FAQ

No, your BaBee Prepaid Card is not a credit card, charge card or debit card. It is a Prepaid MasterCard that carries a variable amount of money based on the amount loaded onto the account when the card is purchased or at a subsequent time after purchase. Each time you use the card, the purchase amount is deducted from the available balance. Think in lines of a "Pay-As-You-Go" account, one that is loaded with funds and spent.

• You might not have a debit card
• A debit card can't be bought as a gift for you or topped-up by family and friends
• A debit card can't earn you money if you recommend it to your friends.
• A debit card doesn't have the BaBee Discount Club, which could save you up to £1000
• A debit card doesn't give £1 to BLISS for each one purchased

When you buy a BaBeeCard, you will become a member of the BaBee Discount Club. Shortly after you receive your card, we'll SMS text your membership details to you, which you can use to access the Club via the 'My Account' feature on the website. Once inside the Club, you can either purchase supermarket and high street discounted vouchers and gift cards or shop directly using your BaBeeCard on our discount partners' website. Note: remember to use the discount code supplied to you when using your BaBeeCard on our partners websites.

If you run a baby shop and would like to offer an instore or online discount to our cardholders, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please email us and let us know.

Take a look at the Case Study page on this website and we’ll show how you can achieve this.

When you order a BaBeeCard, we'll check various databases to ensure the details provided are correct.This is not a credit check and will not affect your credit rating.

Anyone over 18 can order a card. You don’t have to be a Mummy to have a BaBeeCard! Daddies, Grannies and Uncles can have one too! Because we DO NOT credit check anyone, passing the Identity Verification enables anyone to have a card.

Yes, it can be rejected, if you do not pass the Identify Verification. This may happen if you do not appear on the Electoral Register or do not have a land line telephone number.

If you like your card, you might wish to recommend it to your friends and family. If this recommendation leads to a successful sale of a BaBeeCard, we willl thank you by paying £5 directly onto your card.
– click here.
Of course, when your friend or family member applies for their card they willl need to tell us who recommended it to them, otherwise we won’t know who to pay the £5 to! Tell them to enter the last 9 digits of your Card Number when they are prompted to do so during the application process. You can use the BaBeeCard Invites to do this (there are nine boxes to enter the numbers in), which were included with your card. If you have run out of these you can download them from here and then print them out.

That’s us! We developed the BaBeeCard concept and are ultimately responsible for the card programme.. So remember – save with BaBee, pay by Blueberry!

Altair is the company helping us to deal with all the important processing behind your BaBeeCard.

Our friends at People Value maintain our Discount Club. They are the experts, so if you have a question they’d be delighted to help you. For any questions or assistance, call them on 0870 908 0088 quoting your Discount Club membership ID.

Ah, well this is because you have either purchased or loaded your BaBeeCard with your debit card. Afs/Activefon is the name given to us by the company processing your card transaction, so that's the name which will appear on your debit card/bank statement.

Newcastle Building Society is the issuer of the BaBee Prepaid MasterCard Card. It is the biggest building society based in the North East of England and currently the 13th largest in the UK, with assets under management in excess of £4.4 billion.

Have you received your membership details yet? You should receive these within fourteen days of receiving your card. If youve received your details and still cannot get access, call our Discount Club Customer Services Number on 0870 908 0088 quoting your Discount Club membership ID

I don’t know, but who cares! Fattening? Maybe. Tasty, sure is! If you’re in the mood for chocolate, check out our Discount Partner – Cadbury Gifts Direct. Mmmm…need we say more!

In order to use the SMS commands, you will first need to have a mobile phone number registered to your BaBeeCard. Your mobile number can be registered once you have logged in and selected the 'Edit Details' page.

Once this is done, you will be able to use the following commands with your BaBeeCard by using the commands below and sending your text to 00447797805215. You will be charged by your mobile phone provider for the cost of your text.

Help enquiry

To return the instructions on how to use the SMS system, text
HELP to 00447797805215

Balance Enquiry

To get the balance on your card, text BALANCE to 00447797805215

Top-Up your Card

To Top-Up your BaBeeCard using your pre-registered debit card, text LOAD to 00447797805215 <Your PIN> <amount>

Example: LOAD 1234 5000

Note that the amount is expressed as pounds/pennies. So in the example above 50.00 was sent.

Locking your Card

To temporarily lock your card, text LOCK <PIN> to 00447797805215

Example: LOCK 1234

Remember to delete this message once you’ve sent it!

Unlocking your Card

To unlock your card, text UNLOCK <PIN> to 00447797805215

Example: UNLOCK 1234

Remember to delete this message once you’ve sent it!

Sending money to another BaBeeCard using the cardnumber

To send money to another BaBeeCard, text TOCARD <Your PIN> <Recipient’s Card number> <Amount> to 00447797805215

Example: TOCARD 1234 5412751234567890 5000

Note that the amount is expressed as pounds/pennies. So in the example above 50.00 was sent.

Remember to delete this message once you’ve sent it!

Sending money to another BaBeeCard using a mobile phone number

If you do not know the recipients card number, you can still send money by using their mobile number as long as they have a BaBeeCard which is registered to that number of course! Send this text SEND <Your PIN> <Recipient’s Mobile Phone Number in International Format> <Amount> to 00447797805215

Example: SEND 1234 00447795811234 5000

Note that the amount is expressed as pounds/pennies. So in the example above 50.00 was sent.

Locking your Card

To temporarily lock your card, text
LOCK <Your PIN> to 00447797805215

Example: LOCK 1234

Unlocking your Card

To unlock your card, text
UNLOCK <Your PIN> to 00447797805215

Example: UNLOCK 1234

Click on the 'Apply Now' button on our home page. You can pay for it and the first load with a Visa or MasterCard debit card. Other methods of buying the card will become available soon.

No. When you apply and buy your BaBeeCard you will be asked to agree with the Terms and Conditions which are applicable to the Card you wish to purchase. Ticking the box is the equivalent to signing that you agree with these Terms and Conditions. Signing the back of the card, Activating and using the card is further acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.

Unless we notify you otherwise, we will issue your card within fourteen days of receiving your approved application. For security purposes, your PIN will arrive a couple of days before your card.

You must sign the signature strip on the back of the BaBeeCard as soon as you receive it. You must then activate your card before you can access your account or any further funds can be loaded onto the Card. Your PIN mailer will contain details of how to activate your card.

Of course! Just go to an ATM which displays the MasterCard acceptance mark and choose PIN Services. There will be no charge for this.

You will be able to load money onto your Card using a debit card, via the My Account part of this website.

If a friend or family member has a BaBeeCard too, then they will be able to load up your card by doing a card to card transfer via the My Account part of this website.

If a friend or family member wants to do a one-time Top-Up onto your Card, and they have a bank account with an online facility, then they will be able to load your card if you supply them with the correct bank account and Payment Reference details (see Can I top up my BaBeeCard? question). The maximum load when you purchase the card will be 100. Once you've received and activated your card, the maximum daily load for your BaBeeCard will increase to 500. Your BaBeeCard cannot be loaded more than three times in any one day. The balance on your Prepaid Card can never exceed 5000 at any time. We reserve the right to refuse to accept any particular loading transaction.

Once loaded, funds will normally be available for use on your Card within a few minutes if loaded via a debit card. If loaded by a bank transfer, it could take up to 4 working days for the money to reach your card account and show a credit.

Have you activated your card? You will need to activate your card when you receive it. Please go to the 'Activate' section of this website to do this. After this you will need to load it using the load facility on this website or you can load it from your bank account.

This could be for a number of reasons:

• Your card is damaged
• You have no balance left on your card and need to load some more
• You have Locked your card via text (SMS)
• We have Locked your card for security purposes or on your instruction
• The card has expired (please check the expiry date on the card itself)

Contact us for more information.

No. However, you can view your current balance and transactions online free of charge through the ‘My Account’ login on this website.

Each retail store has its own return policy and will handle the returns in the same manner as any other MasterCard transaction. They may either credit your card, provide a cash refund or a store credit.

To pay with your BaBeeCard, simply hand your card to the cashier, wait a few seconds while it's passed through the machine, sign a slip or enter your PIN. That's it. Your BaBeeCard account is debited straight away and details of the transaction are stored online for you to reconcile with your receipt. There's no bill to pay at the end of the month and the dates, locations and amounts all appear on your online statement, so you can check them easily.

You can use it anywhere you see the MasterCard acceptance mark instore and online, at over 25 million locations worldwide.

Wherever you see the MasterCard acceptance mark.

Yes, wherever you see the MasterCard acceptance mark.

Internet shopping is increasingly popular and most reputable retailers run sites that are safe and secure. However, if you are concerned about security, CardWatch (www.cardwatch.org.uk) offers some simple guidelines to follow when buying online. These should ensure that your shopping is as safe as it would be on the high street.

Consumer protection rights apply to purchases made online, just as they do to those made on the high street. If you have problems with an online purchase or retailer, visit the Office of Fair Trading site - the Consumer Information Section has details of your rights

No, you will not earn any interest on any funds loaded on your card.

You must let us know as soon as possible by using the 'Contact Us' facility on the website if you change your name, address, phone number or email address. If we contact you in relation to your BaBeeCard, for example - to notify you that we have cancelled your card or to send you a refund by cheque, we will use the most recent contact details you have provided to us. Any email to you will be treated as being received as soon as it is sent by us. We will not be liable to you if your contact details have changed and you have not told us. You may also phone our Customer Services on 0845 345 4738.

You can cancel your BaBeeCard by sending an email to us using the ‘Contact Us’ function on the Website. Then cut your BaBeeCard in half through the signature box and magnetic strip, ensuring the CHIP is cut in half and disposed of it safely. Once we have received your cancellation request, the refund of the funds remaining on your card will be processed. There needs to be at least £10 balance on the card for us to process your refund as we will charge £10 to do so. A cheque for the refund (Card Balance minus £10 fee) will be sent to the registered card address.

Your Card will be valid for 12 months. When it expires, you will no longer be able to use your card and we will arrange for the balance of funds to be transferred to your new card, after deducting any outstanding transactions and fees (including the replacement fee), if we decide to issue you one. If you have not used your card for 3 months before expiry or if insufficient funds exist on the card to meet the replacement fee, we will not issue a replacement.
We will not issue a new card if you tell us in writing at least 28 days before the date your card expires that you wish to cancel your card and require a refund instead (if there are sufficient funds to cover the cancellation fee – see terms and conditions

If you lose your card or it is stolen or you suspect that your card has been used by someone else, you must tell us as soon as you can by calling us on our 24 hour helpline +44 (0)207 127 0009. We will then cancel your card. If you ask us to do so, we will ask the police to investigate any suspected misuse of your card and they may need more information and assistance from you.

Once we have received your cancellation request, the refund of the funds remaining on your card will be processed. There needs to be at least £10 balance on the card for us to process your refund as we will charge £10 to do so. A cheque for the refund (Card Balance minus £10 fee) will be sent to the registered card address.

Go to our Fees page to find out what you may be charged.

Certainly. You can top up your BaBeeCard in a variety of ways. If you have a credit or debit card register its details in the 'My Account' section of this website after you have activated your BaBeeCard. Click on 'Top-Up' and choose the card you wish to load from. There will be a convenience fee for loading this way.

If you wish to load your card for free, then go into your personal online bank account and transfer the money as if paying a bill. Please use this information for the transfer if requested:
You must use the following format:

This is the last 9 digits printed on the front of your BaBeeCard This is your surname printed on your BaBeeCard

Don't worry if your surname is less than 8 letters long, just use the full name and leave blanks!