Home / Guides/ Issue Cards

Print Physical Cards

Prerequisites to Printing Cards

  1. A Highnote Account
  2. An API Key, the API Explorer or the Dashboard
  3. A Virtual Card

Overview

Once a Payment Card has been created, you can additionally order a Physical Card for eligible, multi-use Card Products. For example, Consumer Debit Card Products typically have a physical card to carry in addition to digital payment instruments and Fleet Card Products often exclusively use physical cards for payments.

Single-use Card Products do not allow the creation of 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 Environment, you are able to fully 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 that is packaged with a card carrier and shipped to a single location. Individual orders are not connected to other orders at any time in the Physical Card Order lifecycle.

Individual 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 which are then packaged individually in a card carrier and shipped together in a single shipment to one location. Group card orders are, in essence, a set of individual card orders that are packaged into a single shipment at the last step in 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 unique to the Account Holder printed on a Physical Payment Card. Line 1 is required and used for the Account Holder's name. Line 2 is optional, and can be used for any additional information. For a Business Account Holder, you could include the Name of the Primary Authorized User in addition to the Business Name.

The card personalization information can be added to the front or back of the card design.

Order Lifecycle

Physical card orders follow a standard lifecycle that begins with an Order for a Payment Card and ends 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.
PENDINGThe 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 Time

Highnote sends physical card fulfillment requests to the printer several times a day. 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.

You can also request to ship at a future date, but note that it may take up to 72 hours after the requested date to ship the Order.

Shipping Method

CourierShipment OptionExpected Time
USPSGround2–8 Business Days
Priority1-3 Business Days
ExpressNext Business Day-2 days
UPSGround1-5 Business Days
Second Day2 Business Days
Next DayNext Business Day

Shipping cost is based on the pricing outlined in your Highnote Master Services Agreement.

Tracking numbers are unavailable for cards shipped via USPS Ground.

You can choose to require signature on delivery.

Return Address

Your return address is configured by the Highnote team at the time your Card Product is setup for physical cards. To view or update your return address, please send a request to support@highnoteplatform.com.

Orders shipped via USPS Mail that cannot be delivered are returned to your company's return address on file with Highnote. Orders shipped via UPS or USPS Priority are returned to Highnote, as Highnote is the shipper of record.

Create Physical Card Order

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

Note: 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.

Checking the Order Status

Once you have requested a Physical Card, an Order will be created. You can query an Order for updates on the status of your Physical Card.

Once 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.

Canceling an Order

Orders can be canceled exclusively in the NEW state. This allows you to cancel printing and shipment in the event a mistake was made.

If you need to edit attributes such as shipping address, you will need to create a new Order.

Order Failures

A SHIPMENT_FAILED status occurs when the Physical Card can not reach the provided address. You will need to contact the Account Holder for more information and create a new orderPhysicalPaymentCard request with updated information.

Simulate Order Fulfillment

In the Test Environment, Physical Cards are not actually shipped when an Order is created and the shipment does not auto-transition through the Order states. While building your integration, you can manually transition the Order 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.

Send to Printer

Once you have created a Physical Card Order with a status of NEW, you can transition it to SENT_TO_PRINTER.

Approve Shipment

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

Ship Order

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

Fail Order

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

Provide Feedback

Was this content helpful?