Frequently Asked Questions about Valor Prepaid MasterCard® Card
Who can apply for a Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
Any individual who is over the age of 18 that meets the USA PATRIOT Act and legal compliance guidelines may apply for the card. A U.S. resident must have a valid social security number and a verifiable address to order a card.
If you are a non-U.S. Citizen and do not have a valid social security number, you must supply your full name, address, date of birth and a non-expired government-issued photo ID which should provide information regarding where it was issued, date of issue and expiration date. Acceptable forms of identification are a driver’s license, a state issued identification card, a passport, a Matricular Consular identification card, or a government issued photo identification card. Additionally, you must provide a copy of a current monthly bill (phone, water, gas, electric, etc.) that shows your full name and current address as listed on the identification document provided.
Can I get a second Valor Prepaid MasterCard to give to a friend or family member?
No. Duplicate cards for one card account are not available with the Valor Prepaid MasterCard.
Can I apply using a business name?
No. You must apply using your personal information. We authenticate the identity of all cardholders based on the information provided during the card account set-up process before a Valor Prepaid MasterCard is shipped to you.
Can I still get a Valor Prepaid MasterCard if I have bad credit?
Yes. There is no credit check required to get a Valor Prepaid MasterCard.
How long will it take to get my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
The delivery time depends on the delivery service and payment method you choose. Regular mail shipments will arrive 7-10 days from the date that we receive your activation fee and completed registration information.
Please note that activation fee payments made by e-check, cashier’s check or non-U.S. Postal Service money order will take longer, as funds are held 5-10 business days before being credited to your card account. All other payment methods (direct deposit, IPP, Bank Wire Transfer) are credited to your card account the same business day we receive them.
Which bank issues the Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
MetaBank is the issuing bank for the Valor Prepaid MasterCard.
Where can I use my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
You can use your Valor Prepaid MasterCard at millions of locations worldwide where MasterCard debit cards are accepted including over 1 million ATMs worldwide.
How do I make a purchase with my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
When making a purchase, select "credit" and sign the receipt provided by the merchant. If you make a purchase online or over the phone, just enter your card number and expiration date.
Can I spend more money than I have loaded on the card?
Each time you use your card, you authorize us to reduce the value available
on your card by the amount of the transaction. You are not allowed to exceed
the available amount on your card through an individual transaction or a series
of transactions. Nevertheless, if a transaction exceeds the balance of the
funds available on your card (creating a “shortage”) you shall
remain fully liable to us for the amount of the transaction and any applicable
fees or charges. We reserve the right to bill you for any shortage together
with a shortage fee of $0.00. You agree to pay us promptly for the shortage
and any applicable fees. We also reserve the right to cancel this card should
you create one or more shortages with your card.
What do I do with the Valor Prepaid
MasterCard after I’ve spent the money?
The Valor Prepaid MasterCard is designed to be a convenient financial tool that helps facilitate a wide range of transactions, from online commerce to bill payment. When the money loaded onto the card has been spent, you can conveniently reload it with more money by visiting www.valorcard.com and logging into your online account and clicking on the “Add Cash” option. Otherwise, you always have the option of reloading it at a later date. Lastly, you may dispose of the card if you have no further planned use for the card. If you dispose of the card, be sure you destroy the card itself before discarding. Should someone find the card and use it for fraudulent transactions, you could become a victim of identify theft or financial fraud.
What if I decide I don’t want the Valor Prepaid MasterCard anymore?
If you decide you no longer want your card, the easiest way to close your card account is to spend the remaining funds or withdraw your money via an ATM, and then contact customer service and inform us you wish to close your card account. If you wish to close your card account and have a check mailed to you for the remaining funds available on your card, contact customer service and a Check Issuance Fee will be deducted from the card account and a check for the remaining balance will be sent to the Cardholder’s address on file.
Special Transactions
What are Recurring Transactions?
Recurring transactions are those transactions that are automatically charged to your card each month with or without your knowledge. Because your card is prepaid and does not carry a credit line, merchants (e.g. “Book of the Month Club”, Cable TV services, Health clubs, etc.) may suspend or cancel your service if you don’t have enough money left on the card when the recurring transaction comes due. This is particularly risky if the recurring charge is for an essential service.You'll want to make sure your card balance will cover these charges each month.
What are “Open End” Transactions?
Certain merchants may sell goods or services where the final amount they will charge to your card is unknown at the time they first authorize the transaction. These merchants include rental car companies, hotels, and internet service providers to identify a few who may charge your card when the final purchase amount is not known up front. Consequently, your card account may be “authorized” or “have money held” for more than the actual amount of the purchase until the final transaction is completed, thereby making those previously “held” dollars unavailable to you to spend elsewhere.
Other merchants will accept prepaid cards only under special rules or policies that may cause your card to be declined. Additionally, transactions at certain merchants that authorize high dollar amounts, especially rental car companies and hotels, may cause an “authorization” or an authorized dollar amount of these funds during that entire time. This is done to prevent fraud from prepaid card customers who may run up a bill higher than the amount first approved.
A certified letter or fax from the merchant is required before we will manually release legitimate authorizations. In those circumstances, a Live Customer Service Fee will apply.
Can I pay at the pump for gasoline?
Yes. You will need to have an available balance of at least $35, and this amount
will remain as a hold on your card account until the completed transaction is
processed. If the total purchase comes to $30, the merchant will complete
the transaction by collecting the $30. The remaining $5 will be released
back into your card account once the settlement is complete, which can take up
to 10 business days.
Can I use the Valor Prepaid MasterCard to rent a car?
Yes. Your Valor Prepaid MasterCard may be used to rent a car, but because a car rental is an "open end" transaction (see “Open End Transactions” in this FAQ section), your card will be "authorized" (have money held) for much more money than the actual cost of the car rental. How much more will depend on where you rent the car. The reason is that the car rental company won't know if they need to charge you for things like gas, car damage and extra days until you return the vehicle. Furthermore, these authorized funds will be held and unavailable for you to spend until the final transaction is posted to your statement. This means that you will not have access to these funds for perhaps as long as 90 days. For this reason, we do not recommend using your card to pay for rental car transactions.To avoid problems when you rent, our advice is to first call the car rental company and ask them what their policy is regarding the use of prepaid cards.
If I bought something for a certain price, why was additional money taken from my card account?
Some merchants will "authorize" or "hold" more money than the actual final purchase price. When they do this, your available balance will decrease by the "authorized amount" until the merchant posts the final transaction amount to your statement for the correct amount. This doesn't mean the money is gone, it simply means the money is being held until the purchase is complete (see “Open End Transactions” in this FAQ section). In general, these "holds" will drop from your card account after the final purchase has been posted to your statement. However, if this isn't the case, or if you check your statement and you see that you were actually charged more money than you were supposed to be charged, please call customer service and we will investigate the error. Please note that we cannot manually release legitimate authorizations without a certified fax or letter from the merchant. Furthermore, should you request that we manually release a legitimate authorization; a Live Customer Service Fee will apply.
Can I shop online and over the phone with my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
Yes. Please be aware that many online and phone merchants will do what is called a “one dollar authorization.” This means that they check to see that your card account is valid, but they only hold $1.00 until they ship the merchandise. Upon shipment, they’ll charge the full purchase price. Additionally, many online and phone merchants perform what are called “batch authorizations.” This means they will take several orders over a period of time and then submit them all at once for authorization at some later time. For this reason, you may not immediately see your balance reduced when you buy something online or over the phone. Once your card is authorized and approved, you will see your balance decline by the purchase amount.
Questions About Bill Pay
Bill Pay, Valor ’s automated bill payment service, saves you time and money when paying your bills. With Bill Pay, you can send a one-time or recurring electronic payment to over 2500 billers listed in our database or a paper check to any biller not listed in our database. Since the bill amount is immediately deducted from your available balance, you will never incur a bounced check fee.
You can access Bill Pay to set up billers, send payments and view your transaction history via your card account online at www.valorcard.com or over the phone using our card account information line.
Which bills can I pay using Bill Pay?
Unlike most electronic bill pay programs, you can pay any and every bill using Bill Pay. If your biller is not listed in our biller database, we will send them a paper check on your behalf.
Questions About Adding and Transferring Funds using my Valor Prepaid MasterCard
How do I load money on my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
You may load money through:
Payroll Direct: Have payroll, dividends, disability and government checks (e.g. Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, etc.) added directly to your Valor Prepaid MasterCard, FREE. Your payment is credited to your card account the same business day.
ACH Direct: The Automated Clearing House is an efficient and highly reliable national system for electronically transferring funds. Some banks allow their account holders to transfer money directly to their card using ACH. Loading your Valor Prepaid MasterCard through this method is free.
Bank Wire Transfer : Send a Federal Reserve Wire Transfer from any bank or financial institution for a $7.95 fee. Your payment is credited to your card account the same business day it is received.
Money Orders & Cashiers Checks : Send us a money order or cashiers check. Money orders and cashiers checks will be placed on a 10-business day hold before being added to your balance. Please note that we do not accept U.S. Postal Service money orders.
In-Person Payments™ : Load money on your Valor Prepaid MasterCard at over 3,000 IPP retail locations for a fee of $3.95. Your payment is credited to your card account within 30 minutes.
PayPal®: You must sign up for a free PayPal account at www.PayPal.com before loading your Valor Prepaid MasterCard using PayPal. For complete instructions on loading your card via PayPal, visit www.valorcard.com and log into your online account and click the “Add Cash” option. Loading your Valor Prepaid MasterCard through this method is free.
Can I transfer funds from my Valor Prepaid MasterCard to a bank account?
Yes. You can transfer funds from your Valor Prepaid MasterCard to any authorized U.S. bank account for free by logging into your Valor online account and selecting "Money Transfer.”
Can I transfer money from my card to another Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
No, the Valor Prepaid MasterCard does not allow for transferring of money from one card to another.
Questions About My Valor Card Account and Card Management
How do I view my card account activity?
You can view all card account transactions by logging on to your Valor online account at www.valorcard.com and selecting " Account Details ” under the “ My Card ” section. The Account Details screen shows transaction history, spending summary and available balance.
Do I need to keep a minimum balance on my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
No. Your Valor Prepaid MasterCard does not have a minimum balance, but it is a good idea to keep a small amount of money on your card to cover the $4.95 monthly maintenance fee.
What happens if I return something I purchased with my Valor Prepaid MasterCard?
When you return something purchased with your Valor Prepaid MasterCard, the merchant will credit the amount of the return to your card. Because returns are handled via the merchant’s bank, credits may take 2-3 business days to appear in your Valor card account.
What happens if my Valor Prepaid MasterCard is lost or stolen?
Immediately call the Valor customer service number at 1-800-421-4384 if your Valor Prepaid MasterCard has been lost or stolen.
If your Valor Prepaid MasterCard has been lost or stolen, a replacement card will automatically be issued for a $10 fee as long as you have at least a $20 available card account balance.
When are Valor ’s customer service representatives available?
Valor’s customer service representatives are available by calling 1-800-421-4384 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. You can also access your card account balance or transaction history, report your card lost or stolen, and pay bills with Bill Pay 24 hours a day by visiting our website at www.valorcard.com or by calling Valor customer service at 1-800-421-4384 (fees may apply).
How can I dispute a transaction?
If you wish to dispute a transaction that has been posted to your statement, address a letter to Valor , LLC. c/o Transaction Dispute, P.O. Box 71402, Salt Lake City, UT 84171. Please supply the name on the card, your card number, address, phone number, password, e-mail address and a description of the transaction you are disputing and why you believe your statement is incorrect. All dispute letters must be signed by the cardholder.
No e-mail or telephone correspondence will be accepted for transaction disputes.
Questions About the Valor Prepaid MasterCard Website
How secure is my online account information?
The Valor Prepaid MasterCard website uses the latest 128 bit encryption technology to secure your online account and personal information. We follow strict procedures to ensure that your online account and personal information is never shared or misused in any way. For more information regarding your privacy, please view our privacy policy.
Which browser works best with your website?
The Valor Prepaid MasterCard website is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, AOL 6.0 or higher, and Netscape Navigator 6.0 or higher.