[Due for payment 2026-07-07] Distance - Letters can be added in Exclude commutes field

[applause-bot]

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Version Number: 9.4.17-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: N/A - new feature, doesn't exist in prod
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #92496
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): sdjnoisdjdosijsonssjo@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Mac 26.5 / Chrome
App Component: Workspace Settings

Action Performed:

Precondition:

• Log in with Epensifail account.
• Enable Distance rates.

1. Go to staging.new.expensify.com
2. Go to workspace settings > Distance rates.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click Exclude commutes.
5. Click Exclude a fixed distance per claim.
6. Enter any letter.

Expected Result:

Only number will be accepted in Exclude commutes field.

Actual Result:

Letters can be added in Exclude commutes field.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7188107_1782172972136.23.mp4

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Applause Internal Information
Exported by: Mita Rachim
Bug ID: 7188107

[applause-bot]

While Applause doesn't embed attachments for this bug, here are the links for quick view:
https://platform.applause.com/services/links/v1/external/3d9e0aed415497291782302a78317549aa4ab6764cdc2afe4c175ba72af82fcd

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @cristipaval (DeployBlockerCash), see https://stackoverflowteams.com/c/expensify/questions/9980/ for more details.

[melvin-bot]

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

[github-actions]

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[MelvinBot]

Proposal

What is the root cause of that problem?

The "Exclude a fixed distance per claim" field is a plain TextInput whose only numeric restriction is keyboardType={CONST.KEYBOARD_TYPE.DECIMAL_PAD}.

keyboardType only changes which soft keyboard is shown on mobile — it does not constrain what characters can be entered. On web/desktop (and any platform with a physical keyboard) it does nothing, so letters can be typed freely. The onChangeText handler stores the raw value with no sanitization, and numeric validation only runs later in onSave — never while typing.

By contrast, the sibling distance‑rate value field on PolicyDistanceRateEditPage uses AmountForm, which sanitizes input as you type — so this field is the outlier.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Sanitize the input in onChangeText so only a valid number can ever land in state, instead of relying on keyboardType + late validation. In the onChangeText callback, strip any character that isn't a digit or a single decimal separator before calling setFixedDistanceInput, e.g. validate the candidate value with the existing validateAmount/replaceAllDigits helpers in MoneyRequestUtils (the same utilities AmountForm relies on) and ignore keystrokes that would make it non‑numeric.

A cleaner alternative is to swap the plain TextInput for the AmountForm / AmountWithoutCurrencyForm component already used by the adjacent rate field, which gives consistent numeric‑only behavior for free.

Why keyboardType isn't enough / alternatives considered

• keyboardType={DECIMAL_PAD} is purely a soft‑keyboard hint; it is a no‑op for hardware keyboards and on web, which is exactly the reported platform (MacOS / Chrome).
• Adding only an onSave error message would still let users type letters and see them in the field — the expected behavior per the report is that the field rejects non‑numeric characters on input.
• Reusing AmountForm keeps this field consistent with the existing distance‑rate value input and avoids re‑implementing decimal/locale handling.

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Next Steps for Contributor+ team:
To accept: @MelvinBot implement [this](https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues/94268) to create a draft PR.
To refine: @MelvinBot <your feedback>
To reject: Explain why you are rejecting Melvin's proposal.