Frequently Asked Questions about your MEPS Prepaid Mastercard (2024)

FAQs

Why does my prepaid Mastercard keep getting declined? ›

There are a number of possible reasons why a purchase could be declined: You don't have enough money left on your card. You haven't activated or registered your card. The address you gave to make an online or phone purchase is different from the address you have on file with your prepaid card provider.

My gift card is not working

There are a few reasons why a transaction was declined: The Card has not been 'activated' yet. The transaction value is greater than the available balance on your Card.

Yes. You may withdraw cash against the balance on most Mastercard prepaid and gift cards at any ATM. However, not all prepaid and gift card issuers allow ATM or foreign transactions. Be sure to check with your card issuer to ensure that these types of transactions are permitted.

Check your balance at balance.mastercardgiftcard.com or call 1-833-623-3266.

Why might my debit card be denied even if I have money in the account? It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Your debit card may be denied due to overdrafting, reaching daily purchase limits, or your bank suspecting fraud.

The most common reasons are that the card hasn't been activated, the cashier is running the wrong type of transaction, the dollar amount being charged is greater than the card's balance or the credit card processing machine is bumping up the charge amount to either place a hold on the card or to allow for a gratuity.

Your physical card has not been activated. (Note: Virtual cards do not require activation.) The card has expired. Insufficient funds are available on your card to cover the purchase, which may be influenced by a pre-authorization charge.

Check if you have entered the correct information. Make sure you have entered the correct card number, expiration date, and security code. Check if the card has been reported lost or stolen. If the card has been reported lost or stolen, it will not activate.

You may have hit a credit limit, expiration date or an errant keystroke. A merchant 'hold' or issuer 'freeze' may also be to blame.

If the card issuer allows transfers, yes, you can transfer money from a prepaid card to your bank account. You'll need to contact the prepaid card issuer for more information on the exact process, but this guide details how transferring money from a prepaid card generally works.

How do I speak to a live person at Mastercard? ›

Call 1-800-MASTERCARD (1-800-627-8372) in the U.S.

Generally, with prepaid cards and debit cards, you can't spend more than you have loaded on the card or than you have in your account. If you try to spend more, the transaction is denied. However, some bank and credit union accounts allow you to make overdrafts, and so do some prepaid cards.

Prepaid cards are hard to trace. No photo identification is needed to use a card. One card can be loaded with thousands of dollars. Transactions are easy and quick.

Because these cards aren't tied to a specific issuing bank or lender, they are hard to track for fraud prevention purposes. However, many prepaid cards are tied to credit card networks, which provides some level of security.

You can usually check your Mastercard credit card balance online by logging in to your issuer's website. Alternatively, you can also check your balance through the issuer's mobile app or by calling the number on the back of your card. However, keep in mind that Mastercard is just a card network.

Your card may be declined for a number of reasons: the card has expired; you're over your credit limit; the card issuer sees suspicious activity that could be a sign of fraud; or a hotel, rental car company, or other business placed a block (or hold) on your card for its estimated total of your bill.

If the purchase amount exceeds your balance, the transaction will be declined. You can notify the merchant that you would like to use multiple forms of payment, specify how much you'd like to put on your card, and then pay the difference with another card, cash, or check.

Transactions can be declined for insufficient balance, wrong PINs, card status or other data mismatches. You don't have a sufficient balance for the transaction - check your balance in the app's dashboard.