Use your Best Start Foods card

1. Activate your card

Call free on 0808 196 1687 to activate your card.

2. Get your PIN

You’ll get a 4-digit PIN when you call up to activate your card.

3. Check your first payment date

Find your first payment date on the letter Social Security Scotland sent you. You can start paying for things with your card from this date.

4. Use your card in a shop or online

You’ll need your PIN when using your Best Start Foods card for the first time.

You do not need to activate again if your new card replaces one you were already using.

You can use your card straight away.

You can use your card with a cashier or a self-checkout.

At the checkout, you can either:

• enter your PIN
• tap your card (contactless)

You’ll be asked to enter your PIN if you’re spending over £45 and every now and then for security.

You can split the payments if you want to buy other things at the same time.

Tell the cashier how much you want to spend on your Best Start Foods card and your other payment method.

You can turn off contactless if you do not want your Best Start Foods card to be used by tapping it on the card device at checkout.

To turn it off, log into your online allpay account and choose to turn off the contactless feature.

This will mean that you can only use the card by entering it in the card device and entering your PIN.

If you gave your mobile number when you applied for Best Start Foods, you'll be able to use your card to pay online. 

If you did not give your mobile number when you applied, you can give it to Social Security Scotland now. Call their free helpline on 0800 182 2222.

When you checkout online, enter your Best Start Foods card details like you would any normal bank card.

After you submit these details, you'll get a text with a One Time Passcode.

You'll be asked to enter this code before you can complete your payment.

If you're only buying healthy food, you can use your card to buy everything in your basket.

At the moment, shopping websites will not allow you to split payments between your Best Start Foods card and your normal bank card.

To buy other things at the same time, you might need to check out twice, once with your Best Start Foods card and a second time with your normal bank card for the rest of your shopping.

As with a normal checkout, if you make a mistake or get mixed up, it will not affect any of your benefit payments.

You will not be able to use your card to buy food through delivery apps such as Amazon or Uber.

Your card might be declined if the shop or website does not sell the healthy foods listed on your card. 

​​​​If your Best Start Foods card does not work in a shop that sells healthy food, call Social Security Scotland. They'll look to see if you're able to use your Best Start Foods card in this shop in the future.

If you forget your PIN, you can either:

• call allpay on 0808 196 1687

• log into your online allpay account and ask to send it to you in a text message

If you lose your card or it’s stolen or damaged, call allpay on 0808 196 1687.

They will cancel your card and send you a new one. This will not cost you anything or affect your payments.

Call allpay on 0808 196 1687 if you think someone has spent money on your card without you knowing. Allpay will check if they can give you a refund. This may involve replacing your card.

Your card is topped up every 4 weeks during pregnancy and whilst your children are under 3.

Find out your next payment date.

You can get refunds onto your card if you need to. Return the item to the shop or website.

For healthy eating tips for all the family, visit Parent Club.

For recipes and information about cooking with ingredients you can buy with your Best Start Foods card, visit the First Steps Nutrition Trust.