How to Handle a Merchant PIN Request

Situations where a merchant requests a PIN and the cardholder either does not have a PIN or cannot remember the PIN can become confusing or stressful. However, these situations can often be managed by following specific steps.

In this article, you’ll learn how cardholders can successfully make purchases if they do not have a PIN or cannot remember their PIN. 

If a merchant requests a PIN and the cardholder does not have a PIN readily available 

If the merchant requests a PIN when a cardholder is attempting a purchase, they can follow these steps to allow the transaction to be processed if they don’t have a PIN or cannot remember their PIN: 

• Select “Credit” when prompted by the payment terminal, rather than “Debit”, or ask the store clerk to run the purchase as “Credit”.
• If asked to enter a PIN, enter either the red button or the green button. Depending on the type of payment terminal, one of these buttons will allow you to bypass the need to enter a PIN.

Please be aware that running the purchase as “credit” does not surpass any other requirements that must be in place for a purchase to be successful. For example, the purchase will only be processed if there are sufficient funds on the card, the Card is open and active, and there are no Spending Monitor or other rules in place that would block the purchase. 

Also, please note that a PIN is required to receive cash-back from a merchant. 

If you have any questions or concerns about PIN purchases, please don’t hesitate to contact our Customer Support team.