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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
and Delta marks, presently displayed at more than 21 million
locations in over 300 countries and territories.
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 645,000 automated teller machines in over 300 countries and territories
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 high street 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 a day, either
in cash or purchases, is £1,200/US$1,800/Euro1,800
- 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/Euro900 per
day and no single purchase can exceed £1,000/US$1,500/Euro1,500
You should be aware that your transaction limits can be affected
by transactions authorised but not yet debited. To clarify
the daily limits refer to working days only. A transaction
undertaken on a Saturday or Sunday or a bank holiday will
be subject to the daily limit of the previous working day.
For example, if three cash withdrawals are made on a Friday,
no further cash withdrawals will be allowed until the following
working day or if £1,200 was withdrawn in purchases on a
Friday no further withdrawals would be permitted within the
limit of £1,200 until the next working day.
Flexibility
The card will be issued to you on the basis of the transaction
limits as mentioned previously.
Should you however know in advance that certain transactions
will exceed any of the monetary limits, such transactions
can be accommodated if you have cleared funds available in
your Optimum account. You should telephone your account manager
in advance during British Isles office hours so that, once
agreed, an increased limit can be put in place with immediate
effect for an agreed period of time.
Should you find that you wish to review the monetary limits
for ongoing purposes, you are welcome to discuss these with
your account manager. Again, once agreed, any increases or
decreases will become effective immediately.
Our only requirement is that a minimum balance of £3,000/US$5,000/Euro5,000
in cleared funds is held in your Optimum account before the card application
will be processed. Thereafter, a balance of £1,000/US$1,500/Euro1,500 in cleared
funds must be maintained in the account at
all times. Balances below these amounts can generally not
be accessed by our Cards.
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 above charges will be made in accordance with our tariff
sheet.
Liability for unauthorised transactions
This is clearly set out in section 5 of the Terms and Conditions
which are included in this user guide.
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 or Standard
Bank Jersey Limited. Alternatively, you can use the local
Visa freephone number, which we have listed for you.
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
every effort can be made to 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. For security reasons, we will only post
your PIN mailer to you once you have contacted us to activate
your card. 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
- if you suspect that your PIN has become known to another
person, this fact should be notified to us immediately
Please note that, for security reasons, the PIN mailer sent
to you will be the only record of your PIN. Should you forget
your PIN, or be concerned that it is known to somebody else,
we request that you inform us. 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 and return
it to us.
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
- 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
- when about to travel, check your card expiry date to
ensure it will not expire while you are away
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 four to five working days before the funds can be withdrawn
from your account. This is common to all banks in the British
Isles and the United States of America 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
. You should then complete the Application Form.
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
The Application form asks for a password. Please memorise
this as you will be asked for it when activating your card.
One of the benefits of your relationship with Standard Bank
Offshore is our emphasis on personal service. As long as
we are able to authenticate your call by use of the password,
many of our services can be offered telephonically.
The card we will issue to you will bear your photograph and
signature. These will be laser etched on to your card to
ensure they are tamper-proof. You must therefore provide
us with a passport sized photograph and a specimen signature.
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 please ensure that the signature and the photograph
are correct. You are then requested to telephone the number
given on the activation sticker on the card, to give us your
password to confirm the card's safe arrival and allow us
to activate your account.
Once activated, the sticker on the card can be removed.
We will then despatch your PIN mailer to you. Should this
not arrive within a reasonable period, you are requested
to contact your account manager.
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