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Personal clients of Standard Bank Offshore may apply for an Offshore Visa Debit Card. This will enable funds held in a Standard Bank Optimum account to be accessed through the global Visa network. The Optimum account is available in Pounds sterling, US dollars and Euro.
The Offshore Visa Debit Card can be used to make purchases of goods and services without the need to carry large amounts of cash, cheques or travellers' cheques. It can also be used to obtain cash when required.
These pages explain how our Offshore Visa Debit Card service works in conjunction with an Optimum account.
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding our Offshore Visa Debit Card service.
Making purchases with your Offshore Visa Debit Card
Once you have received your Offshore Visa Debit Card and a Personal Identification Number (PIN) your card will allow you to pay for goods and services where you see the Visa mark, presently displayed at more than 25 million outlets worldwide.
In certain countries you may be asked to enter your PIN on a special keypad instead of signing a sales voucher. Your Offshore Visa Debit Card payments will be charged to your Optimum account as soon as the transaction details are received by us, normally within a few days. Your Optimum account statement will include details of the transactions. You can therefore check these against your sales vouchers to verify their accuracy.
Using your Offshore Visa Debit Card to obtain cash
There are 650,000 automated teller machines around the world displaying the Visa mark, many operating 24 hours a day.
To make a withdrawal you will simply insert your card into the machine, enter your PIN and follow the on-screen instructions. The cash received will be in the local currency. There may be a limit to the amount of cash you will be able to withdraw depending on local regulations.
You will also be able to use your card to withdraw cash over the counter at many banks worldwide which display the Visa mark.
Payments by telephone, internet or by mail
You will be able to pay for goods or services ordered by mail, telephone or over the internet. You will be asked to quote your card number and usually the expiry date of the card as a security measure to verify its authenticity. You may also be asked to quote the three digit code after the card number on the signature strip.
Transaction limits
For security reasons the use of your card is subject to certain daily limits as follows:
- maximum amount which can be withdrawn in any 24 hour period, either in cash or purchases, is £2,000/US$4,000/€4,000
- there will be a limit of three cash withdrawals per day but no limit on the number of purchases per day
- no cash withdrawal can exceed £600/US$900/€900 per 24 hours
These daily limits cover a 24 hour period from when you first use the card on any day. You should be aware that the limits can be reduced by the value of transactions you have already undertaken, but which have not yet been debited from your account.
You will require a minimum balance of £3,000/US$5,000/€5,000 in cleared funds held in your Optimum account before the card application will be processed.
Flexibility
The card will be issued to you on the basis of the transaction limits, however, the bank can temporarily increase or decrease these limits to suit your personal requirements. Should you know in advance that certain transactions will exceed any of the monetary limits, a telephone call to your account manager within British Isles office hours is all that is required, provided you have cleared funds available in your Optimum account and subject to a maximum limit for debit card transactions.
Please note that it may take up to one day before cleared funds paid into your account may be accessed using your card.
Charges
There is only a nominal annual fee for the Offshore Visa Debit Card which is charged to your Optimum account.
A charge will apply to each withdrawal made from automated teller machines. This charge will be debited to your Optimum account at the same time as the withdrawal. When you use your card for either a cash withdrawal or a payment in a currency different to your Optimum account base currency, a foreign exchange conversion will be required. The exchange rate applied is a wholesale rate plus an additional percentage charged by Visa and ourselves to cover costs.
The charges above will be made in accordance with our tariff sheet, a copy of which is available from your account manager upon request.
Liability for unauthorised transactions
This is clearly set out in the terms and conditions, which were included with the application form when applying for your card.
In summary, we will be responsible for unauthorised transactions prior to your receipt and activation of your card. Should the card be lost or stolen, we will assume responsibility for any unauthorised transactions after the loss or theft has been reported to us or to Visa's Global Customer Assistance Service.
What to do if your card is lost or stolen
The loss or theft of your card should be reported as soon as possible to:
Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited
During British Isles office hours on |
+44 (0)1624 643643 |
Standard Bank Jersey Limited
During British Isles office hours on |
+44 (0)1534 881188 |
| Out of these hours please call us on |
+44 (0)1624 643644 |
If you are unable to contact us on the above numbers you can alternatively use the local Visa freephone number, which will be listed in the telephone directory.
Shortly after you make your call, your card number will be blocked in the Visa system. This process will be greatly speeded up if you can quote your card number.
After reporting your card as lost or stolen, you are asked to confirm your notification to us in writing and to alert the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Replacement card service
In the event of your card being damaged, lost or stolen you should contact your account manager during British Isles office hours (9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday) so that we can replace your card as quickly as possible. In addition, we will make every effort to assist you to meet any essential purchase or cash requirements you may have.
Your PIN
Your PIN is printed within a sealed PIN mailer when your card is produced and will be sent to you under separate cover. We strongly advise the following:
- on receipt of your PIN mailer, ensure that it is still sealed
- memorise your PIN and then destroy the slip on which it is printed
- never let anyone else know your PIN - not even the police or bank staff
- never let anyone else use your card
- if you need to make a note of your PIN, never write it down in such a way that it can be recognised as a PIN
- never write your PIN on your card or on anything which is at any time kept with the card
Should you forget your PIN, contact us and we will send you a PIN reminder.
If you suspect that your PIN has become known to another person, this fact should be notified to us immediately. We will then issue you with a new card and a new PIN. You will be requested to cut your existing card in half through the magnetic strip.
Advice to cardholders
- make sure you know your PIN
- make sure you know what funds you have in your Optimum account and remember the transaction limits in place
- keep a record of your card number and store it separately from your card
- note the address and telephone number to call should your card be lost or stolen, storing this separately from your card
- care should be taken to enter your PIN correctly at automated teller machines as an excessive number of incorrect attempts will result in the card being retained within the automated teller machines being used
- should you input your PIN incorrectly on a keypad 3 times, your PIN will be blocked. Please contact the Debit Card Team should this happen
- know where your card is at all times and keep it safe
- when entering your PIN on a keypad, you should ensure that the numbers selected cannot be observed by anyone nearby
- protect your card's magnetic strip by keeping it away from other cards, money or keys
- if your card is lost or stolen, report the loss immediately to the telephone numbers given to you
- keep copies of all sales vouchers and automated teller machine withdrawal slips to check against your statement
- for additional security please advise your relationship officer of any travel plans
Access to funds in your Optimum account
There may be an occasion when you expect funds to be in your account and available for withdrawal and yet find that a purchase transaction or cash withdrawal is not accepted by the Visa network.
If a cheque has been paid into your account it will generally take six working days before the funds can be withdrawn from your account. This is common to all banks in the British Isles and is necessary in case a cheque shown as credited to your account is, for any reason, not honoured.
How to apply for an Offshore Visa Debit Card
Before applying, you are asked to read the Terms and Conditions. If you do not yet have an Optimum account, you can apply for the card when completing an Offshore Personal Account Application form.
If you wish to apply for a card on an existing account, you should complete the Offshore Visa Debit Card Application form.
In both cases, please ensure to remember the confidential Password you set on your account, as you will be asked for this when activating your new card. If you have not previously provided a password, you should arrange to do so now by contacting your account manager.
If your Optimum account is a joint account, we can issue a card to each signatory as long as each has individual signing rights. A card cannot be issued to an individual who is not an account holder.
Provided our minimum balance criteria are met we will despatch a card to you, normally within ten working days from receipt of your application. On the receipt of your card, you are requested to telephone the number given on the activation sticker on the card. We will require you to give your password at that stage and will thereafter activate the card for use on your account.
Once activated, the sticker on the card can be removed.
Your PIN mailer will be dispatched to you separately Should this not arrive within a reasonable period, you are requested to contact your account manager.
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