FairFX prepaid card

Daliah

A word of caution for those considering to get a FairFX multi-currency card. Even though it is a Mastercard, you cannot use it with ApplePay or Curve. I presume it also doesn't work with GooglePay/SamsungPay. It also cannot be used at NS&I, Skipton, YBS, iWeb, HL etc as the card is not recognised as a UK-issued card. I have yet to try it in a shop or restaurant.

etienneg

I'm curious as to why anyone would use this card anyway. Exchange rates are advertised as "better than your bank", but they are not as good as you get with recommended travel credit cards. It also charges an ATM fee to withdraw cash, even in sterling. Why not just get a travel credit card?

Daliah

etienneg said:

I'm curious as to why anyone would use this card anyway. 

Because of the cashback. £20 for taking out the card, and 3.5% at Boots and Sainsburys, amongst others. Totally agree it's not terribly useful for travelling, despite being sold as such.

maxsteam

I would get one of these cards in a flash if it works with WeChat Pay. I can't find any other way to fund my account. Has anyone else had problems topping up a phone in China?

Haha. I am thinking back to the good old days when it was possible to travel. 😜

Daliah

As an update: the card can be used in UK  shops and restaurants like any other Mastercard, contactless or with PIN.  Other restrictions remain as per my original post.

PIN can be changed at an ATM. Transactions appear in the app almost immediately. Cashback takes a long time to appear - 90+ days, so I am not holding my breath for it yet.

Interim verdict: As loading the card is free of charge, it looks like one of the better prepaid cards.

Daliah

The more I use this card, the less attractive it becomes. To add to the previous woes:

You can only ever make 5 consecutive contactless purchases before it requires a Chip & PIN transaction.

Not all retailers accept Chip & PIN on prepaid cards - for example, Lidl doesn't. There is no list of retailers which do, or don't. If a retailer doesn't accept Chip & PIN, the terminal tells you that the PIN is incorrect. You have 3 goes before your card gets blocked.

You cannot unblock the card in the app. 

FairFX Customers Services is only available 9 - 5 UK time. On weekdays. 

I hope nobody ever finds themselves reliant on just the FairFX card, especially in a foreign country (after all, this card is marketed as a card for travelling).

maxsteam

Daliah said:

I hope nobody ever finds themselves reliant on just the FairFX card, especially in a foreign country (after all, this card is marketed as a card for travelling).

Yes. The last time I looked, it gave good exchange rates. I was joking about what I said about funding WeChat in China - nothing works other than a Chinese bank - but I reckon it's a good card to have in your pocket but not something to rely on.

Daliah

Actually, the exchange rates they offer are not good at all

Daliah

This card is proper weird! CS could unlock my card for me but to re-enable contactless, I had to make a Chip & PIN purchase. Which I did, at a major High Street shop. Transaction approved - brilliant! - - - - but wait: the retailer requested a wet signature! It's like this card has been issued by aliens.

Daliah

Final update:

• if you spend money on Amazon, you can actually load your Amazon gift card directly from the FairFX card. That's an easy way to 'unload' the FairFX card in a single transaction, or to spend any small remaining amount, avoiding all the hassle with the card in shops.
  
  
  
• FairFX cashback was paid into TopCashback within 3 weeks. 
  
  
  
• All in all an easy £20 cashback if you have plans to spend £500 anyway.

Daliah

j.p said:

. And yes, I did many Chip & PIN transactions in Aldi and Lidl while in the UK. I won't believe that won't work until I see for myself. 

I hope you didn't mean to suggest that I was making things up.