Amex Serve Adding Family Dollar to Free Reload Network

By July Serve users will be able to load their cards at no charge at any Family Dollar store.

This will bring the total of free load locations to almost 28,000 nationwide.

Day 22 W/O GoBank Card - Customer Service Steps Up

They GoBank customer service team told me today they are sending another card out Fedex. I would have paid for this 3 weeks ago.

Regardless this shows a dedicated company that cares.

Day 20 Still No GoBank Replacement Card

Still no replacement card for my GoBank account.

Serve seems to be working out well maybe I'll stick with it.

Amex Serve Cash Deposit at CVS or 7-Eleven

I've seen some complaints from people who say CVS doesn't load the Serve card and while the info says 'participating' CVS stores most if not all do accept it. Here is my experience.

I walked into a CVS and there was no line of people waiting to pay and leave. This is what you need because if there is a line of people they may try and hurry you and say 'Serve? Never heard of it' Next!. Okay so I told the cashier that I wanted to load the card. They said guess what they never heard of this. They called the manager to the register who said - never heard of it.

So I said just swipe it and see what happens. Well something popped up on the screen that made them pause. The manager said put it in as a prepaid reload as if there was a Green Dot MoneyPak.

BINGO!!!!!!!! They asked me how much I wanted to load and I gave them the money.

I walked out and sent a text to Amex Serve '73783' BAL and bang the money was there in less than a minute.

Just to add that 7-Eleven is used to loading prepaid cards & their register steps them right through this no problem. There are though many many more CVS stores than 7-Eleven.

Chase Liquid Adopts New Prepaid Disclosure

Pew Charitable Trusts standard for disclosure has been adopted by Chase for their Liquid product.

https://www.chase.com/debit-reloadable-cards/liquid-prepaid-card

http://goo.gl/DZ7eV8


Chase Adopts Pew's New Model Disclosure for Chase Liquid
New disclosure will ensure our customers can plainly see how Chase Liquid® works

NEW YORK, N.Y., – February 26, 2014 – Chase today unveiled a new simple and clear disclosure form for its Chase Liquid® prepaid card. Chase is the first prepaid provider to adopt a new model disclosure box released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The new disclosure form allows customers to plainly see a description of fees and when deposits are available in a simple, easy to read format.

“Our customers appreciate that we use clear language when we describe how our products work,” said Barry Sommers, CEO of Chase Consumer Bank. “Chase Liquid was built on the premise of being simple and easy to understand, so the Pew disclosure form is perfectly aligned with this product.”

Using American Express Serve Card

I made 2 ATM transactions and used the card three times yesterday - no issues.

Later this week I'll make a deposit at a CVS or 7-Eleven maybe both to try that out.

So far so good. Makes me wonder if the complaints other than customer service not speaking great English may be overblown. Amex may also have taken some steps to eliminate or minimize customer service issues. We'll see as till I get my new GoBank card I will continue to experiment with Serve and report results.

Serve ACH 5 Business Days

Just got credited for my ACH to Serve from GoBank. 5 business days just as expected.

They were able to tell me a couple of days in advance when it would be credited.

American Express Serve

I have read horror stories all over the web for the Amex Serve card though not as severe as their BlueBird card.

I'll be able to weigh in on that personally over the next week as I will start using the card on Monday the 24th.

From my last post you'd know I lost my GoBank card - I've been very happy with GoBank but its a minimum 2 weeks to send out another card - so I ACH's the funds to Serve last Monday. Monday though was a Banking holiday President's Day so the money won't show up till this Monday. If I had used my head I would have made the transaction via the GoBank debit card before I reported it lost. Then the transfer would have been instant I believe.

So I called Serve customer service and the rep who spoke pretty good English checked and said the money will post Monday.

A list of things you shouldn't do with Serve

1 - Do not use someone else's debit or credit card - even your husband, wife, parents, child etc to put money into the account. The name on the card must match the account name exactly.

2 - Do not use the remote check deposit feature (on any prepaid account) because it's highly possible that the funds will be held for much longer than you wish. Cash the check at Walmart for $3 - it's safe and quick.

3 - Do not use the card at a gas pump. Pull cash out for gas or buy gas gift cards. If you use it at the pump there will be a hold placed on the card.

4 - Sub Accounts are just asking for trouble.

5 - DO NOT CALL customer service unless you feel an absolute need to. I probably shouldn't have called myself about the ACH. Calling them invites some type of change to be made or a misunderstanding.

PNC SmartAccess Card

Great card if you are within their branch area.

Free cash deposits at any branch or PNC DepositEasy ATMs. Withdraw your money for free at over 7,300 PNC ATMs. Out of the area? Use VisaReadylink at any 7-Eleven.

$5 a month fee and virtually everything else fee free. You can walk into a branch and cash a check drawn on PNC for free.

Lost or Stolen Card

What do you do if you lose or have your card stolen?

I recently lost my GoBank card. At that point I should have used the debit card number to move my funds to Serve at no cost and instantly. Serve allows loading via debit card.

However I reported the card lost first which severely limits your options since the card number is no good. It's 2 weeks or more for a replacement card. That's a long time to go without your money.

Checking to see if an expedited card replacement is an option is something you should do with an account that is really on the card with no physical presence anywhere.

There is no option to expedite shipping of a new card with GoBank.

You will have to move your direct deposit or cancel it right away.

I set up ACH transfer between Serve and GoBank and requested my balance be moved. The funds were taken from GoBank on the 18th and still sit as 'processing' with Serve now 2 days later.

GoBank Free Cash Deposit Locations and Limits

Deposit cash for free

Take your GoBank debit card and cash to any participating Walmart, 7-Eleven or Kmart (not available in WY or VT). Swipe your card or hand it to the cashier, and the cash will be deposited into your account automagically.

Walmart allows between $20 (minimum) and $1,100 (maximum) per transaction.

7-Eleven and Kmart allows between $20 (minimum) and $500 (maximum) per transaction.

The maximum you can deposit in one day is $2,500.

Keep a look-out here for new cash deposit locations, which we'll be adding soon!

Surprise, Banks are Against the Post Office Entering Prepaid

According to American Baker the USPS proposal to enter the prepaid card market has set off a firestorm of criticism from Banks.

Remember if Banks are against it it's likely to be a good thing for you.

http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/179_18/post-office-offering-loans-is-worst-idea-since-the-edsel-banks-1065231-1.html

Bankers and their representatives harshly criticized a call for the U.S. Postal Service to offer financial products like prepaid cards, remittances and even small consumer loans to underbanked consumers, saying it was a dangerous and foolhardy idea.

As envisioned by the white paper, customers would be able to borrow up to half of their gross pay in a given pay cycle. For each paycheck, they'd be required to make installment payments equal to 5% of their gross pay until the loan was paid off.

The average repayment term would be five and a half months. A consumer who borrowed $375 would pay a total of $48 in interest and fees, equal to an effective annual interest rate of 28%.

Borrowers would put their paychecks onto USPS prepaid cards, often via direct deposit, which would allow the Postal Service to automatically withhold repayments before loading the balance of the paycheck onto the prepaid card.

The Postal Service might be able to secure a major leg up over private-sector lenders with respect to securing repayment from delinquent borrowers. Working with the Treasury Department, the USPS might deduct the amount owed from the borrower's tax refund, the paper states.

US Postal Service Entering Prepaid?

Foreign Postal services have offered prepaid services for year. It appears that the USPS will be entering here as well.

http://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2014/rarc-wp-14-007.pdf

T-Mobile 'Mobile Money' Prepaid

If you use T-Mobile this is a home run. Free cash deposits at T-Mobile stores. Free ATMs, free billpay, a mobile app of course, free remote check deposit (this does have some fees) free customer service with I wager English speaking customer service.

Reload fees for cash deposits of more than $300 using a Reloadit card are refunded. Reloads also available through Visa Readylink and Moneygram but those fees are not refunded.

With 40+ million customers many of whom use prepaid services this should quickly become a top option.

It looks like T-Mobile has contracted this out to Blackhawk Networks which is owned by Safeway. Remote Check deposit will be through IngoMoney formerly Chexar. Reloadit packs are from Blackhawk and that cost, $3.95, will be refunded if you use them to load cash over $300.

This will be just like a PayPower card (Blackhawk) without fees if you are a T-Mobile customer.

https://t-mobilemoneyservices.com/NeedHelp/Fees

Here is the Android app which has already been downloaded by many customers.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackhawknetwork.tmobile.mobilemoney&hl=en

Walgreens Balance Financial Goes Nationwide

'If' you use Walgreens this may be a good card for you. Reloads now available at 8,000 Walgreen and Duane Reed locations.

https://balancefinancial.walgreens.com

Amex Serve Customer Service

I have read that Serve is using the same customer service as Bluebird.

English as a third language they cannot understand a word you are saying.

You may as well throw your money out the window as deposit it on Serve if this is the case.

They are reading from a script. They repeat themselves endlessly. At some point you may think they understand why you are calling and then from right field they will start to ask you how can they help you. It’s like an endless loop.

My advice – order a card and deposit a small amount of money on it. Try calling customer service to ask them a simple question and see if you feel comfortable having them in charge of your finances.

US Bank Prepaid Consolidation?

American Banker is reporting that US Bank is consolidating all its different prepaid cards.

Looking for some confirmation of that but nothing so far.

Walmart Preferred MoneyCard

It was only a matter of time before Walmart rolled out something more competitive. It's also only a matter of time before Walmart starts some type of rewards program.

https://www.walmartmoneycard.com/walmart/account/legal-info-page?doc=feeplan&productname=preferred

$6 to purchase

$3 monthly service fee - waived with either direct deposit or $500 loaded during the month.

Free cash reloads

Early direct deposit when employer gives notice

The OnBudget Prepaid Mastercard No Fees Instant ACH Deposits

https://onbudget.com

No fees
No prepaid card fees, no ATM fees, no account fees, and no load fees.

Two prepaid debit cards included per account
Seamlessly integrates two users into one household budget.

Effortless budget setup process
Eliminates all the guessing and tedious work in setting up a budget.

Instant card loads from any bank account
No more waiting 2 to 3 days for money to load from your bank (and still no fees).

Free access to budget advisors
Support from initial budget consultation through 90 day budget checkup.

Walgreens New Prepaid will Include Check Cashing

I'm betting $3 to cash a check and deposit onto the card - being able to keep $100 cash at that time.

If you don't have direct deposit and you are a frequent Walgreen's shopper this could be a very good card.

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Check cashing for Balance Financial cardholders in the initial 250 Walgreens stores. Cardholders will be able to deposit payroll, tax refund and government benefit checks and can receive from a Walgreens cashier up to $100 in cash from their card account. Additional cash can be accessed without a fee at a Walgreens ATM.

When you activate your Balance™ Financial MasterCard, your Balance® Rewards account can be linked to your card account. Once cards are linked, your Balance Financial MasterCard also becomes your Balance® Rewards Card. Then, just use your Balance Financial MasterCard and watch the points really add up:1

Get 10 points for every $1 spent at Walgreens or Duane Reade stores.

Get 100 points every time you reload in store.

Get 1,000 points when your first direct deposit is made. Then, get 250 points for each month a direct deposit is received.