The Karta Mastercard is a prepaid open loop gift card produced by 545490 Pty Ltd, the same company behind Special gift cards. Digital versions of the Karta Mastercard gift card are also sold under the Australia Post and Mastercard brands.
Summary
You can:
- Use Karta Mastercard gift cards almost anywhere Mastercard is accepted both in-store and online
You cannot:
- Access the card number, expiry and CVV for a physical gift card without first registering it in the Karta app
- Receive refunds back onto the gift card
- Dispute transactions made with the gift card
How to use Karta Mastercard gift cards
You can use a physical Karta Mastercard gift card simply by swiping the card itself at a payment terminal or by adding it to your phone so that you can use it online or via a mobile wallet (e.g. Apple Pay).
The physical gift card contains an NFC chip which newer smartphones will detect when held together in close proximity. Doing this opens a prompt on your phone which you can follow to install the Karta app, create an account and register your gift cards.
Registering your gift card allows you to see its balance as well as reveal the card number, expiry and CVV which, curiously, are not printed on the physical card itself. Without using the app to reveal these details, you won’t be able to use your Karta Mastercard online.
The app also gives you the option of adding your cards to Apple Pay or Google Pay. You can continue to use your physical card even after you have registered it and added it your mobile wallet. Your purchases will be reflected in the transaction history for each of your cards in the Karta app.
Worryingly, Karta Mastercard gift cards don’t support refunds and you are unable to dispute any transactions made with your card. Instead, their terms and conditions instruct you to deal with the merchant yourself.
Denominations
Physical Karta Mastercard gift cards have only been observed in fixed value $100 denominations. The digital versions are available in $20, $50, $100, $200, $250 and $500 denominations. Both variants carry the same purchase fee of $5.95.
Promotions
There have only been two promotions on Karta Mastercard gift cards, both of which were on the physical $100 cards sold at Big W: 10x Everyday Rewards points in December 2023 and 10% off in September 2024.
