If you buy the gift card online, however, the recipient may be asked to activate the card once it is received. The card is valid and the balance purchased is on the card, but the card may not work until you go through the process of activating it.
This is a security measure. To simplify things in my mind, I think of a gift card as a temporary bank account. When I open a checking account at the bank, for example, the bank gives me an account number and a debit card that allows me to spend the money in that account. Gift cards work similarly. When I buy a gift card, the gift card issuer creates a temporary account to hold the funds deposited and I hold the plastic gift card or egift card in order to use those funds.
You have to activate the gift card so the temporary account can be set up and prepared to receive withdrawal transactions and, in some cases, additional deposits. As noted above, sometimes the recipient of a gift card has to activate it before the card can be used.
This is particularly true of bank-issued gift cards that arrive in the mail. Although activation requires an extra step on the part of the gift card receiver, the process allows the gift card issuer time to run fraud prevention checks such as making sure the gift card was not purchased with a stolen credit card.
Those instructions often include a link to a website address or a telephone number to call. Cards purchased at Giftcards. To activate a gift card, you will need to have the gift card account number and the card verification number CVN from the card itself. In many cases, you can customize your card by uploading a photo or choosing a specific gift card design.
Finally, you'll enter the recipient's name, along with an optional personal message that will be shown on the front of the card. MasterCard gift cards can be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted. Other locations where you can buy a MasterCard gift card include gas stations and convenience stores, grocery stores, drug stores and shopping malls.
However, you're less likely to be able to buy a customized card from one of these locations. If you are asked for a PIN number when making a purchase, the cashier likely entered the transaction as "debit" instead of "gift card. In most cases, MasterCard gift cards do not expire. Heather Lacey is a freelance writer who has been specializing in print and Web articles since She is a regular contributor to "Go Gilbert!
Lacey has a professional background in hospitality management and studied journalism at Phoenix College. A gift card is also a type of stored value card loaded with funds for future discretionary use. Only it contains a specific amount of money.
Once this sum is spent down, the card can no longer be used. Gift cards also have expiration dates, which are often much shorter than that of prepaid cards. Gift cards can be purchased in several different formats. The most familiar type is what's technically known as a closed loop card: It is good only at a particular merchant or certain retailer and bears that outfit's name and logo. Some retail groups will allow the same gift card to be used at any of their affiliated stores. Gift cards began with specific stores.
Now, however, many of the major charge or credit card issuers, like American Express, Visa, Discover, and MasterCard, are also offering gift cards, good anywhere the regular plastic is accepted. Known as open-loop cards, these are most easily confused with prepaid debit cards, especially since some of them are reloadable as well.
These cards may carry a one-time activation fee. Credit Cards. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance.
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