Has anyone had problems with FairFx $ card?
bigpat
Posts: 328 Forumite
in Credit cards
I'm just recently back from a trip to the USA, where I used my FairFx dollar card a couple of times. A couple of other times it wouldn't work for me. Either it just sits there in the machine and does nothing, or you get a message that says something like "Please try another card".
My partner is a US citizen and has stayed on there for a while and I've left the card with her. She has successfully used it at places such as U-Haul, Fred Meyer (a supermarket) and over the phone with her medication supplier (I know, America!!)
But it won't work at Costco, or Safeway and a few other places. She has tried it in self-service terminals and also handed it over to checkout staff but it won't work for them. I can log in online and verify that there's still about $600 on the card.
I have called FairFx and they say they haven't declined any transactions from the merchants I mentioned so that it must be "merchant error". We have confirmed that the card itself isn't physically damaged because she used it at Fred Meyers yesterday.
Does anyone know if this is a common problem, or if there's any way around it? Or even if there's any way of knowing where the card will work and where it won't., other than trial and error?
It's pretty frustrating. She can't do ALL her shopping at Fred Meyers!
My partner is a US citizen and has stayed on there for a while and I've left the card with her. She has successfully used it at places such as U-Haul, Fred Meyer (a supermarket) and over the phone with her medication supplier (I know, America!!)
But it won't work at Costco, or Safeway and a few other places. She has tried it in self-service terminals and also handed it over to checkout staff but it won't work for them. I can log in online and verify that there's still about $600 on the card.
I have called FairFx and they say they haven't declined any transactions from the merchants I mentioned so that it must be "merchant error". We have confirmed that the card itself isn't physically damaged because she used it at Fred Meyers yesterday.
Does anyone know if this is a common problem, or if there's any way around it? Or even if there's any way of knowing where the card will work and where it won't., other than trial and error?
It's pretty frustrating. She can't do ALL her shopping at Fred Meyers!
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Comments
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Hello, we would like to look into this further and see if we can find a solution for you. Please can you contact enquiries@fairfx.com and provide your name and email address. Please address your email for the attention of Rosa.
Thank you,
FairFX.“Official Verified Representative
I am the official company representative of FairFX. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
Why are you using a FairFx card at all? When you top it up you will loose money due to a poorer exchange rate and if you withdraw from cash machines you have to pay a fee.
In future have a look on here for the best travel cards to use (Credit Cards and Current Accounts) there are a few that offer an almost perfect exchange rate and free cash withdrawals in any country. You also have the benefit of keeping the balance in pounds so you don't have left over money in dollars when you come return.
Plus you should at least have a two cards just in case one doesn't work.0 -
My FairFX card was declined tonight in the US despite having plenty of money on it. It meant I couldn’t feed my children this evening as I couldnt get out any money as I’d transferred all my spending money on to the card. Absolutely unacceptable. When you look at what they really charge to have this card there isn’t any benefit as I paid $109 yesterday for a meal and the charges came to over $16 for this one transaction. When the card works again and the money is used up I will not be transferring any more money to it and it will be cut up and going in the bin.0
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Avoid the mistake of using such a card by taking Takman's advice above, and don't make the much worse mistake of travelling with your children and only a single means of payment. Without any details of the declined transaction and the $16 charges it's impossible to comment further.SingleMumofthree wrote: »My FairFX card was declined tonight in the US despite having plenty of money on it. It meant I couldn’t feed my children this evening as I couldnt get out any money as I’d transferred all my spending money on to the card. Absolutely unacceptable. When you look at what they really charge to have this card there isn’t any benefit as I paid $109 yesterday for a meal and the charges came to over $16 for this one transaction. When the card works again and the money is used up I will not be transferring any more money to it and it will be cut up and going in the bin.Evolution, not revolution0 -
The FairFX card won't work at a US Costco, as they only accept cards affiliated with Visa nowadays.
One tip is to ensure the card is run as a "credit" rather than "debit" if this option is displayed at the terminal. All this means as a UK customer is that you will use Mastercard to process the transaction, rather than the local debit networks that your card will not be affiliated with.
Can you confirm if those options were displayed on the terminal? I see you have now returned however, but this may still ring a bell
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