Introduction
The issue started around May 1 around 6PM PST from the data points that I’ve gathered. At that time, if you tried to re-order some Mastercard gift cards, you got this error:
New Design
Usually this happens when your design is discontinued. So I tried to create a new design and add to cart and got this error:
Disclaimer change
Now if you added Visa cards, they worked just fine. Then a Twitter user told me to read the fine print at the bottom and I paste it here for you (bolding mine):
The GiftCards.com Visa® Gift Cards are issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa® U.S.A. Inc. The Visa® Gift Card can be used everywhere Visa® debit cards are accepted in the U.S.A. The Visa® Prepaid Reward Cards are issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa® U.S.A. Inc. The Visa® Prepaid Reward Card can be used everywhere Visa® debit cards are accepted. The GiftCards.com Mastercard® Gift Cards are issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard® International Incorporated. Use your Debit Mastercard® everywhere Mastercard® debit cards are accepted in the US. Mastercard® is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard® International Incorporated. The merchants represented are not sponsors of GiftCards.com or otherwise affiliated with GiftCards.com. The logos and other identifying marks attached are trademarks of and owned by each represented company and/or its affiliates. Please visit each company’s website for additional terms and conditions. The GiftCards.com Visa® Virtual Account is issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa® U.S.A. Inc. The Visa® Virtual Account can be redeemed at every internet, mail order, and telephone merchant everywhere Visa® debit cards are accepted in the United States. No cash or ATM access.
Using the way back machine going back to an image on April 1, 2017, it read this:
The GiftCards.com Visa® Gift Cards are issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. The Visa® Gift Card can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted in the U.S.A. The Visa® Prepaid Reward Cards are issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. The Visa® Prepaid Reward Card can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. The GiftCards.com MasterCard Gift Cards are issued by The Bancorp Bank pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. GiftCards.com Cards issued by The Bancorp Bank may not be used at any merchant, including Internet and mail or telephone order merchants, outside of the U.S. or the District of Columbia wherever Debit MasterCard cards are accepted. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC. The merchants represented are not sponsors of GiftCards.com or otherwise affiliated with GiftCards.com. The logos and other identifying marks attached are trademarks of and owned by each represented company and/or its affiliates. Please visit each company’s website for additional terms and conditions.
I reached out to their support team on Twitter and they told me it’s a known issue and there is no ETA. They then told me to buy the Visa cards. We’re going on day 2.5 now and due to the timing of the “outage” on May 1, it doesn’t seem to be an “outage.” It seems giftcards.com is switching Mastercard providers from Bancorp to Metabank. If you’re a seasoned MS’er, you’ll know the significance of this change. If you don’t, then don’t worry about it. Nothing to see here.
Update – giftcards.com just confirmed to me that they are indeed moving to Metabank for their Mastercards. I still can’t order the new Mastercards yet, but if it’s similar to the Visa cards, this is a HUGE blow to scalable MS. Then again, I don’t think I’ve seen a Metabank MGC in retail; most retail MGC is USB. So maybe there’s hope…
Anyone know where I can buy Visa/MasterCard GC from Bancorp now that GC has switched to Metabank?
Vinh, USB MCs have been recorded as not working either. Looks like Bancorp is all that’s left.
Also, do you ever have good news to share? lol.
Oh yeah, that “change” went into effect weeks ago.
I don’t give good news for fear of killing it, so I’ll only report bad and dead news.
where is my angry and/or depressed emoji?
Looks like this is coming on the same day as giftcardmall stopped paying out 2% on topcashback for me – good news and bad news
Post offices will have some shorter lines in MS areas.
All my PO’s are filled with dumb people that have no idea how to put an address on their package before showing up to the PO!!!!! Still better then Walmart though 🙂
Usually people just walk up to the PO with what they’re shipping and slam it down on the counter. Then it takes 20mins to box it up and buy postage. It’s like nobody has ever mailed anything ever before.
Exactly it blows my mind! A lot of them are older too and it is like in 60 years you never learned how to mail something??? Even when I am just getting something scanned it takes forever because there is always one like that.
Since I work from home I just schedule a free pickup, but when I go have to go into a PO it drives me crazy. I wait for 20mins usually just to drop something off. My carrier said even the people working at the PO are clueless. Gov’t bureaucracy at its finest he says.
whats the deal with scalability via MC or Visa via meta or USB?