Lebara Money FAQs

The Lebara Prepaid MasterCard® Prepaid Cards are the easy way to send money in seconds, for FREE. You get two cards. One for you and one for a friend or family member, giving them instant access to money 24/7.

The Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard gives you 2 linked MasterCard cards. One is Your Card and  one is the 'Family Card'. You can send money from 'Your Card' to the 'Family Card'. The 'Family Card' can be anywhere in the world and money is sent from 'Your Card' within minutes at any time of day or night for free.

You will find 2 cards in the pack.

• Welcome letter
• 'Your Card' which is personalised in your name
• The Family Card which is personalised in the name you gave us when you applied
• User guide with activation details and how to get your PIN.

There is only one difference. The 'Family Card' can only be loaded with money by sending money from 'Your Card'. Your Card can be loaded via debit card online, bank transfer, the Post Office or any PayPoint location. Besides this there is no difference. Both 'Your Card' and the 'Family Card' can be used conveniently anywhere MasterCard cards are accepted. It's your money and you are in control.

Not at all. This could be anyone you choose.

The Lebara Prepaid MasterCard is available exclusively online at www.lebara-money.co.uk

The application takes a few minutes. Once you have paid, the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard pack will normally be with you within 10 days from the day you purchase online.

The online process is very simple. We ask you for your details which includes your passport number or a UK driving licence number and just the name and date of birth of the person whose name you want on the 'Family Card'.
Finally we need the payment details. We have two convenient ways for you to buy the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard pack online:

• Using a UK debit card. Please note the website uses 3D secure. See What is 3D secure?
• Cash by paying at a PayPoint terminal.  See How do I buy at PayPoint?

You can use your Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard straight away. You just need to retrieve your PIN and activate 'Your Card' by calling 0123 525 2555 and following the instructions. See How do I start using the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard?
Once activated, which takes seconds, all you then need to do is load money on to 'Your Card' and you are ready to go. See How to Load Money on to 'Your Card'?

You receive 2 cards when you buy a Lebara Prepaid MasterCard pack:

• 'Your Card' which is personalised in your name
• The 'Family Card' which is personalised in the name you gave us when you apply. You need to activate both cards individually. You must activate ‘'Your Card'’ before activating the ‘Family card’.
  Activating ‘Your Card’
• Please sign your name on the signature strip on the back of ‘Your Card’. 
• With ‘Your Card’ in front of you call 0123 525 2555
• You will be asked to enter the following information:
• the long 16 digit number on the front of ‘Your Card’ and
• your date of birth in the form  DDMMYY for example    12th January 1983 will be entered as 120183
• You then need to press 1 for PIN advice and you will be told your 4 digit PIN
• The 4 digit PIN is the number you use to withdraw money from an ATM or when buying goods with 'Your Card'. Note: this PIN is only for 'Your Card'. The ‘Family Card’ will have a different PIN which will be provided when you activate the ‘Family Card’
  You must keep your PIN secret at all times.  Do not write it down or reveal it to anyone.
  Once 'Your Card' is activated you can activate the 'Family Card'. See How do I activate the 'Family Card'?

• You must activate ‘Your card’ before activating the ‘Family card’. Only activate the ‘Family card’ once the person whose name is on the card has safely received it
  Once the ‘Family card’ is in their hands the process is the same as activating ‘Your card’.
• The person whose name is on the ‘Family card’ must sign their name on the signature strip on the back of the 'Family Card'. 
• With the ‘Family card’ in front of you call +44(0) 123 525 2555
• The following information will need to be entered:
• the long 16 digit number on the front of the ‘Family Card’ and
• The  date of birth of the person whose name is on the card in the form  DDMMYY for example 12th January 1983 will be entered as 120183 
• They then need to press 1 for PIN advice and they will be told their 4 digit PIN
• This 4 digit PIN is the number they use to withdraw money from an ATM or when buying goods with the 'Family Card'. Please note the PIN for the ‘Family card’ is different from the PIN for 'Your Card'
  The 'Family Card' PIN must be kept secret by the cardholder.  They must not write it down or reveal it to anyone else.

You can use the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard cards to buy products wherever MasterCard cards are accepted electronically including online. You can also withdraw cash from any ATM that accepts MasterCard cards.

Yes, you can use the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard cards to withdraw cash from any ATM that displays the MasterCard or Cirrus acceptance mark.

You can conveniently find ATMs that accept MasterCard cards anywhere in the world by following this link http://www.mastercard.com/uk/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html

Yes, you can use the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard anywhere MasterCard cards are accepted.

Yes, you can use the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard anywhere MasterCard cards are accepted.

Yes, you can use the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard anywhere MasterCard cards are accepted in the world.

No, you cannot use the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard for cashback transactions. Please use an ATM instead.

You will not be able to use the Lebara Prepaid MasterCard in places where there is not a Chip and PIN machine or where the Chip and PIN machine or ATM is not able to verify your details electronically. You cannot use 'Your Card' at self- service petrol pumps.

You cannot use your the Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard at self-service petrol pumps, as the amount payable from when the card is authorised may be different from the actual amount deducted. Simply put there is a delay between when 'Your Card' is authorised and when the actual amount is deducted.

Yes you can use your Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard to book hotels if they accept MasterCard cards. Please also read Do I need to have more money on my Lebara Prepaid MasterCard than I intend to spend?

Yes you can use your Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard for hiring vehicles. However some car hire companies may refuse to put deposit authorisations on prepaid cards. In this situation you need to ask the car hire company to charge the deposit up front and then refund the deposit back when the car is returned Please also read Do I need to have more money on my Lebara Prepaid MasterCard than I intend to spend?

• If best means FREE, then load money using your online bank account or going to your bank. You can transfer money on to 'Your Card' for free.
• If best means really conveniently, then load money using your debit card on My Lebara Money on www.lebara-money.co.uk.
• If best means by cash, then load money using a PayPoint terminal or Post office.
• If best means quickest, then load money using a debit card or a PayPoint terminal.
• Please note fees may apply - please check Fees / T&C's

This depends on what method you use to load money on 'Your Card'.  
Debit Card - Money is loaded within minutes
  Simply log in online at www.lebara-money.co.uk and click ‘Load’ and follow the instructions.
PayPoint - Money is loaded within minutes
  Simply take cash and ‘Your Card’ to a PayPoint shop.  Ask them to load  the cash on to our ‘Your Card’. They will need to swipe ‘Your Card’ through the PayPoint machine and take your cash. 
Post Office- Money loaded 1 working day later.
  Simply take cash and ‘Your Card’ to a Post Office.  Ask them to load the cash on to ‘Your Card’. They will need to swipe ‘Your Card’ through their machine and take your cash.

The maximum balance you can have at any one time is £3000
You can load 'Your Card' up to 2 times per day, subject to the following limits:

• PayPoint: £500 max per load
• Post Office: £500 max per load
• Debit card: £250 max per load
• Bank transfer: £3000 max per load

Yes there is a minimum load limit of £10 on 'Your Card'

Yes, you can get wages paid on to Your Card by giving your employer the following details

• Account Name:     NBS Re Lebara
• Account Number: 93063747
• Sort Code:              20-59-42
• Reference:              Your 16 digit card number (beginning 5195)

• Account Name:     NBS Re Lebara
• Account Number: 93063747
• Sort Code:              20-59-42
• Reference:              Your 16 digit card number (beginning 5195)

• Account Name:  NBS Re Lebara
• IBAN:               GB96BARC20594293063747
• SWIFT Code:   BARCGB22
• Reference:         The 16digit card number of Your Card (beginning 5195)

You can Send Money to the ‘Family card' from ‘Your Card' at any time of day or night. You have 2 options to send money.

• Log in online at www.lebara-money.co.uk and click ‘Send Money' OR
• Call 0123 525 2000 and select the ‘Send Money' option. 
• Money is sent to the ‘Family card' within minutes.

Yes, the money on the Family Card can be used for the purchases or to witdraw cash from an ATM straight way

You can send the total cleared funds on 'Your Card' to the 'Family Card'

Please see the Fee section for up to date limit information.

Please see the Fee section for up to date limit information.

Exchange rates change daily. Please check the exchange rate checker.

No, the Lebara Prepaid MasterCard is fully prepaid, which means you can only spend money that you have loaded on to Your Card or from 'Your Card' to the 'Family Card'. Any fraudulent use will lead to legal proceedings.

Transactions are authorised like any debit or credit card. Once you choose to buy something or withdraw cash from an ATM, you enter your PIN and a request is electronically sent to verify your PIN and that you have enough cleared funds to carry your transactions.

Generally no, but you need to keep some things in mind:

That any applicable fee is also available on your balance along with the amount you intend to spend or withdraw. For example the UK ATM Cash Withdrawal fee is £1.50. If you intend withdraw £100 you must have £100 + £1.50 = £101.50. Some ATM s charge a separate fee, which if the case, will need to be taken into consideration.

Also some restaurants and hotels sometimes have rules where they need to authorise more money than you intend to spend, to cover for any extra charges. For example:

If you intend to spend £20 in a restaurant they may seek authorisation for £22.00 to cover for service charge (i.e. 10% extra in this example). You need to clarify with the restaurant if this is the case.

Hotels may check to make sure that you have additional funds available e.g. booking 1 night may cost £100, the hotel however may seek authorisation for £200 on 'Your Card' at the time of check-in to cover for example room service. You need to have enough cleared funds to cover this.

No, both cards can be used wherever MasterCard cards are accepted anywhere in the world.

This depends on the method you use to load money on 'Your Card'.

• Bank transfer: free
• Debit card: £1 per load
• PayPoint: 3% of the load value per load
• Post office £1 per load

All the up to date details of card limits and fees can be found on the fee page.

UK ATM £1.50
International ATM £2.00
All the up to date details of card limits and fees can be found on the fee page.

Using your Lebara Money Prepaid Card to buy goods or services is free. All the up to date details of card limits and fees can be found on the fee page.

All the up to date details of card limits and fees can be found on the fee page.

Registering online is the best way of managing your money. See How do I register online? You can also check your balance by calling our automated service on 0123 525 2000 and selecting the check balance option.

Registering online is the best way of managing your money.
You can load money, send money, check your transactions, edit details and more.
To get started online you will need 'Your Card' in front of you to sign up for the first time.

• Go to www.lebara-money.co.uk
• Click LOG IN
• Click NEW USER
• Follow the instructions.

If you forget your user name or password, click the appropriate links on the login page and follow the instructions. Your user name reminder or new password will be emailed to your registered email address.

You recieve your 4 digit PIN when you activate the Lebara Prepaid MasterCard. See How do I activate the Lebara Prepaid MasterCard?

You revice the 4 digit PIN for the 'Family Card' when the 'Family Card' is activated. See How do I activate the Lebara Prepaid MasterCard?

Yes you can change your 4 digit PIN at most ATMs

Yes you can change your 4 digit PIN by at most ATMs

If you forget you PIN you can call the PIN retrieval line on 0123 525 2555.

Pending transactions are transactions that we have received an authorisation but have not processed payment. You need to contact the place you have bought goods from to cancel pending transactions.. In most cases, if a purchase transaction is subsequently cancelled, the authorisation will also be removed at the same time. Occasionally merchants fail to do this however, and in this situation the authorisation can remain on 'Your Card' for up to 15 days before it is removed. In these circumstances if you contact customer services the authorisation can normally be removed by us providing the retailer confirms that no transaction has been made.

You will need to contact customer services on 0123 525 2000 to order a replacement card or to have funds on an expired card returned. There is a replacement card fee.

If you would like to close your account you need to call customer services on 0123 525 2000.

No, Lebara Money subscribes to the Data Protection Act 1998 and we do not discuss details about your account with anyone other than you.

You can check your Balance by calling 0123 525 2000 and selecting the Balance Check option or go online and log in to My Lebara Money at www.lebara-money.co.uk.

All your Lebara Prepaid MasterCard transactions are recorded and available to view once you register on My Lebara Money at www.lebara-money.co.uk . Transaction are posted one working day later and found in Transaction section.

All Lebara Money Prepaid MasterCard transactions are recorded and available to view online. You need to register your details on My LebaraMoney.

You can update your email and phone number by logging into My Lebara Money at www.lebara-money.co.uk and going to the account details.
If you wish to update your address you will need us documentary evidence of your address on our data base and the new address.
The name, initial, title and address, including postcode on the documents must be the same as that given when you applied for your account. The document you provide for the new address must match name, initial, title on the original application. Documents that only contain your title and surname will not be acceptable.
Accepted documents are:

• An original utility (gas, electric, water or phone) bill, statement or certificate confirming the arrangement to pay for services on pre-payment terms. It must be dated within the last 2 months (sorry, we can't accept mobile phone statements).
• An original of a Bank/Building Society statement containing your current address, dated in the last 2 months. Please note that Internet downloads, such an Internet bank statements are not acceptable unless verified and stamped by the service provider.
• An original of a Credit Card Statement containing current address (NOT storecard) dated within the last 2 months. Please note that Internet downloads, such an Internet bank statements are not acceptable unless verified and stamped by the service provider.
• An original of a Local Authority tax bill for the current year.
• A certified copy of a current UK/EU signed photo-card driving license, full UK driving license (old version) or a blue disabled driver's pass. Old version provisional licenses and counterparts only will not be accepted.
• A certified copy of an EEA (European Economic Area)/EU member state identity card, that has not expired and bears your photograph.

We recommend you send documents via recoded or registered post to Lebara Money, 25 Copthall Avenue, London, EC2R 7BP. We will return documents via first class post. If you wish us to return your documents via recorded or registered post please enclose the appropriate stamped self addressed envelope.

First you should contact the retailer, who may be able to explain the charge. Often retailers use more than one trading name so you may not immediately recognise a genuine transaction. If you decide that the transaction is not genuine then please call us on 0123 525 2000 .

To report a lost or stolen card Call 0123 525 2000 and select Lost and Stolen. Lines are open 24/7.

The Lebara Prepaid MasterCard is a regulated product which requires Lebara to check you are who you say you are. The fact the product is regulated gives you peace of mind. The sign up process only takes a few minutes.

No you do not have to pass a credit check to qualify for this card.

We verify the details you provide such as name, address by confirming them on a variety of databases.

No, all checks are carried out on the details provided for 'Your Card'. This is your account and you are legally responsible for both 'Your Card' and the 'Family Card'.

Applying for the Lebara Prepaid MasterCard does not affect your credit rating.

Your details are shared by MasterCard and its affiliates solely to allow delivery of the service. Lebara Money take the privacy of the customer seriously and do not share customer details with any other third parties.

The Lebara Prepaid MasterCard is a regulated product. However you are responsible for money on 'Your Card' and the Family card. It should be treated like cash.

Simply log in online at www.lebara-money.co.uk and click ‘Load’ and follow the instructions.
We cannot guarantee the acceptability of our cards with any merchant but many customers do link their cards to PayPal and both pay money into and withdraw from their PayPal accounts. A common confusion however is that when customers try to link their cards initially to their PayPal accounts without first loading their Lebara Money MasterCard, it appears that it is not being accepted. This is because PayPal generally make a small charge to "verify" the card. If there are no funds loaded to your card, then this will fail. So, before trying to link your Lebara Card to your PayPal account, please load it first; please load it first via bank transfer,debit card ar a Post office or Paypoint location.
Why might a transaction be declined even when I have money?
Your transaction may be declined much like a debit or credit card transaction if the retailer is unable to electronically verify that you have sufficient funds. Also you should read Do I need to have more money on my Lebara Prepaid MasterCard than I intend to Spend?

No there are no interest costs.

The Lebara Prepaid MasterCard is a Chip and PIN card which utilises EMV like all UK debit and credit cards in the UK currently.

You can contact Customer Services from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday on 0123 525 2000 or from outside the UK call +44 123 525 2000.

The Lebara Prepaid MasterCard is issued on the behalf of Lebara Money by Newcastle Building Society pursuant to MasterCard International Inc license and regulated by the FSA.

This means our website uses Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code. If your Debit Card is a Visa card you need to sign up to Verified by Visa if not already done so. If your Debit Card is a MasterCard or Maestro you need to sign up to MasterCard secure Code, if not already done so.

No, there is no extra cost what so ever. Just more protection online.

You can find more information on the Visa website http://www.visaeurope.com/en/cardholders/verified_by_visa/faqs.aspx

You can find more information on the MasterCard website. http://www.mastercard.com/uk/personal/en/cardholderservices/securecode/faqs.html

You must sign up to Verified by Visa directly from your bank’s (card issuer) website. Please follow this link and select your bank. There is no extra cost to you for using Verified by Visa.   http://www.visaeurope.com/en/cardholders/verified_by_visa/sign_up.aspx#imageArchive

You can sign up to MasterCard Secure Code directly from your bank’s (card issuer) website. Please follow this link and select your bank. There is no extra cost to you for using MasterCard Secure Code. 
http://www.mastercard.com/uk/personal/en/cardholderservices/securecode/index.html

Once you have completed your application you will be asked for payment details. If you want to pay by cash select Cash at PayPoint. You will be given a bar code with a 19 digit code directly underneath. You need to either print the page or make a note of the 19 digit code and take it to a PayPoint shop. The shop keeper will enter the code into his terminal and ask for the card purchase fee. Once the transaction is complete you will be sent a confirmation email on the email address you provided in the online application.. You do not need to do anything further as we will dispatch your cards to the address you provided on the online application. You must pay at a PayPoint shop within 3 days of completing the application. To find a PayPoint shop please see Where are PayPoint shops?

To find your nearest PayPoint shop please follow this link http://www.paypoint.co.uk/locator.aspx