@hugo mentioned here that the scale issue with the pulse is on the radar, and will hopefully be addressed at some point in the future!
So far, I haven’t had any problems with the pulse, and have actually found it really useful for getting a rough idea of how much I’m spending at a glance. Saying that, the biggest purchase I’ve made on my :mondo: card is ~£50, so that’s probably why I haven’t experienced any of the difficulties you’ve mentioned.