---
title: "Search merchant spend data"
method: GET
path: "/search-merchants"
---

# Search merchant spend data

`GET /search-merchants`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://laso.finance`
- URL: `https://laso.finance/search-merchants`
- Auth: API key in header `Authorization`

Search Laso's merchant database for confirmed spend data for a given card type. Returns whether the card was accepted, not accepted, or unknown at each merchant.

Use `card_type` to search by the USA prepaid card (`Non-Reloadable U.S.`, the default) or the international prepaid card (`Non-Reloadable International`). USA searches exclude merchants with non-US country-code TLDs; international searches do not.

**Important:** This database only contains merchants where Laso users have previously attempted a transaction. A merchant not being listed, or being listed as `unknown`, does NOT mean the card won't work there — it just means it hasn't been tried yet. If a merchant is listed as `accepted`, you can confidently use the card there. If listed as `not_accepted`, the card will fail at that merchant.

Banking and money-transfer merchants are always returned as `not_accepted` with a `restriction_note`, whatever the transaction history shows. Spending there counts as a transfer of value and is not supported on any card.

Requires a Bearer token from `/auth` or `/get-card`.

## Query parameters

- `q` string, required
- `card_type` 'Non-Reloadable U.S.' | 'Non-Reloadable International'

## Response `200`

Merchant search results

- object
  - `merchants` MerchantResult[]
    - `name` string: Merchant name
    - `url` string: Merchant website URL
    - `status` 'accepted' | 'not_accepted' | 'unknown': Whether the Non-Reloadable U.S. card is accepted at this merchant. `accepted` = confirmed working, `not_accepted` = confirmed failing or restricted, `unknown` = card type not yet tried at this merchant.
    - `restriction_note` string, nullable: Present when the merchant is restricted rather than merely untested. Banking and money-transfer merchants are always reported as `not_accepted`, because spending there counts as a transfer of value. Approvals do occur at these merchants, so acceptance cannot be read off the transaction history. `null` for every other merchant.
    - `description` string, nullable: Brief description of the merchant
    - `notes` string, nullable: Additional notes about using the card at this merchant
  - `query` string: The search query that was used
  - `count` integer: Number of merchants returned
  - `card_type` string: The card type results are filtered for
  - `note` string: Important caveat about the data — this database only includes merchants where users have previously attempted transactions

## Other responses

- `400`: Missing search query
- `401`: Missing or invalid Bearer token

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/laso/apis/laso-finance-x402-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/laso/apis/laso-finance-x402-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/laso/apis/laso-finance-x402-api/revisions/ff8ce20b49ba?raw)