Home / Issuing / Issue Cards

Print Physical Cards

Prerequisites

  1. A Highnote account
  2. An API Key, the API Explorer or the Dashboard
  3. A virtual card

Overview

When a payment card has been issued, by default, a virtual card is created. You can order physical cards for eligible, multi-use card products. Additionally, you can issue Preprinted Physical Cards.

Once you've created a physical card order, Highnote will track and report the status of your order and related shipments.

In the test environemnt, you can test your integration by running through all possible shipment scenarios, including successful and unsuccessful orders.

Individual Card Orders

Individual physical card orders allow you to request a single physical card. Note the following about individual physical card orders:

  • Packaged with a card carrier
  • Shipped to a single location
  • Not connected to other orders at any time in the physical card order lifecycle

Individual physical card orders are the most common order type across card products. For example, when issuing a card to a single account holder for a Consumer Debit product, you will use this order type.

Group Card Orders

Group physical card orders allow you to request several physical cards at once. Note the following about group physical card orders:

  • Packaged individually with a card carrier
  • Shipping as a group in a single shipment to one location

Group physical card orders are essentially a set of individual card orders that are packaged into a single shipment during the last step of the physical card order lifecycle.

Group orders are typically utilized for Prepaid card products, but may also work well for products such as Fleet cards.

Card Personalization

Card personalization is dynamic information printed on a physical card that is unique to the cardholder.

  • Line 1 is required and used for the cardholder's name. Examples of cardholders include account holders and authorized users.
  • Line 2 is optional and can be used for any additional information. For example, a business account holder may use line 2 for the business name.

When designing a physical card, card personalization information can be added to the front or back.

Order Lifecycle

Physical card orders follow a standard lifecycle, beginning with an order for a physical card and ending with a shipment received by the account holder.

fulfillment-process.svg

Order Status

StatusDescription
NEWA request for a physical card has been made. This is the only stage at which an order may be canceled.
PENDINGThis status is only applicable to group orders. The group order is ready to ship but has not yet been sent to the printer.
SENT_TO_PRINTERThe order has successfully been sent to the printer.
APPROVEDThe printer has approved the order.
SHIPPEDThe order has been shipped. All shipment methods besides USPS Ground return a tracking number.
CANCELEDYou requested to cancel the order.
SHIP_FAILEDThe order failed to reach the account holder. Failed orders are returned to the return address on file.

Fulfillment

Highnote sends physical card fulfillment requests to the printer several times a day. You can either select a custom date in the future for when you want your order to be shipped or select SHIPPED_IMMEDIATELY. When you request a card to be SHIPPED IMMEDIATELY, the order will be fulfilled within 72 hours and shipped via the courier of your choice.

Shipping Method

Tracking numbers are unavailable for cards shipped via USPS Ground.

You can choose various shipping methods for physical card orders. Shipping cost is based on the price outlined in your Highnote Master Services Agreement. You can also require a signature on delivery when creating your physical card order.

The following table outlines the available couriers, shipping options, expected shipping times, and which card types support each option:

CourierShipment OptionExpected TimeOn-demand CardPremium Card
USPSGroundTwo to eight business daysapproved-icon.svgapproved-icon.svg
PriorityOne to three business daysapproved-icon.svgapproved-icon.svg
ExpressNext business day to two daysapproved-icon.svg✖️
UPSGroundOne to five business daysapproved-icon.svg✖️
Second DayTwo business daysapproved-icon.svg✖️
Next DayNext business dayapproved-icon.svg✖️
FedExOne RateTwo to three business days✖️approved-icon.svg
Standard OvernightNext day by 6 PM✖️approved-icon.svg

Return Address

Your return address is configured by the Highnote team when your card product is set up. To view or update your return address, send a request to support@highnote.com.

Orders that cannot be delivered are returned to the return address on file with Highnote.

Create Physical Card Order

You may only submit one order for a given payment card. If the order is canceled or fails, you may try again for the same card. However, if an order is successful and you need another physical card, you will need to issue a new payment card.

Once you have issued a payment card, you can create an order for a physical card. When ordering a physical card, you can ship to the account holder's address on file or specify a different shipping address.

Physical card orders require:

  • Card personalization details
  • Shipping address
  • Requested ship date
  • Shipping method and signature requirements

You can create individual physical card orders using the following mutation. To create a group card order, see Print Cards in Bulk.

Checking the Order Status

Once you have requested a physical card order you can use a query for updates on the order’s status. When the order has moved to SHIPPED status, you can query the tracking number to share with your customers. Orders shipped via USPS Ground do not return a tracking number.

Use the following query to check the status of a physical card order:

Canceling an Order

Orders can only be canceled if they have the NEW status, allowing you to cancel printing and shipment in the event a mistake was made. If you need to edit attributes such as shipping address or make changes after the order passes the NEW status, contact support@highnote.com and create a new physical card order.

Use the following mutation to cancel a physical card order:

Order Failures

A SHIPMENT_FAILED status occurs when the physical card can not reach the provided address. When this occurs, you must contact the account holder for more information and create a new orderPhysicalPaymentCard request with updated information.

Use the following query to find the status of a physical card order:

Simulate Order Fulfillment

In the test environment, physical cards are not actually shipped when an order is created and the shipment does not go through the physical card order lifecycle. While building your integration, you can manually transition physical card orders through the shipment process from both the API and Dashboard and simulate transitioning the order through statuses of SENT_TO_PRINTER, APPROVED, SHIPPED, and SHIP_FAILED.

Use the following sections to simulate order fulfillment.

Send to Printer

Once you have created a physical card order with a status of NEW, you can transition it to SENT_TO_PRINTER.

Use the following mutation to simulate sending a physical payment card order to the printer:

Approve Shipment

Once the Order has been SENT_TO_PRINTER, you can approve the order and change the status to APPROVED.

Use the following mutation to simulate approving a physical payment card order:

Ship Order

Orders with a status of APPROVED may be transitioned to SHIPPED and will return the shipping method, and if available, tracking number.

Use the following mutation to simulate shipping a physical payment card order:

Fail Order

To design your system to handle failed shipments, you can simulate a status of SHIP_FAILED.

Use the following mutation to simulate a failed shipment:

Provide Feedback

Was this content helpful?