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How Do I Order Gift or Loyalty Cards?

Everything you need to know about the gift and loyalty card ordering process at Paytronix.

Updated over 2 months ago

Overview

This article details the various specifications and requirements for ordering cards. It also provides information on timelines, costs, and how to get help with placing a card order.


What is the Card Ordering Process?

  1. Place an order for cards through our manufacturing partner Card Market or for other card data through our form on Formstack.

  2. Paytronix will confirm once the data has been sent to the indicated recipient.

  3. Validation process from vendor or client.

  4. Paytronix confirms the data has been approved and uploads the data to production.

  5. Client can activate and test the cards.


How do I place an order?

There are two ways you can place an order for gift or loyalty cards with Paytronix - Through our manufacturing partner, Card Market or you can use our order form.

NOTE: For orders that need to work with Square POS please follow the instructions in this article: How do I Order Gift Cards for use with Square POS?

Card Market

Third Party Vendor or Virtual Data

  • While we strongly recommend ordering cards via Paytronix as it provides the most secure and seamless process, you are free to order cards from any manufacturer of your choosing.

  • If you are using a different manufacturer to print and ship your cards or you just need data for a virtual order, please fill out this form to place an order for data: https://paytronix.formstack.com/forms/card_order

  • Things to consider when ordering through a third party:

    • Because we do not know all the processes for alternate vendors, we cannot vouch for the overall appearance quality, or the functionality of the final printed cards.

    • Even if we find no issues with the test cards, there is always a possibility that there may be a functionality issue with the final cards; test cards are often manufactured on different equipment than production cards.

    • We cannot guarantee the functionality of cards from alternate vendors. Should you have an issue with cards ordered from an alternate vendor, we can try to troubleshoot the issue to make them work. We may or may not be able to successfully resolve the issue. You are responsible for paying the costs incurred (hourly rate) to troubleshoot card functionality issues arising from the use of an alternate vendor.

    • We will always provide the data in the most secure way possible to alternate vendors. However, once the file has been transmitted, and is stored with the alternate vendor, we can no longer guarantee its security or integrity.


Formstack Order Form - How do I fill out specific fields?

MID Number (Merchant ID)

You can find this by logging into the PX website and it will be located on the top on the page. This is not required to fill out.

Physical Card Type - Who is your manufacturer?

Your physical card manufacturer:

  • This is who is printing and shipping your cards.

  • Please select the manufacturer you are using, if you are not using one that is listed, please add the email of the person that we should be sending the data to. The data will be sent to them using our secure file transfer, Sharefile.

  • If you are ordering through Incomm or Blackhawk you may be required to share an IIN number and an order form for us to fulfil the order. When you click on these vendors, you will be promoted to provide us with this information. Please see below “What is an IIN, when and why do I need it, and how do I register for one?” if you need guidance on the IIN aspect.

  • Please upload your order form or OCS to the file drop. If you did not receive one, please reach out to your Incomm or Blackhawk contact for that information.

Virtual Card Type - To whom are we sending the virtual data?

Data will be sent to the indicated recipient indicated in the "To whom are we sending the virtual data" via Sharefile.

How many batches are you ordering?

  • The amount of batches is determined by the amount of different data you are requesting. For example, if you are ordering cards for Gift, Loyalty, and Comp that would be 3 batches. Same as if you were ordering multiple gift cards or multiple promos. For example, Free Drink Promo, Free Lunch Promo, $5 off Promo, that is 3 batches as well.

  • The number of batches you choose will prompt that number of types and templates to fill. Please indicate which template and type of cards they should be for each batch you are ordering.

Card Template

  • To avoid confusion and to expedite the process, we will need the exact name of an existing card template or the name and specifications of a new card template if a new one needs to be made.

  • If you are unsure which card template or need a new card template created, please email [email protected] and a member of the Support Team can assist.

  • Even if you run the same program as last year, you must create a new template if there are new expiration dates, new rules, or anything different from a previous order.

  • Please note: Using the Account Lookup, you can (a) see all available card templates using the drop-down in the Card Template Field and/or (b) you can search a card number from a past order to see which template it is associated with. You can see which by checking the "template" line after looking up the card number.

User-added image


User-added image

Any specifications or notes:

  • If there is anything else we need to know about your order, please write it in this specified area.

  • Notes could be details such as a bin range your cards start with, if you have a number of digits that are different than our standard, or other relevant information.


NOTE: For orders that need to work with Square POS please follow the instructions in this article: How do I Order Gift Cards for use with Square POS?


What is the cost?

Cost for data is $250/batch and $50/additional batch. Batches are based on types of cards, not quantity. For example, if you are placing an order for gift, comp, and loyalty cards, that is one batch and two additional for a total cost of $350. It does not matter how many of each you need. Additionally, if you are ordering multiple kinds of card types, that is an additional batch. For example, if you have a $25 fixed value gift card, and an open dollar value gift card, that would require two batches of data.

Keep in mind this is justthe cost of the data. Your vendor will charge you their own price for manufacturing.


What is the timeline?

  • Our standard turnaround time for data only is 3 business days.

  • Vendor turnaround time may be different depending on artwork receival and approval or other varying

  • During holiday season (September 1 – December 31), we experience very high volume and set turnaround times of 3-5 business days.

Holiday Season – 10 days minimum

Standard Production – 8 days minimum

  • New data request

  • Send data (3-5 business days)

  • Get validation material (client determined)

  • Validate and upload data (3 business days)

  • New Data Request

  • Send data (3 business days)

  • Get validation material (client determined)

  • Validate and upload data (3 business days)

  • If you need a new template created, this can take ~2 days to complete.

  • Once we receive the validation item from the client or vendor, proof approval should take around 3 days to approve and get the data uploaded to our system.

  • Total turnaround time for a new card order minimums are if everything we need to complete the order, if there are questions, concerns, or more action items, the order will take longer to fulfil.

  • See below for a general overview of the card order process::

Card order Process

What is the validation process?

Paytronix requires a validation process in order to make sure the data that you received matches what we have in our system.

  • You do have the option of waiving the test card verification. With this waiver, you are acknowledging that test cards were not sent to Paytronix and we therefor are not liable for any issues with the cards stemming from production/person.

  • This validation stage can happen after Paytronix receives one of the following from the client or vendor:

    • Data proof

    • First and last data range (accepted as validation for virtual cards without waiver requirement)

    • First or last 5 data range

  • Please note, your card batches will not be uploaded to our system or available for activation until after this process is complete.


How do I activate my cards?

Activation will need to occur either on the PXS website if you'd like to bulk activate these cards ahead of time, or they can be activated at the POS.

  • Please test activate a card before bulk activation to make sure everything is correct.

  • Once cards are bulk activated, we cannot make any corrections. It is important for testing that you activate only the first card in the batch. An entire card range cannot be bulk-activated later if there are any activated cards in the middle of the range, so it is important you take note of which card you used for testing. Once you test, start with the second sequential number after it for activation.

  • Here are instructions on how to Bulk Activate the cards in the PXS. You can access the bulk activate tool by going to Marketing Tools > Bulk Activate, and then entering the first and last card number of the batch you would like to activate. If these cards are stored value, there should also be a step in this process where you can load value across all the cards if needed.


Who do I contact if I have questions or run into errors?

  • The Paytronix Card Support team handles the data creation and putting your cards into the system. If you have questions please email [email protected].

  • If you are having issues with your template, need a new template created, have activation issues, or anything outside of the data itself, please submit a case. You can also email to [email protected].

  • If you have any questions concerning cards, or shipping for an order you have placed through Card Market, you can reach out to [email protected].


What is an IIN, when and why do I need it, and how do I register for one?

This is a registered prefix for cards that indicates the cards belong to you when they are being routed through outside networks. We need the IIN number to generate data for retail gift cards. Click here to review IIN for Gift Cards (Stored Value Cards).

Please note: There is a $2,500 cost associated with applying for an IIN and typically takes 5 business days to get an assignment once the application is complete and fee is received.

IMPORTANT:An IIN is required when there is an order through Blackhawk or Incomm with order forms (OCS).

Additional Resources

How to Start a Card Order with Card Market

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