How To Register A Visa Gift Card For Online Purchases

Sunday April 3, 2022

Demand Help Using Visa Gift Cards Online?

banner with gift cards

Quick Respond

The about important thing yous 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's a "gift card," merely when the shopping cart says, "souvenir card," it is referring to shop souvenir cards simply. The aforementioned is true for Mastercard souvenir cards–those get entered into the Debit/Credit card field as well.

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

What You Tin Learn Virtually Visa Gift Cards Here

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

How to use a Visa gift card 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, there are certainly a few things to know that can brand for a more than positive experience.

1. How to Use a Visa Gift Card Online

What Online Card Payment Looks Like

When you go to the online payment processing portion of checkout, enter the souvenir card number, expiration date and Card Verification Number (CVN) into the fields y'all typically use for debit and credit carte du jour payments. Do not enter a Visa gift card number into the "gift card" field. That field is reserved for retailer-specific card numbers.

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

Nigh online shopping carts practice not have this many ways to brand a payment, but nigh all accept a place to enter a credit menu (on the left, circled in red) that is different from the expanse in which you would enter a gift carte (on the right, circled in blue).

online shopping cart with gift card fields

Where Practise the Souvenir Carte Numbers Become?

In the payment example above, you would enter gift cards every bit follows:

1. Visa Gift Card: Input a Visa gift carte du jour, Mastercard souvenir menu, Notice souvenir bill of fare or American Express souvenir carte du jour into the "Credit/Debit menu" fields on the left, circled in red.

2. Store Gift Card: Input a store souvenir card into the "card number" field on the right, circled in blue.

Go on in mind, the fields could exist anywhere no the payment screen you're looking at. The near of import thing to await for, nonetheless, is the fields marked as "Credit/Debit carte du jour."

Incidentally, this example also shows how to make a payment online when a store gift card amount volition non comprehend the full corporeality of the buy. Using two forms of payment is called a "dissever tender transaction." You would enter the shop-issued gift card into the gift card field and use some other form of payment to consummate the purchase.

If you lot do not have a store-issued gift card and demand to make a partial payment with a Visa gift carte, then read this tip on how to make a partial payment with a Visa gift card 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 accepted online, in stores and just most anywhere these major brand debit cards are accepted, sometimes people have difficulties using their bank-issued gift cards online. If you are entering the gift card into the correct field on the website, then it is possible the gift card is existence rejected for another reason.

In addition to this list of things to try if your Visa gift card is not working, the most common reasons souvenir cards reject online are listed below:

one. Visa Gift Carte Not Activated

For security measures, some souvenir card sellers require the recipient to actuate the bill of fare before information technology tin can exist used. Though stores often activate gift cards at the greenbacks register, online gift card sellers generally require the recipient to activate the card once information technology is received in the mail or via email. If your gift carte du jour does non work online, check to meet if it needs to be activated or registered before employ.

If you take a Visa souvenir menu or Mastercard gift card from Giftcards.com, actuate your card here.

two. Visa Gift Card Should be Registered

Registration usually involves linking a name and billing address to the prepaid card. Though you generally are not required to register a gift card in lodge to utilize information technology in stores or restaurants, the process is fairly important if y'all intend to use the gift bill of fare online.

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

Registering the gift menu allows you to update the address linked to the bill of fare. If the system will not let you update the information, yous may at least exist able to run across what generic name and address has been associated with the card already.

If you have a Visa gift card or Mastercard gift bill of fare from Giftcards.com, activate your carte and and so await for a second step to "register" the carte as well.

iii. Waiting Period on the Card

couple waiting for card to work on computer

Souvenir cards ordered from Giftcards.com are usable as before long equally the bill of fare is registered. But some drug stores and gas stations sell gift cards that are not usable for a specified waiting flow (east.g. 48 hours).

Because thieves sometimes employ stolen credit cards to buy gift cards, the waiting flow gives banks, stores and victims a moment to detect and written report compromised cards. If the theft is reported before the souvenir cards are used, the gift cards can be cancelled before the funds are depleted.

If yous purchased a gift carte at a store and try to utilise it immediately, only find that the bill of fare doesn't piece of work, check the receipt or gift card packaging to see if a waiting catamenia is specified.

4. Insufficient Funds on the Card

At Giftcards.com, the most common reason online transactions decline is that the card does non accept plenty money on it to cover the buy. Though people by and large sympathise this concept, online shopping is a niggling different than in-store shopping. If you handed a Visa gift menu to a cashier and knew it did not encompass the total amount of the purchase, you could await the system to use the card balance and then accept the cashier ask you for a 2d course of payment. Since nearly websites cannot handle a split tender transaction as described above, the gift card is simply declined.

I'll bear witness y'all my trick for getting a gift card to work in this state of affairs. Read my post on gift carte du jour hacks.

If y'all have a Visa souvenir card or Mastercard gift card from Giftcards.com, you can cheque the remainder of your Visa gift card and review previous transactions as well.

five. Pending Transactions are Affecting the Balance

Every fourth dimension you swipe or enter your Visa souvenir card number into a payment system (online or in person), the arrangement checks to see if the card 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 later on declined, then the pending amount (or "hold") is released. If the transaction is completed, then the pending amount is finalized (or "cleared") and the carte residuum is reduced past the dollar amount of the final buy.

Sometimes holds are not released immediately–it can take several hours or several days to remove a pending charge depending on how each merchant system works. During that time, your gift bill of fare may decline if pending charges are tying up a portion of the gift card balance that yous know should be available.

If your carte du jour is not working and pending charges are still affecting the carte balance, wait a few days and endeavour once more. If you want to sympathise the process more, here'south an commodity on why it takes so long for charges to clear.

6. Non-U.S. Website

passport cards and phone

Visa gift cards issued in the Usa must be used in the United States. That requirement includes websites also. If you are trying to make a buy on a website or with a business concern that is exterior of the country, the transaction will decline.

Hither's a post on why gift cards will not work outside of the U.Due south. and what your alternatives are if you need one that does.

7. Recurring Payments Are Not Allowed

Some websites will non allow prepaid cards to be used for subscription services or any type of recurring payment such as dating sites, cell phone services or utility bills. You may exist able to use these cards for one-time payments, but not for continued use.

If online bill payment is non working with a gift card, you might endeavor calling the company to run across if the card volition word over the phone.

8. Greenbacks Back is Not Allowed

Though yous are simply trying to utilize your card, if the website has gift carte transactions coded as a "greenbacks" transaction, your card may decline.

To prohibit coin laundering, any gift menu transaction that is classified every bit a "quasi greenbacks" merchant (significant the concern provides a service where a payment can be converted into greenbacks), could exist problematic.

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

9. Questionable Sites

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

10. Too Many Transactions

In frustration, some customers accidentally become their cards locked because they try also many things too quickly. For example, they might practise a balance bank check, and so attempt to use the card, then try to use information technology on another website, then check the balance over again and and then endeavour to apply the carte once more. Every time the carte declines, they try something else.

Though the actions are normal for someone simply trying to get a gift menu to piece of work, they also mimic the actions thieves take when they buy gift cards with stolen credit cards–impatiently trying to utilize the cards as speedily every bit possible.

If yous accidentally become your gift bill of fare locked, contact the issuing company listed on the back of the gift carte.

11. Contacting the Wrong Company

Finally, I get many comments from frustrated customers who tell me their gift cards aren't working and the residual check process on Giftcards.com is broken. In most cases, the customer is simply trying to check the rest of some other visitor's gift card on our website.

Though Giftcards.com is one of the summit-selling Visa gift card websites on the Internet, there are others. To find the balance, activate and register your Visa gift bill of fare, look at the back of your card to detect out where that should be done.

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

What Y'all Need to Know virtually Virtual Visa eGift Cards

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

Beyond that, they piece of work merely like the plastic Visa gift cards. Just brand sure to actuate the card, register the carte du jour, enter the card number into the Debit/Credit bill of fare fields, ensure the dollar value covers the residual and then forth.

When All Options Neglect

If you take checked all of these reasons why gift cards decline online and your gift bill of fare still isn't working, then the best thing to exercise is call the number listed on the back of the bill of fare. Sometimes in an honest attempt to make a menu piece of work, users trip fraud detection sensors with repeated residue inquiries and multiple failed attempts to utilise a card. When that happens, you lot will most likely need to contact the issuing bill of fare company to become fraud-detection concord released.

Do yous have whatever other questions virtually your Visa gift card not working? If so, reach out to me in the comments below, on Twitter (@GCGirlfriend) or on Instagram (@Gift.Card.Girlfriend).

Happy Gift Carding!

~Shelley Hunter, Souvenir Bill of fare Girlfriend