How To Have a Successful Visa Card Activation
Visa is one of the most prevalent processors for credit and debit cards in the world today. More retailers accept Visa cards than any other payment processor. In order to successfully use your Visa card for a purchase, you must have a successful Visa card activation.
To find out how to activate your specific card, you may need to look at your account details. You do not have that information, here is what you can do to make sure that you will be able to use your Visa card.
Call the Number on the Back
Every Visa card has some sort of contact information on the back of it. This is usually a toll-free number that you can call during regular business hours. This applies to debit Visa card and Visa credit cards. If you have a Visa card issued by your local bank, you may find that there is a local telephone number instead of a toll-free number to call. Simply call this number and speak with a customer service agent to request inactivation.
Visit the Website
Instead of a toll-free number, some Visa lenders have created online activation profiles that must be followed. This might be true for you if you see a website on the back of your card instead of a toll-free number. If you need to activate your Visa card online, then you may need to set up an account with your lending institution before the activation will be successful.
Text Activation Is a Possibility
Some Visa cards are designed to be mobile friendly. In order to activate these cards, it may be necessary to send an SMS text message to your lending institution. If this is the case, there will be a six digit number and a specific word that you must text Visa lending institution. Once you send this initial text, you will be given further instructions on how to activate your credit or debit card.
Do You Have a Checking Account?
Sometimes a Visa card will not be activated because it is not associated with a checking account. Even Visa cards that are associated with the line of credit are technically associated with a checking account. This is why when you visit an ATM, you are asked to check the balance or withdraw cash from your checking account even though it is a Visa credit card. If the card is associated with a savings account only, the activation may not be valid. You will need to speak with a customer service agent from your lending institution to change the classification of your credit card if this happens.
Use a Touch Tone Phone
Even though most people have a touchtone phone today, especially with mobile technology, some people still have a rotary phone. Automated systems of activation require touchtone phones. If you do not have a touchtone phone, you will need to wait to speak with a customer service agent to have them activate your card.
Call From Home
Most Visa cards will not be activated unless a call from the associated phone number that is with the account. If you call from a different phone number, the automated system will likely tell you that you are calling from an unrecognized number. Hang up and call from the associated phone instead.