To ask how new healthy start pre payment card works

[Lilacbluewaters]

I have recently been sent the new healthy start pre payment card but I don’t understand how it works?

Before with the vouchers I would do my weekly food shop and then just scan however many qualify for fruit/veg and milk.
But now with a card how does it work? There won’t be enough money on the card to pay for a full food shop but obviously I still want to use it.
Please help maybe I’m being dumb

Surely it pays however much is on it towards the shop and you pay the remaining balance. Just like the vouchers. Or am I missing something?

@CiaoForDiNiaoSaur

Surely it pays however much is on it towards the shop and you pay the remaining balance. Just like the vouchers. Or am I missing something?

Well they put the whole amount on the card so instead of the separate vouchers it’s one big amount. So I don’t want to use it all on one shop basically

I don’t really work the tills at my store but I imagine it will go through like a gift card and you can choose the balance you wish to use. I will check when I’m in tomorrow evening.

There’s a guide here: www.healthystart.nhs.uk/using-your-card-or-vouchers/

Look under “shopping with your card”. You can part pay basically and pay the balance with cash or another card.

@Saladd0dger

I don’t really work the tills at my store but I imagine it will go through like a gift card and you can choose the balance you wish to use. I will check when I’m in tomorrow evening.

Thank you so much!

I think it depends on the shop. You still have to spend the £4.25 minimum on qualifying bits, and can still only be spent on same stuff. The faff is the checkout assistant having to go through and make sure you have actually spent the amount you want to put on the card. I've just separated out the stuff for the card and paid with it separately as more simple that way.

I'm not actually sure if they can tell you are actually using the card as opposed to a 'regular' card. I think it depends on the supermarket and their till systems. So if you put £10 on the card, but only had £7 of qualifying bits, I'm not sure they'd know unless they actually saw the card itself properly.

Oh, and will need to put the PIN in first time, can use it contactless after.

That's my experience anyway!

I don't think there is a minimum spend on the card from what I've gathered so far, and in my weekly shop I just pay for the qualifying items seperately as I find that easier then part payment etc that's just me anyway x