardless of card status.
