Frozen card - will Google Wallet still work?

Ant555

If I 'freeze' or request a replacement debit card for my NatWest current account then will the Google Wallet still work?

Im unsure if its the same item or if the banking system/pos terminals can distinguish between physical card and phone for contactless purchases.

My physical card does not appear to work for contactless any more so I need to order a new one and wondering if i'll going to need to add a different card to my Google Wallet for everyday short term

Thanks

Ant555

Apologies, self-resolved.

I tried a different search term and found the answer myself - seems that YES, it will still work on Google/Apple in this situation.

https://www.natwest.com/support-centre/bank-accounts-and-supporting-information/general/what-happens-if-the-card-i-have-added-to-google-pay-is-lost-or-stolen.html

Peter999_2

Hi Ant555,

I have done this all the time with my NatWest debit card and my NatWest credit card.    When I have frozen the card it does NOT work in Google Wallett.   I think the link you've given just deals with lost/stolen cards and not frozen cards.

Whenever I go abroad, I freeze both cards just in case and when I try to use them on Google Wallett it rejects the payment and I have to un-freeze the card for it to work.

PRAISETHESUN

I'd be very worried if freezing my cards didn't actually stop them from being used... I highly suspect you've misread the information you link to.

EarthBoy

Freezing contactless payments certainly will stop you using Google Wallet or Apple Pay. 

DullGreyGuy

PRAISETHESUN said:

I'd be very worried if freezing my cards didn't actually stop them from being used... I highly suspect you've misread the information you link to.

Firstly you have to remember that the physical card and the card in the digital wallet have different numbers to each other, they are effectively two seperate cards. 

As a consequence you can report your old card lost, they can stop that number but not stop the virtual card number so you can continue spending on it whilst you await the new physical card to arrive. 

In principle they could have a seperate freeze function for the physical and the virtual version of the card however most dont and freezing one freezes both. The only one that does allow it to some degree that I know is Starling where you can multiple virtual cards and the freeze on the main card only freezes the virtual main card but you can freeze/unfreeze the other virtual cards independently. 

bozo007

DullGreyGuy said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

I'd be very worried if freezing my cards didn't actually stop them from being used... I highly suspect you've misread the information you link to.

Firstly you have to remember that the physical card and the card in the digital wallet have different numbers to each other, they are effectively two seperate cards. 

As a consequence you can report your old card lost, they can stop that number but not stop the virtual card number so you can continue spending on it whilst you await the new physical card to arrive. 

In principle they could have a seperate freeze function for the physical and the virtual version of the card however most dont and freezing one freezes both. The only one that does allow it to some degree that I know is Starling where you can multiple virtual cards and the freeze on the main card only freezes the virtual main card but you can freeze/unfreeze the other virtual cards independently. 

They may be two separate cards but they are likely set up as a parent-child relationship with the virtual card being the child. Freezing the physical card (the parent) therefore renders the virtual card inoperable. That is also probably why when the physical card is renewed after the old one expires, Google Wallet automatically updates the virtual card linked to it.

sausage_time

RBS (for example) make it clear that freezing the physical card also stops Apple and Google Pay.

https://www.rbs.co.uk/support-centre/general-banking-information/general/what-is-the-freeze-card-setting.html

Freezing your debit card temporarily stops it working:

• at cash machines

• for online payments and purchases

• with Apple and Google Pay

• for card subscriptions (like Netflix)

• with a card reader (e.g. confirm a new payment)

But it still allows direct debits, standing orders and refunds.

Ant555

A quick update in case anyone searches for this in future  - I went on a web chat and requested a new card.

1 day after request - my Google Wallet was still working as I paid for things

2 days after request -  I received a message on my phone to say that the new card from Natwest has been automatically updated on my Google Wallet and is active immediately.
I then received a notification that my new physical card is on the way.

It may have been different if lost/stolen but it ended up being a painless experience.