Getting a payment card
Payment cards are used to buy one-off costs, for example food, groceries, glasses or dental treatment. Find out how we can help with these costs, how to apply and how to get a payment card.
You must have set a personalised PIN on your payment card before you can use it.
If you're a young person in Youth Service getting payments, there are a few differences in getting and using your payment card. Find out more on the Youth Service website:
Payments (Youth Service)external
How to apply for help with a cost
If you need help with an urgent, unexpected or one-off essential cost, you can find out how we can help here:
The links above will also tell you how to apply for these costs. If your application is approved, we'll check how we can pay this. Some costs will not need a payment card – we'll let you know if this is the case.
If we need to put this onto a payment card for you, we'll check if you already have a card. If you don't, you'll need to pick up a card from your local service centre - see below to find out how to do this.
How to get a payment card
Step 1:
Once your application is approved, pick up a payment card from any of our service centres. There's a list of their locations here:
Step 2:
Go to reception and ask for a payment card. You need to have:
- your client number
- a government issued identity document (for example a driver licence, birth certificate, or passport).
You don't need an appointment for this.
Step 3:
Our staff will finish your application and load the money onto your card.
They will tell you:
- how much money is on the card - you can also check this online in MyMSDexternal
- which shops you can use it at
- what you can buy with it
- how long the money will stay on the card for.
Step 4:
You need to set a PIN on your card before you can use it.
The easiest way is to do it online:
- Log in to MyMSDexternal.
- Go to 'My payment cards'.
- Select the card you want to add a PIN for.
- 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.
- Re-enter your PIN to confirm.
- Done! Your PIN is now ready to go.
Other ways to set your PIN:
- call us and say "set my card PIN"
- register your voice so you can set your PIN by calling us at any time without waiting to talk to a person
- our staff in our service centres can help set your PIN in MyMSD
- we have other ways you can contact us if you're deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment.
Step 5:
Sign the back of your card. When you use the card you will need to sign your receipt, and the shop staff will check this matches the signature on your card.
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.
Getting a Notice of Credit letter instead of a payment card
There are times when we need to give you a Notice of Credit letter instead of a payment card. This can happen when:
- the EFTPOS network or our internal systems are down
- there's a state of emergency or natural disaster
- you're unable to use a payment card.
When you call us to apply, we'll talk about whether you need this letter.