The best way to activate your NetSpend card without your SSN is to go online. Visit the official Netspend website and click on the link ‘Activate Card.’ Enter your card number and CVC accurately but when it asks for the SSN, simply type in all 1’s or 0’s.
If you are wondering how to activate your Netspend without SSN, you can find out all you need to know in our informative article below.
Netspend is one of the most widely used and popular companies that offer prepaid debit cards. With no credit check needed, chances of cashback, and faster transactions, Netspend has many advantages.
NetSpend offers a wide range of card types but each one needs to be activated before being used. To activate a Netspend card, you are required to provide information such as your Social Security Number (SSN). However, many people are uncomfortable with sharing this information so look for ways to activate their Netspend card without giving out their SSN details.
We will go into this in further detail below. However, it is worth noting that there is no legal way to activate a Netspend card without an SSN. This is due to Netspend’s Privacy Policy which requires you to provide a valid government-issued ID number for full activation of the card.
Let’s take a look at how to activate your Netspend card with a step-by-step guide below. We will also show you our tricks and tips to activate your card without providing your SSN.
Read: How To Activate a NetSpend Card Online, App, Phone?
Activate your Netspend card over the Phone
There are a few methods of activating your Netspend card. One is to call Netspend customer care service.
Here’s what to do:
- Start by simply dialing 1-866-387-7363.
- You will have a few options to choose from over the phone. When prompted, select the “Activate new card” from the menu. Alternatively, you can ask a member of Netspend staff to activate your card for you.
- Next, you will be asked to provide your card number and security number of the card.
- Once you have provided this information, you will talk to a member of the customer service staff. Here, they will ask you for certain information regarding your Netspend account. This includes your date of birth, your city of residence, your SSN, and so on. This is simply for security purposes and to verify your identity.
- Make sure you provide Netspend with all of the correct information. Once your identity has been verified, your card will be activated.
It is worth noting that the 1-866-387-7363 telephone number is not available 24/7. To contact Netspend via the telephone, you will need to call between Monday to Friday 8 AM-6 PM Central. On Saturdays and Sundays, you can call between 8 AM-5 PM Central.
As you can see, you will still need to provide your Social Security Number over the phone. But, we will discuss the steps to activating your Netspend card without giving away your SSN further along in this article.
Activate your Netspend card Online
If you would prefer not to talk to someone over the phone and divulge some personal information, you can choose to activate your Netspend card online. By visiting the official Netspend website, you can activate your card with ease.
Once you have entered the Netspend website, you will find the link ‘Activate Card.’ By clicking on this link, you can go ahead and activate your card easily. This option also offers specific instructions on how to activate and verify your debit card once it arrives.
Although those instructions are set out on the website, let’s make it even easier for you. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to activate your Netspend card online whether you are on a mobile device or a PC browser:
- Step 1: Visit https://www.netspend.com/account/activate from either your PC browser or mobile phone.
- Step 2: This will lead you to the next page where you will be prompted to enter the debit card’s number and its security code/CVC. You can find the security code/CVC on the back of the card.
- Step 3: Enter the CVC and click ‘Continue.’
- Step 4: Now, you will need to log in to your Netspend account. Do this by entering your username and password that are associated with your personal account.
- Step 5: Once you have signed in, you will have to verify your identity. To do this, you will need to answer some identity verification questions such as your zip code, area of residence, your SSN, date of birth, or any form of government-issued identification number. Enter this information correctly.
- Step 6: You will then be asked to create a new 4 digit PIN for your debit card. You must remember this and not write it down anywhere to avoid anyone gaining access to your account.
This method also requires you to share your SSN but there is a way to activate your NetSpend card without divulging this information.
Activate your Netspend card without your SSN
While it is possible to activate your Netspend card without giving out your Social Security Number, we do not recommend that you follow this method. We advise that you activate your Netspend card legally which means providing your SSN.
Furthermore, this method may not work every time so do not regard this as a foolproof way of activating a Netspend card without SSN. That being said, this method has worked for many over the years so let’s take a look at how to do so:
- Visit the official Netspend website and click on ‘Activate Card.’
- Enter your card number and its security code/CVC.
- Next, you will be asked to input your SSN. Instead of this, simply enter all 1’s or all 0’s in the SSN field.
- When you are prompted to enter your date of birth, enter a date that is under 18 at the time you are providing the information.
And, that’s it. This may activate your Netspend card without providing your SSN details. But, if this method is unsuccessful for you, we recommend trying the legal methods via phone or online.
In Summary
Although there are some tips and tricks to activate your Netspend card without your SSN, we do not recommend that you ignore the legal methods via phone or online.
You should provide accurate and valid government-issued ID numbers when activating your Netspend card but if you do not want to provide your SSN, our method above may help in some cases.
