Serve already had CVS & 7-Eleven stores for free reloads but they just added Walmart to the list.
Serve now has 19,500 locations for free cash loads.
http://goo.gl/jA8Up1
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Take the Square Cash $1 Challenge!
A recent Marketwatch story about money transfers - how long they take etc alerted me to a test you can run with SquareCash. You can test how long it takes using a free dollar they send you.
https://square.com/cash
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-fastest-way-to-send-money-electronically-2013-11-05
April 21, 2014, 9:33 a.m. EDT
Square, Google, Paypal, Popmoney — who’s faster?
Testing the best way to send money electronically
Startups, web giants and even major retailers are introducing tools that promise to make sending money electronically as easy as downloading a book — a welcome change for consumers, since electronically transferring cash to a friend can take the better part of a week.
But instead of competing with each other, some of these companies may be joining forces soon.
Mobile payments startup Square Inc., which is known for its tools that helps small business owners handle credit card transactions, may be looking to be purchased by a rival with deeper pockets, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Square denied the acquisition rumors but the possibility draws attention to the fact that each cash-transferring service has its strengths and weaknesses. Square, for instance, has strong ties with brick-and-mortar shops, while Google has more virtual wallet customers, the Journal noted.
But which service offers consumers the easiest way to send friends money electronically?
In an earlier story, we explained how part of the reason computers move money so slowly is that banks still rely on 1970s technology. But with a growing number of services vying to become the new go-to way to message money, MarketWatch decided to take the tech for a test spin.
We sent $10 from New York to a colleague, multimedia producer Billy Higgins, in San Francisco five different ways: through PayPal, Popmoney, Google Wallet GOOG +0.26% , and the recently launched Square Cash. As a control, we also sent $10 by putting a good, old-fashioned check in the mail. All of these transactions were initiated at 3 p.m. eastern on a recent Friday afternoon.
We chose Friday for a reason. The banks’ money-moving system, known as the Automated Clearing House, processes transfer requests in batches just once a day, and anyone who misses a bank’s cutoff time has to wait until the next business day. The computers essentially go fishing on weekends and holidays.
So it wasn’t surprising that with the exception of one service, Square Cash, the transfers didn’t make it into Higgins’s bank account until at least the following Monday. The rest of the services took one or two business days to clear, but since the transfer was started on a Friday afternoon, they really took three or four days to complete. Popmoney and PayPal both cleared by the following Monday and the Google transfer was done by Tuesday. Bottom line, Square Cash was the easiest transfer to set up and the first to be completed. Here’s how each transfer went:
Square Cash
In addition to being the first to clear, the Square Cash transaction was also the easiest to set up and was free. To initiate the transfer, we just sent Higgins an email stating the amount of money we wanted to send him in the subject line and copying cash@square.com. Soon after, we got an email from Square with a link to a site where we could enter our debit card information. He got a similar link, entered his card info, and the transfer was set in motion. Square wouldn’t say whether it uses ACH for these email-based transfers, though it does rely on it for other services.
Unlike most of the other services we reviewed, Square did not require us to create an account or break out our checkbook and routing number. That made the task fairly straightforward, but it also left us a little nervous that anyone who hacked into our email account could theoretically empty our bank account. Square says its fraud team uses tools to prevent “bad actors” and that users can opt to get text message alerts any time they complete a transfer. We would have needed to give more identification information if we were going to send more than $250. (Square caps cash transfers at $2,500 a week.)
Popmoney
The next best service seemed to be Popmoney. We created an account on Popmoney.com to send Higgins the money, but people who use Citibank or several other banks that partner with the service can actually initiate transfers from their bank’s website. Once Higgins created an account linking his bank, he was able to accept our transfer request with a few clicks, and the money was in his account by the next business day, Monday. But if we and Higgins had missed Popmoney’s cutoff times for sending money, the transfer could have easily taken a few days more. Same if we were sending more than $500, which would have required us to send the money from our bank account, not our credit card, a change that also comes with a slightly slower delivery time. Popmoney says payments coming from a bank account can take up to three business days, while those coming from a debit card are typically delivered the next day. Popmoney also charged us a fee of $0.95 for sending the cash. Receiving money is free.
Google Wallet
Sending cash through Google Wallet required a little more work, but we were done in about 10 minutes. Once we said that we wanted to send money to Higgins by clicking the dollar sign button at the bottom right corner of the email message box, the site asked us for details to confirm our identity, such as the last four digits of our social security number and our billing address. We also had to re-enter our password. These extra steps were comforting.
The biggest hurdle with Google is that the site doesn’t allow money to be sent directly to a person’s bank account. The money is almost instantly available in a person’s Google Wallet balance, but the recipient then needs to say they want to transfer that money to their bank account. And they need to provide their checking account information to do so, causing further delays for the average person who rarely carries a checkbook around on a regular basis. After Higgins did that, it took two business days for the money to show up in his account. Google doesn’t charge a fee for sending money from a bank account, but people sending money from a debit or credit card have to pay a fee equal to 2.9% of the transaction, or a minimum $0.30.
PayPal
Using PayPal has similar drawbacks to Google Wallet. While the money instantly showed up in Higgins’s PayPal account, he had to then request that the funds be transferred to his bank account. Once he did, it appeared in his bank account the next business day, Monday. PayPal says the transfer normally takes two to three days. On the other hand, sending money that is already in a PayPal account can be faster than sending money from a bank account, the company says.
For the latter, the bank will automatically but a hold for the amount in the person’s account, but the entire process can take up to three business days, says PayPal. Higgins had the money in his account the following business day. Like Google, PayPal doesn’t charge to send money from a bank account, but charges 2.9% of the total amount sent from credit or debit cards, plus $0.30 per transaction.
Snail mail
The tech startups can rest easy. The handwritten check, which arrived at Higgins’s office the following Wednesday, turned out to be the slowest way to send money. The rest of the transfers had been deposited in Higgins’s account by then. But they didn’t beat the check by much: The transfer from Google had cleared just the day before. And if the money exchange had been happening across the office and not across the country, using the check might have been as easy as handing Higgins a $10 bill. The check cleared in his account the same day he deposited it, avoiding the lag of some of the more high tech transfer services. And the only fee was the cost of the stamp it took to put the check in the mail, and the cost of the time it took for Higgins to go downstairs to his local credit union and deposit it.
https://square.com/cash
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-fastest-way-to-send-money-electronically-2013-11-05
April 21, 2014, 9:33 a.m. EDT
Square, Google, Paypal, Popmoney — who’s faster?
Testing the best way to send money electronically
Startups, web giants and even major retailers are introducing tools that promise to make sending money electronically as easy as downloading a book — a welcome change for consumers, since electronically transferring cash to a friend can take the better part of a week.
But instead of competing with each other, some of these companies may be joining forces soon.
Mobile payments startup Square Inc., which is known for its tools that helps small business owners handle credit card transactions, may be looking to be purchased by a rival with deeper pockets, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Square denied the acquisition rumors but the possibility draws attention to the fact that each cash-transferring service has its strengths and weaknesses. Square, for instance, has strong ties with brick-and-mortar shops, while Google has more virtual wallet customers, the Journal noted.
But which service offers consumers the easiest way to send friends money electronically?
In an earlier story, we explained how part of the reason computers move money so slowly is that banks still rely on 1970s technology. But with a growing number of services vying to become the new go-to way to message money, MarketWatch decided to take the tech for a test spin.
We sent $10 from New York to a colleague, multimedia producer Billy Higgins, in San Francisco five different ways: through PayPal, Popmoney, Google Wallet GOOG +0.26% , and the recently launched Square Cash. As a control, we also sent $10 by putting a good, old-fashioned check in the mail. All of these transactions were initiated at 3 p.m. eastern on a recent Friday afternoon.
We chose Friday for a reason. The banks’ money-moving system, known as the Automated Clearing House, processes transfer requests in batches just once a day, and anyone who misses a bank’s cutoff time has to wait until the next business day. The computers essentially go fishing on weekends and holidays.
So it wasn’t surprising that with the exception of one service, Square Cash, the transfers didn’t make it into Higgins’s bank account until at least the following Monday. The rest of the services took one or two business days to clear, but since the transfer was started on a Friday afternoon, they really took three or four days to complete. Popmoney and PayPal both cleared by the following Monday and the Google transfer was done by Tuesday. Bottom line, Square Cash was the easiest transfer to set up and the first to be completed. Here’s how each transfer went:
Square Cash
In addition to being the first to clear, the Square Cash transaction was also the easiest to set up and was free. To initiate the transfer, we just sent Higgins an email stating the amount of money we wanted to send him in the subject line and copying cash@square.com. Soon after, we got an email from Square with a link to a site where we could enter our debit card information. He got a similar link, entered his card info, and the transfer was set in motion. Square wouldn’t say whether it uses ACH for these email-based transfers, though it does rely on it for other services.
Unlike most of the other services we reviewed, Square did not require us to create an account or break out our checkbook and routing number. That made the task fairly straightforward, but it also left us a little nervous that anyone who hacked into our email account could theoretically empty our bank account. Square says its fraud team uses tools to prevent “bad actors” and that users can opt to get text message alerts any time they complete a transfer. We would have needed to give more identification information if we were going to send more than $250. (Square caps cash transfers at $2,500 a week.)
Popmoney
The next best service seemed to be Popmoney. We created an account on Popmoney.com to send Higgins the money, but people who use Citibank or several other banks that partner with the service can actually initiate transfers from their bank’s website. Once Higgins created an account linking his bank, he was able to accept our transfer request with a few clicks, and the money was in his account by the next business day, Monday. But if we and Higgins had missed Popmoney’s cutoff times for sending money, the transfer could have easily taken a few days more. Same if we were sending more than $500, which would have required us to send the money from our bank account, not our credit card, a change that also comes with a slightly slower delivery time. Popmoney says payments coming from a bank account can take up to three business days, while those coming from a debit card are typically delivered the next day. Popmoney also charged us a fee of $0.95 for sending the cash. Receiving money is free.
Google Wallet
Sending cash through Google Wallet required a little more work, but we were done in about 10 minutes. Once we said that we wanted to send money to Higgins by clicking the dollar sign button at the bottom right corner of the email message box, the site asked us for details to confirm our identity, such as the last four digits of our social security number and our billing address. We also had to re-enter our password. These extra steps were comforting.
The biggest hurdle with Google is that the site doesn’t allow money to be sent directly to a person’s bank account. The money is almost instantly available in a person’s Google Wallet balance, but the recipient then needs to say they want to transfer that money to their bank account. And they need to provide their checking account information to do so, causing further delays for the average person who rarely carries a checkbook around on a regular basis. After Higgins did that, it took two business days for the money to show up in his account. Google doesn’t charge a fee for sending money from a bank account, but people sending money from a debit or credit card have to pay a fee equal to 2.9% of the transaction, or a minimum $0.30.
PayPal
Using PayPal has similar drawbacks to Google Wallet. While the money instantly showed up in Higgins’s PayPal account, he had to then request that the funds be transferred to his bank account. Once he did, it appeared in his bank account the next business day, Monday. PayPal says the transfer normally takes two to three days. On the other hand, sending money that is already in a PayPal account can be faster than sending money from a bank account, the company says.
For the latter, the bank will automatically but a hold for the amount in the person’s account, but the entire process can take up to three business days, says PayPal. Higgins had the money in his account the following business day. Like Google, PayPal doesn’t charge to send money from a bank account, but charges 2.9% of the total amount sent from credit or debit cards, plus $0.30 per transaction.
Snail mail
The tech startups can rest easy. The handwritten check, which arrived at Higgins’s office the following Wednesday, turned out to be the slowest way to send money. The rest of the transfers had been deposited in Higgins’s account by then. But they didn’t beat the check by much: The transfer from Google had cleared just the day before. And if the money exchange had been happening across the office and not across the country, using the check might have been as easy as handing Higgins a $10 bill. The check cleared in his account the same day he deposited it, avoiding the lag of some of the more high tech transfer services. And the only fee was the cost of the stamp it took to put the check in the mail, and the cost of the time it took for Higgins to go downstairs to his local credit union and deposit it.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Reload @the Register is Replacing MoneyPaks
Over the next year retailers will begin performing swipe reloads at the register instead of using MoneyPaks. This is much more secure and problem free than the MoneyPak method.
No mention of whether it will be cheaper than the $4.95 MoneyPak cost but as they don't have to print up and ship MoneyPaks their costs will be lower. It's likely to be $3.74 the same as at Walmart though GoBank could be free as it is now at Walmart, 7-Eleven and K-Mart.
---------------------------------------------------
Green Dot Announces New and Improved Retail Cash Reload Process for Customers of Its Industry-Leading Green Dot Reload Network
Launch of “Reload @ the Register”™ Makes Reloading Faster and Easier and more Intuitive
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 31, 2014-- Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) today announced a new reload technology and consumer process designed to improve the retail cash reloading experience for its millions of Green Dot Reload Network users. Reload @ the Register™ is powered by Green Dot’s highly scalable and market-proven “SwIT” (Swipe Interface Technology) functionality. This real-time technology is designed to make reloading cash onto a prepaid card faster, more convenient, more efficient and more intuitive for the customer than using a paper reload “chit,” which is a method commonly used today by Green Dot and other competing reload network providers. Green Dot’s SwIT technology hit a major milestone in 2012 when it joined Walmart Rapid Reload™ and will now roll out to most of Green Dot’s other retail partners by the end of 2014.
“We expect Reload @ the Register, powered by Green Dot, will be a big win for all stakeholders in the prepaid card reload value chain,” said Helena Mao, General Manager, Green Dot Reload Network. “For the retailer, it means that they will no longer have to provide shelving for paper reload chits, which will reduce in-store labor to re-stock and maintain those products. For the prepaid program manager, it means a more intuitive reload process that’s easier for their cardholders to learn. And for prepaid cardholders, Green Dot’s Reload @ the Register service allows them to enjoy a faster, easier and more intuitive reload transaction without having to fuss with the intermediary step of transferring funds from the paper chit to their prepaid card.”
As the name implies, “Reload @ the Register” lets prepaid cardholders simply go to the register at any participating retailer to conduct their cash reload transaction. The cashier collects the cash from the consumer that he or she wishes to reload to their prepaid card along with any applicable reload fee and swipes the customer’s prepaid card through the retailer’s existing POS card terminal. The retailer’s terminal is connected to Green Dot’s data processing center where Green Dot is able to see the transaction in real-time. This real-time transaction method allows Green Dot to immediately credit reloaded funds to the customer’s card account without any further action required by the customer or the retailer. By comparison, the “paper chit method” of reloading requires the chit to be in-stock at the retailer and requires the customer to “load the chit” with cash and then go online or make a phone call to have the money on the chit transferred to their prepaid card.
“Over the long term, we expect our Green Dot Network to achieve higher reload transaction volumes given the simplicity and elegance of the Reload @ the Register consumer process, while saving Green Dot a significant amount of time and money required for the printing, distribution and merchandising of paper reload chits at more than 90,000 retailer location. Furthermore, the adoption of Green Dot’s SwIT technology by our major retail partners provides us opportunities to develop a myriad of new cash acceptance use cases for customers and retailers beyond prepaid card reloading that can help expand the market opportunity for Green Dot and our retail partners.”
The Green Dot Reload Network was invented in 2002 as the prepaid industry’s first cash reload service. Today, The Green Dot Network is America’s leading reload network used by all Green Dot Bank programs and also by more than 150 other banks and prepaid program managers in order to facilitate cash reloads to their respective program’s cards. Last year, the Green Dot Reload Network processed in excess of 40 million reload transactions across its nationwide footprint of retailers.
“Green Dot invented the prepaid card reload network twelve years ago and we’re deeply committed to its continued evolution, growth and success,” said Kostas Sgoutas, Green Dot’s Chief Revenue Officer. “We believe Reload @ the Register, powered by Green Dot, is just the beginning of a number of innovations still to come related to our large and growing reload network business.”
No mention of whether it will be cheaper than the $4.95 MoneyPak cost but as they don't have to print up and ship MoneyPaks their costs will be lower. It's likely to be $3.74 the same as at Walmart though GoBank could be free as it is now at Walmart, 7-Eleven and K-Mart.
---------------------------------------------------
Green Dot Announces New and Improved Retail Cash Reload Process for Customers of Its Industry-Leading Green Dot Reload Network
Launch of “Reload @ the Register”™ Makes Reloading Faster and Easier and more Intuitive
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 31, 2014-- Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) today announced a new reload technology and consumer process designed to improve the retail cash reloading experience for its millions of Green Dot Reload Network users. Reload @ the Register™ is powered by Green Dot’s highly scalable and market-proven “SwIT” (Swipe Interface Technology) functionality. This real-time technology is designed to make reloading cash onto a prepaid card faster, more convenient, more efficient and more intuitive for the customer than using a paper reload “chit,” which is a method commonly used today by Green Dot and other competing reload network providers. Green Dot’s SwIT technology hit a major milestone in 2012 when it joined Walmart Rapid Reload™ and will now roll out to most of Green Dot’s other retail partners by the end of 2014.
“We expect Reload @ the Register, powered by Green Dot, will be a big win for all stakeholders in the prepaid card reload value chain,” said Helena Mao, General Manager, Green Dot Reload Network. “For the retailer, it means that they will no longer have to provide shelving for paper reload chits, which will reduce in-store labor to re-stock and maintain those products. For the prepaid program manager, it means a more intuitive reload process that’s easier for their cardholders to learn. And for prepaid cardholders, Green Dot’s Reload @ the Register service allows them to enjoy a faster, easier and more intuitive reload transaction without having to fuss with the intermediary step of transferring funds from the paper chit to their prepaid card.”
As the name implies, “Reload @ the Register” lets prepaid cardholders simply go to the register at any participating retailer to conduct their cash reload transaction. The cashier collects the cash from the consumer that he or she wishes to reload to their prepaid card along with any applicable reload fee and swipes the customer’s prepaid card through the retailer’s existing POS card terminal. The retailer’s terminal is connected to Green Dot’s data processing center where Green Dot is able to see the transaction in real-time. This real-time transaction method allows Green Dot to immediately credit reloaded funds to the customer’s card account without any further action required by the customer or the retailer. By comparison, the “paper chit method” of reloading requires the chit to be in-stock at the retailer and requires the customer to “load the chit” with cash and then go online or make a phone call to have the money on the chit transferred to their prepaid card.
“Over the long term, we expect our Green Dot Network to achieve higher reload transaction volumes given the simplicity and elegance of the Reload @ the Register consumer process, while saving Green Dot a significant amount of time and money required for the printing, distribution and merchandising of paper reload chits at more than 90,000 retailer location. Furthermore, the adoption of Green Dot’s SwIT technology by our major retail partners provides us opportunities to develop a myriad of new cash acceptance use cases for customers and retailers beyond prepaid card reloading that can help expand the market opportunity for Green Dot and our retail partners.”
The Green Dot Reload Network was invented in 2002 as the prepaid industry’s first cash reload service. Today, The Green Dot Network is America’s leading reload network used by all Green Dot Bank programs and also by more than 150 other banks and prepaid program managers in order to facilitate cash reloads to their respective program’s cards. Last year, the Green Dot Reload Network processed in excess of 40 million reload transactions across its nationwide footprint of retailers.
“Green Dot invented the prepaid card reload network twelve years ago and we’re deeply committed to its continued evolution, growth and success,” said Kostas Sgoutas, Green Dot’s Chief Revenue Officer. “We believe Reload @ the Register, powered by Green Dot, is just the beginning of a number of innovations still to come related to our large and growing reload network business.”
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