Notionet

The agent you meet at the customer cares desk in a bank matters a lot. That is the one who issued the card to you that day. Maybe you went on a bad day and met an agent who threw a card to you and went back to his/her phone as he/she urgently waited for the closing hours.

Sometimes cards can mess you up and that’s why you need to be very selective of the bank or other issuer from whom you choose to get the card from. If the card is not working, the following could be the reasons

a) The card was not activated

Cards work like sim cards, once you purchase them from lets say Safaricom you will need to activate them within a few Days by loading it with some credit.

A card can require as little as ksh 100 for activation but to be on the safe side, ksh 500 is the best amount to load your card with for activation. You don’t have to mind, the excess will be refunded once the activation is complete.

b) You were not entered into the system

Most cards have a system, something like an online program that identifies the user and manages the card. The system can be accessible to the bank alone or it can be accessible to card holders via an online portal.

The portal enables a card holder to check balance, block transactions so no one can withdraw or use the card to make payments or deactivate the card for a preferred period of time.

If the card requires you to login and activate it yourself, then the card will not work until you do so.

c) The card could be invalid

Maybe the card has expired or the bank has stopped their support for those type of cards. In such a case you can only look for another card.

d)  Balance might be very low

Some cards have a spend limit depending on the balance left in your account. Especially debit cards, They are connected to the bank account which means if spent to zero, your bank account will be deactivated soon. There are others which have a withdrawal limit. Some it goes to as low as ksh 400 while for others, you cant withdraw if the balance is less than ksh1000.

How to solve the problem

1. Make sure the card is activated

When you load your card the first time, you will receive a message. The message will show the amount credited to the card, the activation fee applied, the amount refunded back to the card if any and the balance. Sometimes the message can delay but If it takes too long then there could be a problem.

2. Check whether there is an online portal

The packet that holds the card comes with instructions. If there is any portal you need to login into, it will be mentioned in those instructions. They will also tell you the use of the portal to your card.

3. Check whether the card is valid

Check date to make sure its not expired. Also check the updates on that specific card and its related services. Maybe the bank has stopped the support and is giving replacements or it could have temporarily deactivated for scheduled maintenance.

4. Visit the bank or institution that issued you the card.

If all of the above fail, the best is to visit the card issuer. Take your time to explain the problem you are facing. The better they understand the more likely they are to help you.

5. Replace the card

The last but the best option is to get another card from a different and more reliable bank or financial institution. Try the most credible ones. You can try the cards from the following banks:

• DTB  platinum debit master card
• Family Bank prepaid visa card
• KCB  Me Card, prepaid master card