Fair fx card. Atm in the UK problem.

evosy1978

It says on the website I should be able to use this in the UK. I've tried but when I ask for a balance it says to contact the issuer... I do have money in there and the pin was correct as I tried an incorrect pin and it failed.


Any thoughts why this is happening?
Thanks

agrinnall

What dis FairFX say when you asked them? Which card is it, Euro, Dollar or Everywhere?

evosy1978

Waiting for their reply. Sent email earlier, they say 24hr reply... its Euro...

eDicky

It's a prepaid card so an ATM is unlikely to be able to give your balance. You can see that on your online account.

Why would you be trying to use the FairFX euro card in the UK? Do you just need to unload the funds? If so, Open a Revolut account on their smartphone app and top-up the euro balance with the FairFX card. Then you can convert to pounds at the perfect interbank rate and withdraw to your bank account, no fees for anything.

It's not supposed to be possible to top-up Revolut with a prepaid card, but I unloaded my FairFX this way a couple of months ago so it may well still work - at least it costs nothing to try, unlike using your euro card in UK...

evosy1978

Thanks.

I'm going on holiday Monday. All I wanted was to check I had correct PIN number. Yes I checked funds online.

Anyway, So when I used the uk ATM, it said speak to issuer I got a bit spooked. It says on website it can be used at ATM for a charge, so I find it strange it won't just tell me my balance?

eDicky

evosy1978 wrote: »

Thanks.

I'm going on holiday Monday. All I wanted was to check I had correct PIN number. Yes I checked funds online.

Anyway, So when I used the uk ATM, it said speak to issuer I got a bit spooked. It says on website it can be used at ATM for a charge, so I find it strange it won't just tell me my balance?

Looks like you're ok then - enjoy your holiday!

evosy1978

So in theory I can use it in a shop in the UK?

eDicky

evosy1978 wrote: »

So in theory I can use it in a shop in the UK?

Not without fees/exchange rate loading. Check the T&Cs. Why would you want to use it in UK?

evosy1978

Because I've been spooked by it not giving me a balance. I don't want to load up and it doesn't work in Spain. So my aim is to make sure it's working. Like I say why would it not give me a balance?

agrinnall

I think you're being overcautious, you already know that the funds are allocated to the card account and that the PIN appears to work. However, you could make a small purchase in the UK as long as you do it somewhere that doesn't have a minimum charge. Or you could start the purchase then cancel it after the PIN has been checked but before it's complete.

eDicky

evosy1978 wrote: »

Like I say why would it not give me a balance?

Like I originally tried to explain, the ATM network has no access to your prepaid account, so it gives that message. But it accepted your card and PIN, so it's ok. If you still feel cautious you can wait until you see that you are able to use it after you arrive, before loading more funds.