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Ordering physical cards

Overview

The card ordering process involves:

  • Submitting your card design
  • Approving proofs during the manufacturing process.

There are differences if you order an on-demand or premium card.

Ordering process

The process of ordering physical cards differs based on whether you order on-demand or premium cards.

On-demand cards

The typical card ordering process for on-demand cards is as follows:

  1. Finalized card design received from card program
  2. Design approved by card manufacturer
  3. Card program receives proof from card manufacturer
  4. Card program approves proof
  5. Card network approval
  6. Quality assurance (QA)
  7. Pre-product order notification sent
  8. Program live

Premium cards

The typical card ordering process for premium cards is as follows:

  1. Finalized card design received from card program
  2. Receive and approve sales quote
  3. Receive and approve proof
  4. Submit proof
  5. Card manufacturing begins
  6. Card personalization begins
  7. Receive personalization proofs
  8. Approve proof
  9. Final approval

Lead and shipping timelines

Lead times refer to the timeline in which specific steps in the card order process take place. Shipping timelines are based on the shipping method used to ship cards to account holders. Lead and shipping timelines are subject to change.

For more information on shipping methods for both on-demand and premium cards, see Shipping Method.

On-demand cards

Typical lead and shipping times for on-demand cards are as follows:

StepTimeline
Proof creation2 days from receiving the card design in the correct format
Brand approval~2-5 days from submission
Card manufacturing~1 week after proof creation; cards printed same day on-demand
Activation labels1 week
Processing48-hour SLA after receiving the card file
Expedited processingSame day if card file submitted by 5 AM PT cutoff. Use one of the SAME_DAY enums . Additional fees apply. Contact support@highnote.com.

Premium cards

Typical lead and shipping timelines for premium cards are as follows:

StepTimeline
Proof creation2 days from receiving the card design in the correct format
Brand approval~2-5 days from submission
Card manufacturing6-18 weeks from brand approval (depending on card selection)
Packaging materials~8 weeks upon final proof approval
Activation labels~8 weeks plus shipping
ProcessingSame day or next day after receiving the card file

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