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Declined Visa Gift Cards: Multiple Reasons Why it Happened

For most people, Visa gift cards are a go-to replacement for cash and debit/credit cards. But what if your Visa gift card is declined while making a transaction? The most common reasons are insufficient funds, an inactive card, the cashier using the card the wrong way, or simply you using your Visa gift card at an invalid place.

In this blog, we will explore Visa Gift Cards, locations where they are applicable, and why your Visa gift card is being declined. So, let’s get started!

𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓪 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓭?
𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓪𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓹𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓭𝓮𝓫𝓲𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭𝔀𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓭. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓫𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓲𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓻 𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯. 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓲𝓷-𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓹𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓼𝓮𝓼.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓹𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓷’𝓽 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓪𝓭 𝓸𝓻 𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓾𝓵𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓵𝔂.

𝓛𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓐𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓭
𝓜𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓭, 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓬𝓱 𝓶𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓵𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭𝔀𝓲𝓭𝓮. 𝓗𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓪 𝓯𝓮𝔀 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓻𝓾𝓵𝓮. 𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓮𝔁𝓪𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮, 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓽 𝓐𝓣𝓜 𝓶𝓪𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼 𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓾𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓹𝓪𝔂𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼.

𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂, 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓸𝓷 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭. 𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓮𝔁𝓪𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮, 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮.

𝓗𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓹𝓸𝓹𝓾𝓵𝓪𝓻 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭:

𝓞𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓼
𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓽 𝓷𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓵𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓼 𝓥𝓲𝓼𝓪 𝓹𝓪𝔂𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼. 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓭𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓳𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓐𝓶𝓪𝔃𝓸𝓷, 𝓦𝓪𝓵𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓽, 𝓣𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓮𝓽, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼. 𝓢𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝔂 𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭 𝓷𝓾𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓪𝓽 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓬𝓴𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓻 𝓹𝓱𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓹𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓼𝓮𝓼.In-Store
Visa gift cards can also be used for in-person purchases at any store that accepts Visa payments. This includes supermarkets, department stores, gas stations, and more. To pay with a Visa gift card, simply hand it to the cashier and they will process the payment.

ATMs
You can also use your Visa gift card to withdraw cash from an ATM. However, you will need to have a PIN for this transaction. If you don’t have a PIN, you can usually request one from the issuing company. There may also be a fee associated with this service.

If you’re not sure whether or not your Visa gift card will work at a particular location, it’s always best to call ahead or check the merchant’s website before making a purchase.

Why Is My Visa Gift Card Being Declined?
Not sure why your Visa Gift card get declined? Well, here we will tell you about all the possible reasons your Visa gift card might be declined. Keep reading to learn how you can solve these problems and use your Visa Gift card smoothly.

Using In an Invalid Place
Undoubtedly, Visa gift cards are designed to be used wherever Visa cards are accepted. However, in some places, such as restaurants, spas, salons, gas stations, etc., merchants have more control over the transaction system than banks.

Such places have older payment terminals that charge 20% more than your total bill as an authorization transaction to ensure the gift card has sufficient funds to cover the gratuity. If this amount exceeds the funds available on the card, your Visa gift card will get declined.

Solution
Ask the cashier or merchant to reduce the bill by 20% or to only charge the actual bill amount and retry the transaction process. You should also be prepared to pay through other payment methods.

Technical Issues
The technical issue is another reason your visa gift card is declined. There could be various technical issues such as:

The merchant’s server is down: If the merchant you’re trying to make a purchase from is experiencing technical difficulties, your card may be declined.
The card reader is not working properly: If the card reader is not functioning properly, your card may not be read correctly and could be declined.
The card has expired: All Visa gift cards have an expiration date. If your card has expired, it will no longer be valid and will be declined.
The card has been reported lost or stolen: If your Visa gift card has been reported lost or stolen, it will be declined.
Solution
Ask the cashier to retry the transaction process from the start or, if possible, use another card reader.

Incorrectly Using The Card
The most common reason for your Visa gift card being declined is the incorrect way of using it. If you’re using your Visa gift card at a sale terminal, then you need to enter it as a debit card payment method. If you enter it as a gift card, it will be declined.

You’ll be asked for a PIN code if you use it as a debit card. But if you use it as a credit card, you’ll not be required to provide a PIN code. This will be challenging as payment methods with gift cards vary for different Point of Sales Terminals.

Solution
Ask staff or cashiers nearby to get thorough guidelines on using Visa gift cards correctly at the Point on Sales terminals.

Inactive Gift Card
Another reason for declined Visa gift cards is inactive cards. All bank-issued cards require activation before use. Similarly, you must activate your Visa gift card before transacting with it. Although, some Visa gift cards don’t require activation. So, while purchasing and loading your card, remember to ask the cashier if it requires activation or not.

Solution
To activate your card, you’ll need to call the prepaid card provider customer service number on the back of the card and follow the instructions. Or visit the website to activate your Visa Gift Card.

Insufficient Balance
You may not have enough money on the card to cover the purchase. Your Visa Gift card will be declined if the bill payment exceeds your current gift card balance. You can check the balance of your card by visiting the website or calling the customer service number. If you don’t have enough money on the card, you’ll need to add more before you can use it.

Solution
In such a case, you can tell the cashier that you’ll pay in partial payments if the gift card balance doesn’t cover the total bill. This way, you can pay some of the total bills from your current card funds and the remaining payment via cash or debit card.

Ineligible purchase
Another reason for the decline is that you’re trying to use the card for an ineligible purchase. For example, many cards can’t be used to buy alcohol or cigarettes. Some cards also have restrictions on how they can be used (for example, you might not be able to use the card to book a hotel room).

Solution
You can try calling the customer service number on the back of the card to check if they have restrictions on any purchases you are making.

Suspicious Activity
Your card could be declined is if there’s been suspicious activity on it. This could include things like multiple failed attempts to use the card or unusually large purchases. Or it may be due to using the gift card at an unusual location or consecutively.

Solution
If your card has been flagged for suspicious activity, you’ll need to contact customer service to resolve the issue.

FAQs
Do I Have to Activate My Visa Debit Card?
Yes, you need to activate your Visa Debit Card before using it. This can be done via a banking app, by calling on bank helpline, or by visiting the bank website or physical branch. You’ll be required to provide the last four digits of your card number and expiration date through the online method, and any Visa debit cards will be activated.

How Do You Use a Visa Gift Card for Online Purchases?
You can enter your Visa gift card as a debit payment method for online purchases. Through this method, you can later make partial payments as well. Another way is to simply enter your Visa gift card in the “gift card” field, and your payment will be automatically deducted from it.

How To Check Your Visa Gift Card Balance?
You can check your Visa gift card balance in two ways. You can call the toll-free number on the back of your Visa gift card. Tell them you wish to know your Visa gift card balance, and you’ll get it.

Another way is to visit the card issuer’s website. Enter your Visa gift card’s 16-digit code and security code, and you’ll be able to know your Visa gift card balance.

Where Is the Card Number on a Visa Gift Card?
Look at the front side of your Visa Gift Card. It is usually a 16-digit printed code. But now, some gift cards have card numbers on the back for security measures. A quick trick is to count the group of numbers. If the number is 16 digits long, it is your Visa gift card number.

How Long Does It Take To Activate A Visa Gift Card?
Some Visa Gift Cards require separate activation by calling the toll-free number on the back of the card. It will take only 1 hour to activate your Visa gift card. However, some Visa gift cards are activated when loading payment in it.

Final Thoughts
Undoubtedly, it is confusing when your Visa Gift Card is declined despite having funds. There are various reasons behind it, such as technical faults, using the card at an invalid place, using it incorrectly, or your card still requires activation.

Whatever the reason, you can always solve it by calling the toll-free number given on the back of your Visa gift card.