Visa Prepaid cards - At a Glance

• Visa Prepaid card purchase transactions are handled just like Visa credit card transactions
• Visa Prepaid cards have many familiar features of Visa credit cards
• Cardholders need to know their card balance prior to making a purchase
• The purchase amount is automatically deducted from the remaining card balance after each transaction
• Customers returning items purchased with a Visa Prepaid card are subject to each merchant's return policies

Accepting the Visa Prepaid card for payment

Ask the cardholder how much to deduct from their Visa Prepaid card. Then follow the same procedures as you do with a Visa credit card – swipe the card and obtain an online authorization. Ask the cardholder to sign the purchase receipt. The customer’s signature should match the signature on the back of the card. If the card has not been signed, have the cardholder sign it. It is the cardholder’s responsibility to know his/her balance. If the value of the purchase is greater than the Visa Prepaid card balance, the transaction will be declined.

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What to look for

For more information, download Visa^® Prepaid Cards. How to recognize, accept and process them. (pdf 328kb)

"Electronic Use Only"

You will notice on some cards the phrase "ELECTRONIC USE ONLY" printed on the front of the card. This indicates that the card must be swiped and authorized through an electronic terminal because there are no raised letters or digits on the card - it is unembossed. Instead, the cardholder's name (or general message), card number and expiry date are thermal printed on the front of the card.

Unembossed cards cannot be used with manual imprint machines.

NOTE: If you are a merchant that only accepts manual imprints of embossed cards, request an alternate Visa card or you run the risk of receiving a "Missing Imprint" or "Card Not Present" chargeback.

What your customer may not know about the Visa Prepaid card

Verifying Card Balance

The cardholder needs to know their remaining card balance before using the card. Cardholders can check their balance anytime, online or by phone. To do so, cardholders should refer to the back of their card for the contact information of the financial institution that issued their card.

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Split Transactions

If the purchase amount exceeds the value contained on the Visa Prepaid card, the cardholder may ask to split the transaction between two forms of payment. This can be done, provided your store policy and/or transaction processes allow(s) for split transactions. In these cases the cardholder must inform you of the amount to be deducted from the Visa Prepaid card and the payment method they wish to use to cover the balance of the balance of the purchase, e.g. credit card, debit card or cash.

Returns

The cardholder should have their Visa Prepaid card they used to make the purchase and the purchase transaction receipt in order to return an item. Funds credited back to a customer's Visa Prepaid card may take three to seven business days to process. If the customer does not have their Visa Prepaid card or if the Prepaid card has expired, refer to your store return policy.

Voided Transactions

You can void a purchase on a Visa Prepaid card as you would any other Visa card transaction. If asked, be sure to inform the customer that the credit refund may take three to seven business days before it will be available on their card.

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