Ordering Physical Cards
Overview
The card ordering process involves:
- Submitting your card design.
- Approving proofs during the manufacturing process.
Ordering process
The ordering process differs based on whether you order on-demand or premium cards.
On-demand cards
The typical card ordering process for on-demand cards is as follows:
- Finalized card design received from card program
- Design approved by card manufacturer
- Card program receives proof from card manufacturer
- Card program approves proof
- Card network approval
- Quality assurance (QA)
- Pre-product order notification sent
- Program live
Premium cards
The typical card ordering process for premium cards is as follows:
- Finalized card design received from card program
- Receive and approve sales quote
- Receive and approve proof
- Submit proof
- Card manufacturing begins
- Card personalization begins
- Receive personalization proofs
- Approve proof
- Final approval
Lead and shipping timelines
Getting a card into an account holder's hands has two parts:
- Lead time: the production steps in the tables below, from card design through processing, before the card is handed to the courier.
- Shipping time: the transit leg from the courier to the account holder, which depends on the shipping method you choose.
Your total timeline is lead time plus shipping time. Both are subject to change.
On-demand cards
On-demand cards are faster to manufacture than premium cards (weeks vs months), but a little bit slower to process unless expedited (48 hours vs same-day/next-day).
Lead time
Typical lead times for on-demand cards are as follows:
| Step | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Proof creation | 2 days from receiving the card design in the correct format |
| Brand approval | ~2-5 days from submission |
| Card manufacturing | ~1 week after proof creation; cards printed same day on-demand |
| Activation labels | 1 week |
| Processing | 48-hour SLA after receiving the card file |
| Expedited processing | Same day if card file submitted by 5 AM PT cutoff. Use a SAME_DAY_* shipping method. Additional fees apply. Contact support@highnote.com. |
Shipping time
Typical transit times after the card ships are as follows:
| Shipping speed | Transit time |
|---|---|
| Ground | 1-8 business days |
| Priority / 2-day | 1-3 business days |
| Overnight | Next business day |
See Shipping methods, for all shipping methods and their PaymentCardShippingMethod values.
Premium cards
Premium cards take longer to manufacture than on-demand cards (months vs weeks), but are faster to process (same-day or next-day vs 48 hours).
Lead time
Typical lead times for premium cards are as follows:
| Step | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Proof creation | 2 days from receiving the card design in the correct format |
| Brand approval | ~2-5 days from submission |
| Card manufacturing | 6-18 weeks from brand approval (depending on card selection) |
| Packaging materials | ~8 weeks upon final proof approval |
| Activation labels | ~8 weeks plus shipping |
| Processing | Same day or next day after receiving the card file |
Shipping time
Typical transit times after the card ships are as follows:
| Shipping speed | Transit time |
|---|---|
| Ground | 1-8 business days |
| Priority / 2-day | 1-3 business days |
| Overnight | Next business day |
See Shipping methods, for all shipping methods and their PaymentCardShippingMethod values.