Card Shipping Overview

What shipping methods are available for a physical card?

Individual card shipping

When a physical card is ordered, the user can select between the options listed below.

Shipping Method (API)	Description	Average Charges per Card (USD)*	Tracking Available?
LOCAL_MAIL	USPS Mail (5-7 business days)	$0.67	No
LOCAL_PRIORITY	USPS Priority (2-3 business days)	$7.00	Yes
TWO_DAY	UPS Second Business Day (2 business days)	$52.00	Yes
OVERNIGHT	UPS Next Day Air Saver	$43.00	Yes
INTERNATIONAL	UPS Worldwide Saver (1-3 business days)	$47.00	Yes
INTERNATIONAL_GROUND	UPS Standard (3-7 days) NOTE: Ground to Canada and Mexico only!	$17.00	Yes
INTERNATIONAL_PRIORITY	USPS Priority International (2-3 business days)	$37.00	Yes

*The average charges are based on individual card shipping (not bulk)

Bulk shipping

Synctera also supports bulk orders / shipping. FinTechs can use this option to reduce shipping costs for applicable use cases.

Supported use cases:

• Shipping of multiple cards to a single location where the distribution or last mile delivery is handled by a specific distributor/carrier:

• This use case is supported through default product settings at the fulfillment provider level - cards are sent in bulk, but packaged and addressed individually

• FinTech can contact their Synctera representative for this option

• Shipping of multiple cards to more than one locations:

• This use case is supported through Synctera Bulk Order APIs

• Cards are sent in bulk, but NOT packaged and addressed individually

Individual and bulk shipping

If a FinTech wants to provide both individual shipping and bulk shipping, two separate card products must be set up.

Other considerations:

• Cards can be shipped in bulk daily or on demand (for example, once bulk size has reached 500 cards).
• The maximum number of cards that will be shipped per box is 510, or 33 lbs. If a bulk order goes over that limit, there will be multiple boxes for that bulk order.
• With the exception of LOCAL_MAIL (and INTERNATIONAL_GROUND if outside of Canada or Mexico), any shipping method can be used for bulk shipping.
• Estimated shipping charges for bulk shipments with USPS can be provided upon request.

How are the shipping charges collected? 

The average shipping charges shown in the table above are the charges billed to the FinTech as part of the monthly invoice from Synctera. The number of cards issued per method is multiplied by the average charges for that shipping method, and that is the cost charged to the FinTech. The card count is based on cards shipped in the month being invoiced.

For example, if 10 physical cards were shipped in the month of August with the OVERNIGHT shipping method, the cost to the FInTech on the invoice would be 10 x $43.00 =$430.00.

On the next month’s invoice - September in the example above - the FinTech receives a debit or a credit based on the actual shipping charges for the month of August. The actual cost may have been higher or lower than the average cost, and the FinTech is either reimbursed or needs to pay the difference. Typically, USPS charges are close to the average, whereas the UPS charges may show a larger variance due to the following:

• Destination
• Weight/dimensions
• Residential or business location
• Service Area
• Ship type
• Fuel surcharges
• Signature required
• Etc.

How long after a card is ordered does it get shipped?

The time between a physical card order being placed and the card being produced and shipped is no more than 3 business days. As an example, a card order received Monday before 8PM PT is produced and shipped by the USPS/UPS pick up deadline Thursday.

How to know if/when a card is shipped and how to track the shipment?

Once a card has been shipped, the card fulfillment status changes to “SHIPPED”. The FinTech receives a webhook notification about the status change provided they have subscribed to Synctera webhook events. In addition, card fulfillment details are available through List/Get Card endpoints and in the Synctera console. This includes shipping date, shipping method, and tracking number. Note that tracking number is not available for USPS Mail (LOCAL_MAIL) - this is reflected in the table above.