Card Controls by Elements vs UMe CardNav
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Card Controls by Elements
Take full control of your debit card usage with customizable settings for transaction types, locations, and merchant categories. Instantly turn cards on or off for enhanced security, set spending limits, and receive real-time alerts for suspicious activity or when budget thresholds are approached.
- Set transaction type controls
- Define geographic usage rules
- Specify merchant categories
- Instantly turn cards on/off
- Set dollar transaction limits
- Receive real-time alerts
- Monitor suspicious activity
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Card Control by Elements – Full control over your debit card usage in a way you’ve never had before • Manage how, when and where your cards are used—on your own terms. Card Control by Elements enables you to set controls regarding the transaction types, geographic rules, and the merchant types where your card can be used. • Turn any card on, or off—in seconds. It’s as simple as a toggle. Perfect for safety, security and those scary moments when you’re not quite sure where your card might be. • Ensure you are the only person using your cards. GPS capabilities can either limit where your card is used—or assure it’s only able to be used when with you. • Turn your cards into active budget participants. Set dollar limits for transactions, and receive alerts when those limits are being reached. No more worrying about going over budget! • Receive alerts when suspicious activity is suspected. • Stop fraudulent activity before it even happens with the alert feature of Card Control by Elements. Based on your preferences, Card Control by Elements can send you a real-time alert when your card is used outside of your chosen preferences, giving you the power to deny the transaction or turn your card off. • Alert preferences can be set by: - Location – based on where the transaction occurs - Transaction type – based on type of transaction at point of sale - Merchant type – based on the type of merchant where the transaction occurred - Threshold – based on the threshold amount set by the user
UMe CardNav
Take full control of your debit and credit card usage with customizable settings for transaction types, locations, and merchant categories. Instantly turn cards on or off, set spending limits, and receive real-time alerts for suspicious activity to prevent fraud.
- Set transaction type, location, and merchant controls
- Instantly turn cards on or off
- Use GPS to limit card usage by location
- Set dollar limits and receive spending alerts
- Receive real-time alerts for suspicious activity
- Prevent fraudulent transactions with customizable alerts
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UMe CardNav gives you full control over your UMe debit and credit card usage in a way you’ve never had before! • Manage how, when and where your cards are used—on your own terms. CardNav enables you to set controls regarding the transaction types, geographic rules, and the merchant types where your card can be used. • Turn any card on, or off—in seconds. It’s as simple as a toggle. Perfect for safety, security… and those moments when you’re not quite sure where your card might be. • Ensure you are the only person using your cards. GPS capabilities can either limit where your card is used—or assure it’s only able to be used when with you. • Turn your cards into active budget participants. Set dollar limits for transactions, and receive alerts when those limits are being reached. No more worrying about going over budget! • Receive alerts when suspicious activity is suspected. • Stop fraudulent activity before it even happens with the alert feature of CardNav. Based on your preferences, CardNav can send you a real-time alert when your card is used outside of your chosen preferences, giving you the power to deny the transaction or turn your card off. Alert preferences can be set by: • Location – based on where the transaction occurs. • Transaction type – based on type of transaction at point of sale. • Merchant type – based on the type of merchant where the transaction occurred. • Threshold – based on the threshold amount set by you (i.e. – transactions over $500 receive an alert).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: UMe CardNav at 4.6 against Card Controls by Elements's 4.2. Card Controls by Elements's advantage is review sentiment (16% vs 0%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
UMe CardNav holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 152 and 84 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of Card Controls by Elements's written reviews are positive against 0% of UMe CardNav's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Card Controls by Elements | UMe CardNav |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (152 ratings) | 4.6 (84 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 15.8% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 152 — better | 84 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elements Financial Federal Credit Union | UMe Federal Credit Union |
Customer experience
Card Controls by Elements
UMe CardNav
In-app purchases
Card Controls by Elements
No in-app purchases
UMe CardNav
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Card Controls by Elements free?
Is UMe CardNav free?
Which has better reviews, Card Controls by Elements or UMe CardNav?
Do Card Controls by Elements or UMe CardNav have ads?
Which is updated more often, Card Controls by Elements or UMe CardNav?
Other comparisons
