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Payment Card and Work and Income vouchers for groceries

We now usually issue a Payment Card for the purchase of food and groceries.

When clients receive food assistance (food grants) from us, they will be given both a:

• Payment Card
• Payment Authorisation Form.

This allows the retailer to release the goods described on the form with the payments being made overnight.

There will be instances where hologrammed vouchers will still be issued so retailers need to ensure that they can still accept them.

How to use the card

1. The customer swipes the Payment Card through the EFTPOS machine to pay for their goods or services.
2. The customer selects the ‘CHQ’ option on the EFTPOS machine. The card details are then validated by Work and Income’s bank.
3. Retailers will be sent an ‘accept with signature’ message through the EFTPOS terminal.
4. The signature must be matched with the pre-signed Payment Authorisation Form that the customer must have with them. If the signature matches, the transaction is complete.

Payment Card rules

• Cash or change can’t be given. The Payment Card pays the exact amount of the goods or services.
• Grocery items can't include alcohol, tobacco, appliances, or electronics.
• The Payment Card must be presented with the Payment Authorisation Form which must be Work and Income date-stamped.
• The Payment Authorisation Form will give you the amount and the goods the customer has been authorised to purchase.
• The Payment Card and Payment Authorisation Form are both given back to the customer.

Troubleshooting

Some of the reasons why a transaction might be declined are:

The payment has expired.

Payments only last for 3 days. The customer will need to call or visit Work and Income.

The amount being spent is more then the amount available.

Reduce the amount being spent.

Retailer not registered.

Retailers need to be registered with Work and Income before the Payment Card can be used on their EFTPOS machines.

What the card and form look like

Payment Card

Payment Authorisation Form

Benefits of accepting Payment Cards

Accepting payment card has a number of benefits:

• Funds will be credited directly to your bank account straight away.
• Once you're a registered retailer you only need an EFTPOS terminal to accept a Payment Card.
• There's no need to reconcile bank statements with hologram letters. This saves you time.
• It's a more efficient way of us making payments to you.

How can I become a retailer for Payment Card

To accept Payment Card, you have to register as a retailer. In order for Work and Income to register your business, we need information from you to ensure that the card will work in your store.

You need to:

• complete the Retailer/Supplier Registration Form below 
• provide proof from the bank of both the:
  • account number
  • account holder details
• provide a merchant logon receipt which shows your terminal ID.

Send these to:

Payment Card
Central Processing Unit
PO Box 200010
Papatoetoe Central
Manukau
Auckland

Frequently asked questions for retailers

If you are making payment by EFTPOS, why are you asking for our bank account?

If there is a civil defence emergency or EFTPOS is down, we may need to revert to direct crediting retailers.

Where do I find my merchant ID?
Your merchant ID can be found on any merchant logon receipt or transaction receipt:

• Merchant IDs with EFTPOS NZ are eight digits
• Merchant IDs with ETSL/Paymark are six digits.

For full details, see the examples below.

For more information

If you need to contact us, call us on 0800 559 009.

Say 'Payment Card' when our phone system asks you what you're calling about. You'll be put straight through to someone who can help. 

Generally, we can only talk to suppliers or retailers about a particular client's payment if the client has given us their permission to talk with you first.