About your card

You’ll receive your card by post within 10 working days of your successful application. If we’re receiving a high volume of applications, it may take longer than this.

The card will come with your first payment on it and instructions on how to activate and use it.

Money will be automatically added to your card every 4 weeks.

You can call 0300 330 2090 to:

• activate your card
• get your PIN
• check your balance
• report your card as lost, damaged or stolen

This phone line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can also find out more about:

• shopping with your card
• what you should buy with your card

Activating your card and finding out your PIN

Before you use your card for the first time, call 0300 330 2090 with your:

• card
• date of birth
• client ID (located at the top of the letter that comes with your card)

If you did not give us an email address or a phone number when you apply, we’ll post your PIN out 2 days after we send your card.

Getting a reminder of your PIN or checking your balance

Call 0300 330 2090 with your:

• card
• date of birth
• 6-digit telephone access code

You’ll get to choose your telephone access code when you activate your card.

You can also check your balance at a cashpoint using your PIN.

Reporting your card as lost, damaged or stolen

Call 0300 330 2090 with your:

• date of birth
• client ID (located at the top of the letter that comes with your card)

Any transactions made before you report the card as lost or stolen will get charged to your account.

If your card is due to expire

We’ll send you a new card in the same month that your current card expires.   

If you’ve moved house since you joined the Healthy Start scheme, contact us to make sure your address is up to date. You can do this by: 

• using our online form 

• sending us a direct message on our Facebook page (opens in a new tab) or X, formerly known as Twitter (opens in a new tab) 

• calling 0300 330 7010 

Phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (except public holidays). 

Find out more about call charges. 

When your new card arrives

When you get your new card, you need to: 

• verify your PIN – you need to do this before your new card will work and we’ll send you a letter explaining how to do this 

• get rid of your old card securely 

If your new card does not arrive

If your card has expired and you haven’t received a replacement, you should contact us. 

Turning off contactless payments

If you do not want your Healthy Start card to be contactless, you can let us know by:

• using our online form 
• calling 0300 330 7010

If you do this, you’ll need to enter your PIN every time you use your card.