Credit card fees for topping up Barclaycard bPay band?

itm2

I've just received my Barclaycard bPay band for contactless payments on public transport etc. I wanted the convenience of a wristband, rather than having to ferret around for my credit card whenever I pass through a payment point.

My question is: when you top up with a credit card is it processed as a quasi-cash transaction, and hence attract the associated credit card fee? (3% in some cases). I asked my credit card company (Santander) and they said that they had no idea how Barclaycard processed these transactions.

Barclaycard simply say that credit card companies "may" charge a fee for top-ups, which isn't very helpful.

Does anyone know??

grumbler

itm2 wrote: »

Barclaycard simply say that credit card companies "may" charge a fee for top-ups, which isn't very helpful.

As CC companies normally don't charge any fees on purchases, I read this as Barclaycard process topups like cash.

itm2

The query is bouncing around between my credit card company (Santander) and Barclaycard.

Santander say:
"As we cannot find out more information as to how they process transactions to top up, we would advise it's likely to be a cash based purchase, or Quasi-Cash transaction. For your Santander Credit Card, there is a Quasi-Cash fee charged at a minimum of 3.00 GBP or 3% over the value of 100.00 GBP spent"

Barclaycard say:
"There should be no charge as it is treated as an Online Transaction. The Bpayband itself does not charge however we do advice you to contact your card provider to make sure they do not charge."

On balance I think you're right - i.e. that top-ups would be processed as cash transactions and hence attract the £3/3% fee. Presumably topping up using a debit card wouldn't attract any fees?

grumbler

itm2 wrote: »

...Barclaycard say:
"There should be no charge as it is treated as an Online Transaction. ...."

This is nonsense. You can make an online deposit to a gambling site and get charged for a cash advance by your CC provider.

On balance I think you're right - i.e. that top-ups would be processed as cash transactions and hence attract the £3/3% fee.

It's the interest from the day one, not just the fee.

Presumably topping up using a debit card wouldn't attract any fees?

Why would it?
That said, you can just try depositing a small amount from a CC and see. In the worst case scenario it will cost you very little.

reclusive46

I have one and its treated as a purchase. It's MCC is something like Bank Stationary (Purchases). This is the case for both visa and MasterCard (Amex soon as well (Ames is not accepted as a top up method until sometime later this year).

itm2

reclusive46 wrote: »

I have one and its treated as a purchase. It's MCC is something like Bank Stationary (Purchases). This is the case for both visa and MasterCard (Amex soon as well (Ames is not accepted as a top up method until sometime later this year).

Thanks - so just to re-confirm: you've topped up a Barclaycard bPay band using a credit card and there was no surcharge applied by the credit card company?

thebritishbloke

I wish BarclayCard would let anyone who's a BarclayCard customer just link this to their CC