Physical cards

Plastic payment card that can be used for point-of-sale transactions using swipe, chip and PIN, and contactless methods, as well as for online transactions.

You can order a physical card for each virtual card. Swan physical cards are typical plastic cards that can be used for swipe, chip and PIN, contactless, and online transactions. Your design will be printed on all physical cards.

Card numbers

Each physical card has a unique card number, different even from the virtual card added before the physical card was printed.

Swan makes the physical card's number, CVC, expiry date, and the PIN available in Web Banking. The card number, CVC, and PIN are considered sensitive data and must be masked by default. The card holder must complete a consent request before the numbers can be unmasked.

Virtual and physical card numbers

Why do virtual and physical cards have different card numbers and CVCs? The two card types function as independent entities. Each has its own transaction history, can be added to the same digital wallet, and more.

This also means that if a card holder loses their physical card, they can suspend or cancel the physical card without losing access to their virtual card.

PIN

Physical cards have a four-digit PIN, or personal identification number. PINs are assigned when the card is printed and can't be changed.

The PIN for each physical card is available to the card holder on Swan's Web Banking interface. PINs aren't available on your Dashboard because only the card holder should have easy access to the PIN for their card.

If a card holder forgets their PIN, they can view it on your interface. If needed, you can use the ViewPhysicalCardPin mutation to view the numbers yourself, which requires a user access token associated with the card holder. Note that if three incorrect attempts are made to enter the PIN, the card is automatically Suspended.

caution

If a card holder shares their PIN, Swan can't take responsibility for fraud associated with that card.

Incorrect PIN attempts

If the card holder enters their PIN incorrectly three times, the physical card will be blocked (status: suspended) and no payments with the physical card can be made online or in person.

Note that a physical card blocked for three incorrect PIN attempts will have the reason IncorrectPinCodeAttemptsExceeded (on the PhysicalCardSuspendedStatusInfo). You'll have to wait 24 hours before being able to unblock the physical card.

You can continue to use both virtual and digital cards.

Printing and shipping hubs

Delivery time for physical cards depends on the type of card material you select and your card holders' location. It typically takes 2-5 business days for cards to be delivered. Please note that the delivery times listed here are estimates and aren't contractual.

Swan has two printing hubs: one in France and the other in Spain. France is Swan's default hub. To choose the Spain hub, tell your Technical Account Manager and they'll configure it.

Two card products

The printing hub is defined in the card product ID. If you'd like to ship cards out of both hubs, you need two card products: one with France as the hub, and the other with Spain.

If your card holder reports not receiving their physical card, please refer them to the Swan Support Center.

🇫🇷 France hub

The France hub prints and ships out of Dijon, France, and ships using either La Poste (France's postal service) or DHL. The hub has several intended destinations:

• France
• Northern Europe
• French overseas departments and territories (DROM-COM):
  • French Southern Territories (ATF), Saint Barthélemy (BLM), Faroe Islands (FRO), Guadeloupe (GLP), French Guiana (GUF), Saint Martin (Dutch part) (MAF), Martinique (MTQ), Mayotte (MYT), New Caledonia (NCL), French Polynesia (PYF), Réunion (REU), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (SPM), and Wallis and Futuna (WLF)

You have the option of group or non-group delivery.

Delivery type	Destination	Shipping provider
Group delivery	All locations	DHL
Tracked non-group delivery	France and DROM-COM	La Poste
Tracked non-group delivery	Northern Europe and unlisted locations	DHL
Untracked non-group delivery	Northern Europe and unlisted locations	La Poste

🇪🇸 Spain hub

The Spain hub prints and ships out of Madrid, Spain, and ships using either Correos (Spain's postal service) or Nacex. The hub has two intended destinations:

• Spain
• Portugal

You have the option of group or non-group delivery.

Delivery type	Destination	Shipping provider
Group delivery	Spain and Portugal	Nacex ∗
Tracked non-group delivery	Spain and Portugal	Correos

∗ If you choose the Spain hub but ship using group delivery outside of Spain or Portugal, the shipping provider is DHL.

Physical card statuses

Physical card status	Explanation
Initiated	Printing a physical was launched with either the printPhysicalCard or addCards with physical card mutation.
ConsentPending	Request to print a physical card was received and is waiting for the card holder's consent. Next steps: If you used the addCards mutation and the card holder consents, the status moves to Processing. If you used the printPhysicalCard mutation and the card holder consents, the status moves to Activated. If you cancel the card with the API before consent, the status moves to Canceling. If consent is refused or consent fails, the status moves directly to Canceled.
Processing	Consent has been received and the card is in the process being printed and delivered. Next steps: If you cancel the card with the API before the card is printed, the status moves to Canceling. If the card is printed and delivered successfully, the status moves to ToActivate.
ToActivate	Card holder received the physical card, but needs to activate it by performing a first transaction and entering the PIN. You can also activate the card with the activatePhysicalCard mutation. Next steps: If the card holder performs the transaction successfully, or you activate the card with the API, the status moves to ToActivate. If the card holder makes three incorrect attempts to enter their PIN, the status moves to Suspended.
Activated	Physical card is available for use. Next steps: Cards can retain the status Activated until the renewal period. Activated cards can also be Suspended and Canceled (example: if three incorrect attempts are made to enter the PIN, the card is automatically Suspended).
Suspended Also referred to as Blocked	Physical card is suspended and not available for use. Card holders can still view card information and use digital cards (not virtual cards) when a physical card is Suspended. Cards can be suspended for various reasons, including a request from you or the card holder, or a Swan action in the case of suspicious activity. Next steps: Restore the card's previous status with the API. Cancel the card with the API.
Canceling	Card is in the process of being canceled. Next steps: Card is Canceled. After a card is assigned the Canceling status, the process can't be reversed.
Canceled	Card is canceled, no longer available for use, and can't be reactivated.

Guides

• Print physical cards
  • Print a physical card
  • Print multiple physical cards
  • Print a custom physical card
  • Print multiple physical cards with group delivery
• Activate physical cards
• View sensitive information
  • View physical card number
  • View PIN
• Block & unblock physical cards
  • Temporarily block a physical card
  • Unblock a physical card
• Renew physical cards
• Cancel physical cards