Using Prepaid Visa Gift Cards

The following highlights some of the important things you should know about using your Visa Gift Card. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions page for full details.

In-store purchases and split payments

While most merchants are able to handle multiple forms of payment for the same purchase, some cannot. To purchase merchandise that costs more than the balance on the Card, cardholders should let the merchant know in advance that they will be splitting the payment (i.e. part of the transaction payment with the Card and the remainder with another form of payment such as a credit card, debit card, cash or cheque). It is important for cardholders to know the available balance on their Card because merchants are unable to check balances and this information is required to tell the merchant the amount that should be paid by the Card. Balances can be checked online at www.myrbccardbalance.com or by contacting us at 1-866-466-8079.

Merchandise Returns

For merchandise returns, cardholders should deal directly with merchants. When their policy is to credit the Card used for purchases (rather than provide you with cash or store credit), the refund amount will appear on the Card balance within two to three days of the return.

Online Purchases

Some online retailers will only allow purchases to be made with registered cards. To use a Visa Gift Card to make online purchases at these retailers, cardholders must register their Card at www.myrbccardbalance.com . Cards cannot be used for certain types of transactions including those connected to Internet gambling.

Card Replacement

Visa Gift Cards can be replaced if lost or stolen provided they have been registered at www.myrbccardbalance.com . Prior to the card expiry date, cardholders may also choose to transfer the balance remaining to a new Card rather than incur the card expiry fee. Card replacements can be done at any RBC Royal Bank branch (a $15.00 fee¹ will apply).

Special transactions such as hotels, car rental agencies or cruise lines

Certain merchants require that a hold be placed on funds (up to an additional 20%) in advance of providing the goods or services. Examples include hotels, car rental agencies, restaurants, cruise lines or others that could require a tip or extra charge. This is normal practice for merchants accepting credit or prepaid cards to ensure that the Card has sufficient funds to pay for the final anticipated amount of the purchase.Because these holds take some time to clear, we recommend that cardholders do NOT use their Card in these situations to ensure that they have their full balance available for other purchases. In addition, Cards CANNOT be used to pay for fuel at "pay at the pump" kiosks but CAN be used to pay for fuel in–store.

Travelling with the Card

Visa Gift Cards can be used while travelling outside of Canada. Cards may be used to make a purchase anywhere in the world where Visa is accepted and cannot be used to withdraw cash at an ATM or to receive any other cash withdrawal at a financial institution. However, because some merchants may not be familiar with these types of Cards or to avoid other potential processing problems, we recommend that cardholders have another form of payment (credit card, debit card, cash or traveller’s cheques) when making purchases. If Cards or Card numbers are used outside of Canada or if amounts are charged to Cards in a foreign currency, we will convert the charges into Canadian dollars at our exchange rate, in effect at the time we post the transaction to the Card, which is 2.5% over a bench mark rate on which the payment card company bases its rate to us. We will show the exchange rate for each transaction on the transaction history.

¹ Fees are subject to change.