Do You Need To Register Online For A Prepaid Card

Sunday April 3, 2022

Need Assist Using Visa Gift Cards Online?

banner with gift cards

Quick Answer

The most important matter you need to know is that your Visa gift card number must be entered into the Debit/Credit card field during online checkout. This can exist confusing because it'due south a "souvenir carte du jour," but when the shopping cart says, "gift card," it is referring to store gift cards merely. The same is true for Mastercard gift cards–those get entered into the Debit/Credit menu field as well.

If the value of your souvenir card does not embrace the full amount of the buy, read this tip on how to use a Visa gift card online for partial payment.

What You Can Learn About Visa Gift Cards Hither

In the post below, I'll talk to you well-nigh the following 3 things.

How to use a Visa gift carte du jour online.
Possible reasons why your Visa gift carte doesn't work online.
What you need to know about Virtual Visa egift cards.

Though Visa, Mastercard and other bank-issued gift cards work online quite well, in that location are certainly a few things to know that can make for a more positive experience.

1. How to Use a Visa Gift Menu Online

What Online Card Payment Looks Like

When you lot get to the online payment processing portion of checkout, enter the gift card number, expiration date and Card Verification Number (CVN) into the fields yous typically use for debit and credit card payments. Do not enter a Visa gift bill of fare number into the "gift carte" field. That field is reserved for retailer-specific card numbers.

Below is an instance of what online payment often looks like. This example shows many payment options including bank-issued debit and credit cards, shop credit cards, PayPal, PayPal credit, a payment plan, store gift cards and even Bitcoin.

Most online shopping carts do not accept this many ways to make a payment, but nearly all have a place to enter a credit card (on the left, circled in red) that is different from the area in which you would enter a souvenir card (on the right, circled in blue).

online shopping cart with gift card fields

Where Do the Gift Card Numbers Go?

In the payment instance above, you would enter gift cards equally follows:

1. Visa Gift Card: Input a Visa gift menu, Mastercard gift card, Notice gift card or American Express gift card into the "Credit/Debit menu" fields on the left, circled in red.

2. Shop Gift Card: Input a store gift bill of fare into the "bill of fare number" field on the right, circled in blue.

Go on in mind, the fields could be anywhere no the payment screen y'all're looking at. The nearly of import thing to look for, however, is the fields marked as "Credit/Debit carte du jour."

Incidentally, this example as well shows how to make a payment online when a store souvenir card corporeality will non comprehend the total amount of the purchase. Using ii forms of payment is called a "split tender transaction." You would enter the store-issued gift menu into the gift card field and utilise another form of payment to complete the buy.

If you lot practice non accept a store-issued gift carte du jour and need to make a fractional payment with a Visa gift card, then read this tip on how to make a partial payment with a Visa souvenir bill of fare online.)

happy dad gift card in a box

Possible Reasons Why Your Visa Gift Card Might Not Be Working Online

Although Visa, Mastercard, Discover and AMEX gift cards are accustomed online, in stores and merely about anywhere these major brand debit cards are accepted, sometimes people accept difficulties using their bank-issued gift cards online. If you are entering the gift carte into the correct field on the website, and then information technology is possible the gift card is being rejected for another reason.

In addition to this list of things to endeavour if your Visa gift menu is not working, the well-nigh common reasons gift cards decline online are listed beneath:

ane. Visa Gift Card Not Activated

For security measures, some gift carte sellers require the recipient to actuate the bill of fare before information technology can be used. Though stores often actuate gift cards at the greenbacks register, online gift menu sellers generally crave the recipient to activate the card once it is received in the mail or via email. If your gift card does not work online, check to see if it needs to exist activated or registered before apply.

If you have a Visa souvenir menu or Mastercard gift carte du jour from Giftcards.com, activate your card here.

2. Visa Souvenir Card Should be Registered

Registration usually involves linking a name and billing accost to the prepaid card. Though yous mostly are non required to annals a gift carte in gild to use it in stores or restaurants, the process is fairly important if you intend to utilise the souvenir card online.

To brand information technology harder to use a stolen credit card online, many websites use a procedure called Address Verification Organisation (AVS) to ensure the card number beingness used for payment matches the billing accost on file with the bank. Since the Visa souvenir menu number is entered into the same field used for a Visa credit carte, the website will look for an AVS match even though it is less applicable to a gift card payment.

Registering the gift card allows you to update the address linked to the card. If the system will not let you update the information, you may at least be able to see what generic name and accost has been associated with the carte du jour already.

If you accept a Visa gift menu or Mastercard gift card from Giftcards.com, activate your card and so look for a second stride to "register" the card as well.

3. Waiting Menses on the Card

couple waiting for card to work on computer

Souvenir cards ordered from Giftcards.com are usable as soon as the menu is registered. But some drug stores and gas stations sell souvenir cards that are not usable for a specified waiting period (due east.k. 48 hours).

Considering thieves sometimes apply stolen credit cards to buy gift cards, the waiting menstruum gives banks, stores and victims a moment to discover and study compromised cards. If the theft is reported before the gift cards are used, the gift cards tin be cancelled earlier the funds are depleted.

If you purchased a gift carte du jour at a store and try to use it immediately, but find that the card doesn't piece of work, check the receipt or souvenir carte du jour packaging to see if a waiting menses is specified.

4. Insufficient Funds on the Card

At Giftcards.com, the nearly mutual reason online transactions reject is that the card does non have plenty money on it to cover the buy. Though people more often than not understand this concept, online shopping is a little different than in-store shopping. If you handed a Visa gift card to a cashier and knew it did non comprehend the total corporeality of the purchase, you lot could expect the organisation to employ the card balance so accept the cashier ask yous for a second course of payment. Since about websites cannot handle a split up tender transaction every bit described higher up, the souvenir card is simply declined.

I'll show you lot my play tricks for getting a gift carte to work in this state of affairs. Read my mail service on souvenir carte hacks.

If you have a Visa souvenir carte or Mastercard gift card from Giftcards.com, you lot can check the residuum of your Visa gift card and review previous transactions as well.

5. Awaiting Transactions are Affecting the Balance

Every time you swipe or enter your Visa souvenir card number into a payment system (online or in person), the organization checks to run across if the carte has sufficient funds to complete the transaction. During this authority check, the arrangement will place a "hold" on the funds needed for the purchase. If the transaction is cancelled or subsequently declined, then the pending amount (or "hold") is released. If the transaction is completed, then the pending corporeality is finalized (or "cleared") and the card balance is reduced past the dollar amount of the final purchase.

Sometimes holds are not released immediately–information technology can take several hours or several days to remove a pending charge depending on how each merchant arrangement works. During that time, your gift card may refuse if pending charges are tying up a portion of the gift card residual that you lot know should be available.

If your bill of fare is not working and pending charges are still affecting the card residuum, expect a few days and try again. If you want to understand the process more, hither's an article on why information technology takes so long for charges to articulate.

6. Not-U.S. Website

passport cards and phone

Visa gift cards issued in the United States must exist used in the United States. That requirement includes websites also. If you are trying to brand a purchase on a website or with a business concern that is outside of the country, the transaction volition turn down.

Here'due south a post on why gift cards volition not work exterior of the U.S. and what your alternatives are if you need 1 that does.

seven. Recurring Payments Are Non Allowed

Some websites will not permit prepaid cards to exist used for subscription services or any type of recurring payment such as dating sites, prison cell phone services or utility bills. Y'all may be able to use these cards for ane-time payments, merely not for continued use.

If online bill payment is not working with a gift bill of fare, you might try calling the visitor to run into if the carte volition discussion over the telephone.

viii. Cash Dorsum is Not Allowed

Though you are simply trying to use your card, if the website has gift menu transactions coded equally a "cash" transaction, your card may decline.

To prohibit money laundering, any souvenir menu transaction that is classified as a "quasi cash" merchant (meaning the business provides a service where a payment can be converted into cash), could exist problematic.

Though PayPal recently announced that you can link a gift card to a PayPal account, it volition not work with gift cards issued from Giftcards.com.

9. Questionable Sites

Visa and other bank-issued gift cards may decline if you are trying to the cards to pay for illegal or ill-brash products or services. At Giftcards.com, for example, Visa gift cards cannot be used on online gambling sites or adult websites.

x. Too Many Transactions

In frustration, some customers accidentally get their cards locked because they try as well many things also chop-chop. For example, they might practice a balance cheque, then try to employ the card, then try to use it on another website, then cheque the residuum again and then attempt to utilise the carte du jour once more. Every time the card declines, they effort something else.

Though the actions are normal for someone just trying to become a souvenir card to piece of work, they also mimic the deportment thieves take when they purchase gift cards with stolen credit cards–impatiently trying to use the cards as quickly as possible.

If you accidentally get your souvenir carte du jour locked, contact the issuing company listed on the dorsum of the gift menu.

11. Contacting the Wrong Visitor

Finally, I get many comments from frustrated customers who tell me their gift cards aren't working and the balance check process on Giftcards.com is cleaved. In most cases, the customer is simply trying to bank check the balance of another company's souvenir card on our website.

Though Giftcards.com is i of the top-selling Visa souvenir menu websites on the Internet, there are others. To find the balance, actuate and register your Visa gift carte, look at the back of your card to notice out where that should be done.

And if you lot do accept a gift card from Giftcards.com and demand help finding out why the gift carte doesn't work, contact client service for specific help with your card.

What You Need to Know near Virtual Visa eGift Cards

Visa Virtual egift cards must be used online, over the phone or wherever "card not present" transactions are immune.

Beyond that, they work only like the plastic Visa gift cards. But make certain to actuate the bill of fare, annals the menu, enter the card number into the Debit/Credit card fields, ensure the dollar value covers the residuum so forth.

When All Options Fail

If you have checked all of these reasons why gift cards pass up online and your gift menu still isn't working, then the all-time thing to do is telephone call the number listed on the dorsum of the bill of fare. Sometimes in an honest try to make a card work, users trip fraud detection sensors with repeated remainder inquiries and multiple failed attempts to employ a card. When that happens, you will virtually likely need to contact the issuing bill of fare visitor to get fraud-detection concur released.

Do you have any other questions about your Visa gift carte not working? If so, reach out to me in the comments beneath, on Twitter (@GCGirlfriend) or on Instagram (@Gift.Card.Girlfriend).

Happy Souvenir Carding!

~Shelley Hunter, Souvenir Card Girlfriend