How to Activate Bank of America Temporary Debit Card [Digital Debit Card]

If you bank with Bank of America, you may run into situations where you have to use the Bank of America Temporary Debit card [also called Bank of America Digital Debit Card]. In this guide, we will cover all the queries on how to access and activate the Bank of America digital debit card, how long does Bank of America temporary debit card last, and what are ways in which you can use it.

Bank of America introduced the concept of a digital debit card in 2019. Bank of America Temporary Debit Card enables you to use an in-app digital debit card immediately in situations where you are waiting to get a new or replacement card debit card delivered.

You can use this card online as well as offline by adding it to a digital wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay to make your payment on the go.

The good thing about this card is you can use it immediately as soon as you order the debit card. Usually, when you order a new debit card or a replacement card, it takes around a week to arrive.

The official word is 4-6 business days and that can actually be a long time if you are using it as your primary bank account.

You don’t want to be stuck just waiting for the card to arrive. So the digital card helps you to start using your debit card instantly. So that it’s not a show-stopper for your banking needs.

It has the same 16-digit number as your new plastic card but has a temporary CVV and expiration date.

How to Activate Bank of America Temporary Debit Card

Log in to the Bank of America Mobile Banking App with your username and password
Tap the Menu (3 horizontal lines) on the app home screen (top left)
Next, go to “Manage Debit Card/Credit Card”
Select the option “Get My Digital Card“
Tap on the digital debit card image to get its details like card number, CVV code

If you get stuck or cannot access the options, you can use the option of “Erika” digital assistant on the mobile to type in your query and run a search if it helps,

One point you should note is that not all Bank of America accounts or users are eligible to receive the Bank of America Digital Debit Card. You can check with the BoA support team if you don’t see this option.

You also have the option Digital Wallets under the card image on the bank app, which gives you the option to add the card to your preferred wallet like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.

So you don’t even need to open the wallets to add the card. You can add the digital debit card using just the Bank of America mobile app which has the “Add to Wallet” button.

How to Use Bank of America Digital Debit Card

You can use a Bank of America digital debit card in the following ways:

Add it to your phone wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay as a payment method to pay at stores, gas stations, or online shopping
Add the digital card details to a merchant website or app for shopping, like a normal debit card or credit card
Use it to withdraw cash at any of the Bank of America cardless ATMs

How Long Does a Bank of America Temporary Debit Card Last

Your Bank of America Temporary digital card expires on the last day of the month following the month in which it was issued or once you activate the plastic debit card which you receive in the mail, whichever is earlier.

e.g. if you got the temporary digital debit card in March, it will expire on April 30, or if you activate the plastic card sooner

You can also see the expiry date of a temporary digital debit card by navigating to the Manage Debit Card Setting page in the mobile app (from the home page, go to the menu by tapping on the 3 lines icon and select the option Manage Debit Card) tapping on the digital debit card image.

It makes sense to activate the plastic card as soon as it arrives to avoid the possibility of expiry. Once your digital card expires, it is no longer available to use.

How to Use Digital Debit Card at ATM Bank of America

The digital debit card can work at ATMs just like a normal debit card.

All Bank of America ATMs have a contactless reader in addition to a standard card reader. Using the contactless reader, you can begin ATM transactions using a smartphone or other contactless device by following these steps:

Go to the Bank of America ATM near you
Select your Bank of America digital debit card as the payment method in your digital wallets like Apple Pay, or Google Pay(this option does not work for BoA credit cards at the moment)
Hold your phone, over the reader on the ATM which has the contactless symbol to access the digital debit card in your digital wallet.
When prompted, enter your debit card PIN using the ATM keypad and
Start your transaction

Bank of America Digital Debit Card PIN

If the digital debit card PIN is the PIN you have set when applying for the new card. If you have requested to replace an existing debit card, the digital debit card will have the same PIN as your earlier debit card till the time you get the new plastic debit card.

Bank of America Temporary Debit card not Working

If you come across a situation, where your Bank of America Temporary debit card is not working, there could be a few reasons for this-

The validity period on the temporary card may have expired – the temporary card has validity only up to the end of the month following the month in which it is issued.
You may have entered an incorrect PIN- the PIN of the Bank of America Digital Debit card is one you have set at the time of application or if it is a replacement card, it is the same as your old card’s PIN

Wrap Up

At a time, when the digital world is becoming bigger than the physical world, the Bank of America digital debit card is a great option to get started instantly with your transactions. But is meant to be a temporary card till the time you get the physical card delivered to your door.