It's easy to create an account, pay for your online orders and update your payment details anytime.
You can use credit and debit cards, giftcards and eVouchers to pay for your online orders.
We take the following credit and debit cards:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Switch
- Maestro
- Delta
- JCB
- Diner's Club
We take WHSmith Giftcards and WHSmith eVouchers.
You can pay with a combination of a payment card and a Giftcard. You can use up to 5 Giftcards or eVouchers with a single order.
It's not possible to pay for your online orders using paper WHSmith gift vouchers or paper Book tokens. However, you can use them in store.
Your payment to us will show up on your card statement as being made to WHSmith High Street Ltd or WHSmith Jersey Ltd in pounds sterling.
When you buy something from WHSmith, you create an account. Once you've entered your payment details through our secure server, they're stored so you don't have to give them again: you just log in next time you want to buy something. You can also store different credit and debit cards and pick the one you want to use.
We don't store your details here, we pass them to our secure payment provider and refer to them by a code number when you next make an order.
Read more about payment security
Before we confirm your order we carry out a standard pre-authorisation check on your card to make sure there's enough money available to pay for it.
We ask your bank to set aside (or reserve) the money in your account to pay for your order. Although this money may still show in your account, you won't be able to spend it.
We typically reserve funds for 7-10 days and take the money when your order is ready to send out.
When you set-up your account or add a new payment card we check the card's details with your bank. This check ensures that the card has not been stolen or lost. For this check we ring-fence 2 pence (2p); we do not take any money from your card though this 2p will not be available to spend for 7-10 days.
For more details on card payments, see our terms and conditions
When setting up your account or when adding new/additional cards to your account we will validate the card details entered with your bank. During this validation process we will execute x2 1 pence (1p) deferred transactions, no monies will be removed from your account but the 1p's will be ring fenced for a period of 7 – 10 days depending on your banks internal procedures, at the end of this period the funds will be released and become available to you to spend. This process is only executed once at the point the card details are entered, no monies will be removed from your account during this process.
If your bank doesn't authorise your payment, a message will appear telling you what to do next. Please note that only your bank can tell you why your card has been declined.
If we can't take payment from your card when your order is ready to send - because your card has expired, for example - we'll send you an email asking you to update your payment details. If the details haven't been updated within 7 days, we'll cancel your order.
- Log in to My Account
- Go to My Profile
- Edit your payment details / billing address
You can spend your WHSmith Giftcards and eVouchers at WHSmith.co.uk. Giftcards and eVouchers cannot be spent at Partner Websites such as WHSmithMagazines.co.uk and Kobobooks.com. WHSmith Achievement Award vouchers cannot be spent online.
In checkout enter the card number and security code found on the back of your Giftcard or included in your emailed eVoucher. On a Giftcard scratch off the panel to reveal the security code. If your Giftcard does not cover the cost of your order we will prompt you to add another Giftcard or payment card.
Giftcards and eVouchers are like cash so we deduct the sum when you checkout. If you cancel your order or we are unable to fulfill it we will send you a new eVoucher as a refund.
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