Business Programs Frequently Asked Questions

The launch date is May 16, 2022.

The transition will occur over a weekend during which the Business Account website (orcacard.biz) will not be available for use. ORCA card readers will be out of service during the transition weekend so fares will not be charged on the ORCA transit agencies: Sound Transit, King County Metro, Kitsap Transit, Everett Transit, Community Transit and Pierce Transit. The only exception is that Washington State Ferries will continue to collect fares.

• The current Business Account Website (orcacard.biz) will be deactivated on May 12 at close of business, in preparation for launch.
• Starting May 16, you will use myORCA.com.
• Effective May 16, the cost per ORCA card will be reduced from $5 to $3. If possible, we suggest you wait until May 16 to place your next card order.
• Prior to deactivation of orcacard.biz, card orders will be limited to allow time for ORCA to complete card orders.
  • As of May 2, the maximum order will be 200 cards.
  • As of May 9, the maximum order will be 10 cards.
• You may continue to add value to existing cards at orcacard.biz until close of business on May 12 if you pay by credit card.

Yes, your account, primary contact, cards and any existing groups will be automatically migrated to the new website. All you need to do is update your primary contact email address (Business Account Contact 1) in the existing ORCA Business website.

Actions taken to block, unblock, disassociate or move cards between groups will migrate as completed. For example, a card that was blocked in December 2021 but never tapped within 60 days to complete the block, will still migrate over as blocked (known as “lock” in the new system).

Update your primary contact (Business Account Contact 1) information in the existing ORCA Business website. Log into orcacard.biz today and update your email address. This will ensure you receive the email prompt to reset your password in the new ORCA system. The email will be sent on the launch day. The primary contact will have super admin permissions and your email address will be your username.

Yes, but at launch, only the current primary contact will be the super admin. That person can then log into myorca.com and add more admins or super admins if needed.

A super admin can add additional admins to the Business Account and view and update the Account Settings.

Yes, you will need a unique email for each business account. This also applies if you manage more than one ORCA Passport or Choice account. If you currently use the same email address to manage multiple accounts, you will need to use another unique email for the other business accounts you manage.

No, legacy blue cards will continue to work in the new system. The only functionality that legacy blue cards will not have is users will not be able to use the new retail network to add funds or passes to their cards. If you have card holders who use the retail network to purchase products, those users will need the new black ORCA cards. Legacy blue card holders will still be able to purchase products using myorca.com website or mobile app, calling customer service or using a ticket vending machine.

We don’t have a specific date yet, but likely late summer 2022. New cards will be released once all the old ORCA readers are replaced. However, the legacy blue cards will continue to work and there is no need to replace them at this time. The cards will cost $3.00 each. The new card serial numbers will be 19 numbers long in addition to a 3-digit security code.

There will no longer be a fee for card logos.

Yes. This is a new, optional feature where you can add participant names to cards.

Yes, you can. The blue cards will remain active before, during and after the transition to the new ORCA system.

You’ll select the card, click Manage, click Replace card, then follow the prompts to transfer products to a replacement card. If you have extra ORCA cards in stock, you can transfer the products to an existing card, or order a new replacement card from the website.

Yes.

With the new system, all products and e-purse value will load immediately. Cards will no longer need to be tapped within 60 days to activate or view balance online. The balance will automatically update on the website.

During the transition, when we are replacing old equipment with the new equipment, there may be a delay in when card holder balance is updated. The transition will last 2-3 months.

Passes valid for the current month are available for purchase from the 1st day of the prior month through the 14th of the current month. There is no prorating.

Yes, you can set up autoload for both monthly passes and E-purse. To set up autoload for passes, the pass will need to be purchased one time to be available for autoload.

Yes, ferry passes can still be purchased. Similar to all other passes, they will now load onto the cards in real-time, without the overnight delay.

Business customers will be able to pay via credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover), checks (using the invoice option), or ACH.

No, you will need to create a payment method by entering your credit card information in the new system.

If you have more than one payment method set up, you can select the option to pay for an order using split payment.

Yes, all products and e-purse will be loaded in real time, so there will no longer be expired work orders or a waiting period.

No. Expired E-purse value will not migrate to the new system. E-purse expires if the ORCA card is not tapped within 60 days of the value being loaded. Please reach out to your account rep or the Business Lead Agent if this applies to your cards.

The limit will increase to $400. If funds are already on a card, you cannot add more than $400.

No, you will not be able to stop an individual from adding E-purse or products to their card.

Employers who load value using pre-tax deductions from employees’ paychecks may select the pre-tax option so the funds can’t be transferred to another card.

There is a box you can check in your Shopping cart at checkout when adding the value to the card. The Pre-tax setting will need to be enabled by your Lead Agency first. You may view whether it is enabled by selecting Account settings under Administration. Contact your Lead Agency for assistance if it is not enabled.

Yes, cards can be loaded with pre-tax and non pre-tax funds on the same card. The $400 purse limit will apply for the combined total of the two. Pre-tax funds get spent down first if a card has a mix of both pre-tax and non-pre-tax E-purse.

The new site has 17 different types of bulk actions available for:

• Managing Participants (Add Participants,
• Update Participants, Remove Participants, Add cards to participants)
• Manage Cards (Lock Cards, Unlock Cards, Add Cards, Remove Cards)
• Manage Products, Passes and Autoloads (Add Money and/or Passes, Add multiple products to multiple cards, Add Autoloads, Edit autoloads, Remove Autoloads, Pause Autoloads, Resume Autoload)
• Manage Groups (Add participants to group, Remove participants from group)

For some bulk actions, a unique identifier is needed for each card. This can be the card number, an employee ID or something else. Products can be ordered without a unique identifier.

Yes, you will be able to import a .csv file.

Yes, once the existing cards on your account migrate to the new site at launch, you will be able to use a .csv file in bulk actions to add participants to existing cards.

Yes, you can still order cards in bulk.

Your existing card groups will migrate over at launch and you will be able to create new groups. Another new feature is to “add participants,” meaning you can add the name or unique identifier of those you have issued cards to on the website.

Yes, existing card groups will be migrated over to the new website, even if those groups are blocked or suspended in the current system.

Existing cards will migrate to your myORCA.com account as “Linked”. You may Remove a card from your account to allow the employee to keep the card for personal use.

Removing a card will remove the Passport product and will leave any E-purse balance or passes that have already been loaded, I.e. a monthly pass.

Yes, an employee’s existing card can be linked to the business account. The business will have load only access to the card. If the employee loses their card, the employee will be responsible for requesting a card block or replacement.

Lock and Unlock cards are the same as blocking or unblocking cards in the legacy ORCA system. 

No, the new system will allow you to transfer all or part of E-purse funds easily between cards without closing the card. However, replacing a card will permanently close the card being replaced. The transfer balance feature won’t be available at the May 16th launch, but will be added to the system at a near future date. If you need support to do this, please contact your business account rep for assistance.

Yes, and this will happen in real time.

Yes, you will also have the option to unlock a card.

The mobile app may be useful if an employee creates an account, registers the card and wishes to add additional products or view their card transaction history. Virtual cards will be available at a later date in the mobile app.