FAQs: BasicsCard Balance on Receipt service

What is the BasicsCard Balance on Receipt (BOR) service?

The BasicsCard BOR service enables the printing of a customer’s BasicsCard balance on EFTPOS receipts. The remaining money in their BasicsCard account will be printed on the EFTPOS receipt each time they make a BasicsCard EFTPOS transaction at participating stores. The balance will be printed on all approved BasicsCard EFTPOS purchase transactions, approved BasicsCard EFTPOS refunds and declined transactions due to insufficient funds receipts.

This service provides an easy and convenient way for customers to keep track of their BasicsCard balance and help reduce incidents of declined transactions due to insufficient funds.

How can my business offer the BasicsCard BOR service to customers?

Not all financial institution providing EFTPOS facilities can support the BasicsCard BOR service. You will need to contact the financial institution providing your store the EFTPOS facilities to check if they support BasicsCard BOR. If your financial institution would like more information or would like to upgrade their EFTPOS facilities to support BasicsCard BOR they can contact the BasicsCard Merchant Help Desk on 1800 039 417.

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Is it compulsory for my business to offer the BasicsCard BOR service?

No, it is not compulsory for BasicsCard Merchants to offer the BOR service to their customers, even if your financial institution supports the service.

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Can all BasicsCard customers receive the BasicsCard BOR service?

Yes, but they will need to contact Centrelink to discuss setting up the BOR service for their BasicsCard account.  As the BasicsCard BOR service is voluntary, customers can withdraw their consent at any time.

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Can my business offer the BasicsCard BOR service without a transaction being processed?

No, customers will only have their BasicsCard balance printed on an EFTPOS receipt if they undertake an approved BasicsCard EFTPOS purchase or refund transaction, or a declined BasicsCard EFTPOS transaction due to insufficient funds.

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What will it look like on an EFTPOS receipt?

The information displayed on the EFTPOS receipt may vary across EFTPOS facilities but will generally look like the image below:

Note: The actual appearance of the balance on EFTPOS receipt will vary depending on the particular POS terminal used by the merchant.

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Will the balance display anywhere else other than the receipt?

No, the remaining BasicsCard balance will only be printed on EFTPOS receipts.

Note: to protect your customer’s details you will need to ensure that customers take their receipt. All discarded receipts should be disposed of carefully.

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My business is unable to offer the BOR service at this time – what other BasicsCard balance services can customers be referred to?

Customers can make BasicsCard balance enquiries via the following:

• Income Management Line 13 2594
• Freecall TM (balances only) 1800 057 111
• Centrelink website www.centrelink.gov.au
• In person (Centrelink office)
• BasicsCard Kiosks (selected locations).

Note: calls from your home phone to Centrelink ‘13’ numbers from anywhere in Australia are
charged at a fixed rate. That rate may vary from the price of a local call and may also vary
between telephone service providers. Calls to ‘1800’ numbers from your home phone are free. Calls from public and mobile phones may be timed and charged at a higher rate.

If you have any further questions relating to the BasicsCard BOR service, please contact the BasicsCard Merchant Help Desk on 1800 039 417.

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