Prepaid Gift cards are of two types - Refillable and non-refillable gift cards. While using those gift cards, sometimes our gift cards may get declined.
Do you know why your Gift cards are declined, when you try to use them in-store or online?
We're encountering those issues and how to fix these issues one by one in this post.
Why is my Visa Gift card not working or being declined online?
Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, all of them are payment gateways. So, it will not create not any problem, whether you're using any of these cards.
The main reasons are who and where you're using these Gift cards. There are multiple reasons why your Visa Gift card or any other Gift Card is being declined.
1. Haven't activated Gift card - You have not registered and activated it from their respective websites. Most people don't know that we need to register and activate it before using it online or at any place.
2. Using the Wrong payment method - While activating the Gift cards, we need to register them either as Debit or Credit.
For Debit, we need to provide a Pin Code and if you've registered it as Credit, you can use it directly anywhere without any PIN code number.
3. Insufficient Gift card balance - It is a third potential reason, your Gift card gets declined.
If you don't have enough balance or zero balance to do any transaction on your Visa Gift card, then it's obvious that it will get rejected by the system.
4. Unsupported Products, Platforms, or Countries - Sometimes the reason for declination could be platforms and Countries which doesn't support Gift cards.
If you've purchased the Visa Gift card in the United States, then it will only be usable in the United States.
Some Products or services can only be purchased using a standard payment method. You can't buy them using a Visa Gift card.
5. Security concerns - Security is one of the main reasons why gift cards get rejected.
There are security issues regarding the Gift cards like merchant's payment systems being vulnerable, Payment Authorisation, Some sort of security features, etc.
6. Server issues - If you're getting the Declination issue from any of the above reasons, then the issue could be server-related issues.
Sometimes the Server is down or under maintenance, so your Visa Gift card is getting declined.
How to fix a declined Visa Gift card?
After seeing the real reasons why our gift cards are getting declined. Now, we've to figure out how can we fix it.
Before getting started with the actual process, make sure that you've Activated your Gift card. Simply go to your Gift card vendor's website and register it with a PIN Code.
If you have a Target Visa Gift card and you're facing issues, or don't know how to activate it, just follow this tutorial - How to Register & Activate Target Visa or any other Gift card?
1. Use the Gift cards as Either Debit or Credit, as you've registered them. If you've registered it as a Debit using the PIN Code, then use the PIN Code while doing any transaction.
If you've activated it as Credit, then simply use it as a credit card while purchasing. You'll not require to use the PIN Code for any transaction.
2. Check the Balance of the Gift card, before using it anywhere(Either online or at the shop).
If your Transaction amount is 25 USD and you're using a lesser amount than that, it will get rejected.
Also, check that merchant isn't charging a fee on that certain amount, e.g, the Transaction amount is 50 USD and you're using the exact 50 USD, but the seller is applying some transaction fees on that 50 USD amount.
3. If you're doing transactions on a website that is not supported by Visa and others will lead to the rejection of the gift card.
Visa and other gift cards are limited to use in specific merchants and countries. Mostly the gift cards only work in the US and for some sellers in Canada.
Also, check for Products or services can be purchased using a Visa Gift card or not?
4. Make sure that the Website or seller's system isn't vulnerable to scams. Now, ask for a resolution from them.
Sometimes there are Security authorizations set up on the Seller's system. Confirm this with that seller, and tell them to exclude your Gift card.
5. You'll need to connect with the store owner or their support to check whether the issue is at the server end or not?
They will tell us the exact reason why our Visa Gift card is not working!
6. If the respective store owner or support team is also not able to find the reason behind Declination, then you can reach out to Visa Gift card support.
Explain your Query to the Visa Support team and they will reply to you back with 1-3 days with a solution.
FIX: Vanilla Visa Gift card not working?
A gift card is a simple Debit card that is used to purchase anything. So, you can use any type of gift card and the solution for all types of Gift cards are kind of similar.
First, try the fixes which we've explained in this guide. Still, it is not solving your issue. You can also connect with the Vanilla gift card customer service chat and ask them why the Gift card not working.
FAQs:
How long does it take for a visa gift card to activate?
The process simply takes 10-15 min to register and activate a Gift card. You can choose any method - Call or Online activation. Both methods take a similar time to activate.
Why is my Visa Gift card being declined when I have money?
Even if you have money inside your Visa Gift card, your Visa Gift card might get declined due to various reasons like an Unactivated Gift card, using the wrong method, Security concerns, Server issues, etc.
Please refer to this guide and apply the best suitable solution for your scenario.
Our views
From this article, we've concluded that you can fix a declined Visa Gift card by using different given fixes in this guide.
If you have any concerns about this tutorial or want to add some points to this guide, you can add them to the comment section.
