Using a payment card

Make sure you:

• set a personalised PIN before you use it
• sign the back of your card
• spend the money within 7 days from when it's loaded onto the card (for glasses you have up to 28 days)
• use the card at shops that are registered with us and accept payment cards
• only spend up to the amount of money on your card.

Setting your PIN

You need to set a personalised 4-digit PIN on your payment card.

If you have more than one card, you need a different PIN for each card.

Since 23 September the last 4-digits on the card no longer work as a PIN.

How to set your PIN:

1. Log in to MyStudyLink.
2. Go to 'My payment cards'.
3. Select the card you want to add a PIN for.
4. Enter a 4-digit PIN - don't use a PIN that is consecutive, easily associated with you (like birthdays), or the numbers on your card.
5. Re-enter your PIN.
6. Done! Your PIN is now ready to go.

If you can't use MyStudyLink to set your PIN, call us and say "set my card PIN", or go here if you're deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment.

If you've registered your voice you can set your PIN over the phone at any time without waiting to talk to a person. If you haven't registered your voice you'll need to call during our contact centre opening hours to talk to us.

Reset your PIN

You can reset your PIN by following the same steps above.

Locked card

The card will lock if you enter an incorrect PIN 5 times. You can unlock this by resetting your PIN, or wait until the next day – the card will unlock automatically at midnight.

How to use the card

1. At the checkout, swipe the payment card through the EFTPOS terminal.
2. Select the CHQ option.
3. Enter your personalised PIN (find out how to set your PIN). Make sure no one can see you PIN when enter it.
4. Sign your receipt – the shop staff will check this matches your signature on the back of your card.

Don't throw the card away after you've used up the balance. Keep it so we can use it again if you need more help.

What you can buy

You can only use your payment card to buy the essential items you applied for. This is things like:

• food and groceries
• clothes
• dental treatment.

You can't buy non-essential items like:

• alcohol
• cigarettes, tobacco or vaping products
• gift cards or vouchers (except for phone top-ups)
• lotto tickets
• non-essential appliances or electronics (such as an air fryer or gaming console).

Where you can use it

You can only use payment cards in shops that are registered with us and accept our cards. When you apply we'll talk with you about what help you need, how much money has been granted and which shops you can go to. You can check which shop your payment is for in MyStudyLink.

You may be able to use the card in more than one registered shop, depending on what you've applied for. For example, you can use food grant payments in more than one grocery or food shop.

Keeping your PIN and card safe

Your PIN is a security measure to make sure no one else can use your payment card. Do not write your PIN down, and do not tell anyone else your PIN. This includes police, family members and Ministry of Social Development staff. If you think someone else knows your PIN, reset it or call us.

Keep your payment card in a safe place. If you need further payments, we can load them onto this card, so you don't need to go to a service centre to get another one.

Never let anyone else use your payment card.

Money leftover

You can check how much money you’ve spent and how much is left online in MyStudyLink.

You may have money leftover if you:

• haven't spent all the money yet because you're planning to spend it at more than one shop
• didn't need to spend all the money.

Any money you don't need will stay on the payment card until the 7 days is up. After the 7 days is up it will expire. If the money is for glasses you have up to 28 days to spend it.

If you don't spend the full amount on your card, you can't get cash out for the rest. You also can't get vouchers or gift cards for the rest.