Loading $ onto Presto cards for someone else - Toronto TTC

December 17, 2019 9:36 AM

Is it possible for me, person who does not have a Presto card or account (I drive to work) to load money onto the card of a teen/student in my family using the Presto website? Or can I only do this in person, at a subway station? Student in question takes TTC, not the Go, and is under 18.
posted by walkinginsunshine to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)

Yes, this is entirely possible, although you'll have to set up an account connected to the card in question. You'll need the card or the 17-digit number of the card to set up the account. There will be about a 24-hour delay in updating the card with funds the first time you do it online, so if you need to get funds on the card sooner that that, you'll have to load the card up in person somewhere that might include a Shoppers Drug Mart.

If the teen/student in your family has already set up an online account for the card, they'll have to share the log-in information with you. Once you have set up or accessed the online account, you can load money onto the card a bit at a time or set up an auto-pay option.
posted by Hellgirl at 9:54 AM on December 17, 2019 [4 favorites]

Yes. What Hellgirl said. You set up an account, and then enter the number of the card you want to add money to. You do not have to have a card yourself to open an account. I do this for my son. Note that if you want to get the student rate, I believe the student has to purchase the physical card & show student ID.
posted by Badmichelle at 7:16 PM on December 17, 2019

Yes, you do have to get the card specifically set to student. From the Go Fare info website: "Students must see a Station Attendant or visit a Customer Service Outlet to have a “Student” setting added to their card, along with the expiry date for that setting."

But other than that, it should just be like putting cash on it for any other card using their online system. I have my Presto as well as my mom's on my account and set up to autoload any time my balance drops below $20 and I find that works perfectly for me because I never have to worry about the ridiculously long wait times to add money to it; it's always just there when I need it. As the above posters said, it's just a matter of setting up an online account linked to the card in question and then adding funds (or autoload) to the card.
posted by urbanlenny at 4:06 PM on December 18, 2019

I was at Shoppers a few weeks ago and a woman added money to her kid's card! I'm not sure if she had an account, though.
posted by Frenchy67 at 7:00 AM on December 20, 2019