We’re excited to announce our participation in a convenient feature for our Debit Card holders. Visa Account Updator means you no longer need to update your card information with participating merchants when you receive a new debit card number from Capitol Bank. As an example, if you were to lose your card and have us print you a new one, that new number would be provided to businesses such as Netflix.
How does this benefit you?
- Reduced likelihood of a service interruption for subscriptions or recurring payments.
- Reduced likelihood of denials when card information is updated automatically for participating merchants.
- Lessens the possibility of late fees and service disruptions with utility companies or other subscriptions with participating merchants.
Note: Cardholders are still responsible for following up with merchants in order to ensure they automatically received fully updated card information through the account updater service, or to provide updated information. Cardholders are also responsible for contacting merchants to discontinue service.
What is Visa Account Updater (VAU) and what does it do?
VAU is a service that will provide card number and expiration date updates to card-on-file merchants who maintain card records on their system, typically for recurring customer payments. This service provides a way for Capitol Bank to communicate the most recent and prior card information to Visa.
What is a card-on-file (COF) merchant?
COF merchants keep customer card numbers on file for recurring payments. Examples include subscription services (such as Netflix) and utility companies.
What are the benefits of this service?
Although it remains the cardholder’s responsibility to ensure that any merchants with which they do business have their latest card information, one benefit of this service is that participating merchants will receive this information automatically and electronically, lessening the likelihood of manual entry error. Recurring payments are more likely to be successful because updated card information is readily available to participating merchants.
In what scenario would the merchant use the updated cardholder information?
Participating merchants will typically try to obtain updated cardholder information prior to their billing cycle. Merchants who elect to use the Account Updater Service will be able to access updated card information, eliminating the potential for denied transactions due to outdated card-on-file information.
