BasicsCard balance or transaction summary enquiry 103-01230030

Wherever possible, customer enquiries must be answered or issues resolved at the first contact.

BasicsCard customers are encouraged to check their BasicsCard balance before they go shopping to ensure they know what their available funds are. Customers can check their BasicsCard balance by:

• accessing the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, using their Centrelink Access Number (CAN) and password
• accessing Centrelink online services via their myGov account
• accessing the online balance enquiry service on the Services Australia website using their BasicsCard number and PIN, (this service supports mobile devices, including smart phones)
• calling the phone self service line, using their Centrelink Access Number (CAN) and self service PIN
• calling the BasicsCard Balance Enquiry Line
• calling the Income Management Line
• visiting their nearest Centrelink Service Centre

The Resources page contains links to the Services Australia website, for Phone us, Centrelink online accounts, Self service for Income Management and BasicsCard, About the BasicsCard and BasicsCard balance enquiry options.

Note: customers may also refer to their Income Management and BasicsCard accounts as their kitty.

There are a group of national retailers that are BasicsCard Balance on Receipt merchants. These merchants have the functionality to print BasicsCard balances on EFTPOS receipts for customers.

The BasicsCard balance enquiry line is an automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) line for BasicsCard balances only. Customers will not be able to be transferred to a Service Officer from this facility.

A recorded message will advise customers that if they require any other Income Management business they must call the Income Management Line.

Customers contacting the Income Management Line will be presented with the opportunity to authenticate using their Centrelink Access Number (CAN) and self service PIN.

Customers who are unable to authenticate in the first instance will be able to check their BasicsCard balance by:

• selecting option 1 when requested
• entering their 16 digit BasicsCard number (located on the front of their BasicsCard), and
• then entering their 4 digit Personal Identification Number (PIN)

The customer will be transferred to a Service Officer if they input their information incorrectly or if they choose to talk to a Service Officer. Balance enquiries to this number are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Customers who are able to authenticate using the IVR will be presented with the Services Australia phone self service menu, and they can check their BasicsCard balance by:

• selecting option 1 when requested
• entering their Customer Access Number (CAN), and
• then entering their a self service PIN, or
• selecting option 2 when requested
• entering their 16 digit BasicsCard number (located on the front of their BasicsCard), and
• then entering their 4 digit Personal Identification Number (PIN)

All customers will have funds transferred into their BasicsCard account in one of two models - the Residual Payment method or the Partial Payment method.

Customers are able to change their BasicsCard allocation method by contacting Services Australia.

Customers can also allocate funds to their BasicsCard through online services or by contacting the agency. See Coding Income Management Expenses for more information on allocating funds to the BasicsCard.

The BasicsCard daily spend limit is defaulted to $1,500, however, a customer can request this amount to be varied between $20 and $1,500.

The BasicsCard maximum card balance is defaulted to $3,000, however, a customer can request this amount to be varied between $100 and $3,000.

BasicsCard transactions are able to be viewed and printed from the Transaction Summary screen.

The Transaction History display can be refined to show successful and declined transactions by 'Today's Transactions', 'Last 30 Days', or 'Transactions via a specified date range'.

The BasicsCard Alternative Interface is an external website maintained by the Card Transaction Provider.

The BasicsCard Alternative Interface provides information relating to a customer's BasicsCard balance, status, transaction history and status updates. The BasicsCard Alternate Interface can be accessed by Service Officers to suspend, reactivate and unblock BasicsCards, when the BasicsCard Number is known. Generally, this is only used when the Centrelink system and the National Index are not available. As it does not contain any customer information, it cannot be used to locate a customer's record or to verify a customer's identity.