Credit Card v. Charge Card v. Debit Card v. PayPal

[bLEEp]

Make sure you don't preload any cards that are not behind a register and secured from tampering. Crooks are now taking the cards in displays and getting the pin number under the scratch off strip. They put them back with a new scratch off strip and lurk electronically for you to load the cards and scoop up the money. A new scam to me I just heard about.

This is impossible with the greendot visa. There is no code to "scratch" on these cards. When you do the initial loading of the card you enter the pin into the little card thingy at the register.
If you know what you are doing and take what I consider to be normal precaution there is probably less likelihood of being scammed than by one of the giant corporate banks with the fees, interest and overdraft potential.
I guess my point is, just because it is not a traditional way to use your hard earned money you should not scare off those who truly benefit greatly from these products simply due to a lack of knowledge and/or experience.
Be well everyone
bLEEp

 

[vanman2300]

Green dot might be different than the others I am talking about so what I heard does apply. Not trying to"scare" just passing on facts. As always buyer beware. I do not agree that green dot is better than bank issued credit cards mostly because if the card gets compromised the bank is on the hook vs your money is totally gone if it is a green dot. Fees etc well green dot charges 10 bucks for the card and then whenever you load or reload you get to pay them again and again.

I am no fan of banks in fact hate them. For some the green dot or whatever might be the only choice they really have.

 

[Vagabound]

bLEEp:  Can you say a bit about what it costs you to use the card?  A fee to load it, other fees to pay with it, fees to transfer money in other ways, etc?

Vagabound

 

[vanman2300]

Actually, the best thing to do is Google preloaded credit card costs and there was one site on the first page that list multiple types. It describes what each has for strengths and weaknesses. It was extremely helpful if you are looking into getting one. I believe it was on Nerdwallet.com

 

[vanman2300]

Vagabound, check this site https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/nerdwallets-best-prepaid-debit-cards/ I decided to find it instead.

 

[Mobilesport]

There's a category of cards that functions like a credit card for purchases (Visa/MC), but requires pre-loading, like a gift card.  Can be done repeatedly, load it as needed.  Anyone know what that type of card is called?

Vagabound

Could'nt you load a debit card as needed? , just keep a small amount of money in there at all times to keep the account open? Not much to steal that way.

 

[VanKitten]

Well....tell me about PayPal and being a seller on eBay.

I just set up an account on eBay. My mom wants to sell her quilts. She has hundreds. Beautiful. She made all of them. All hand made. This was her consuming hobby for nearly 40'years. So..she wants to try to sell them.

As I was reading here...it seems that PayPal is not a good way to go. So...how do I be a seller? How do I and buyer get protection? I get paid before I ship..buyer has confidence it is shipped when he pays? A CC merchant account is too expensive. What else is there?

 

[Vagabound]

Vagabound, check this site https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/nerdwallets-best-prepaid-debit-cards/  I decided to find it instead.

I completely, wholeheartedly agree!  But then again, I should -- I was the one who posted that link, on Pg. 2 of the thread.  hahahaha  I needed a laugh today.  Thanks.

Vagabound

 

[Almost There]

Well....tell me about PayPal and being a seller on eBay.

I just set up an account on eBay.   My mom wants to sell her quilts.   She has hundreds.  Beautiful.  She made all of them.   All hand made.   This was her consuming hobby for nearly 40'years.   So..she wants to try to sell them.

As I was reading here...it seems that PayPal is not a good way to go.   So...how do I be a seller?  How do I and buyer get protection?   I get paid before I ship..buyer has confidence it is shipped when he pays?       A CC merchant account is too expensive.  What else is there?

Since all her work is handmade, she'd probably do well with an Etsy account. Actually better there than on Ebay IMO.

CC  merchant accounts don't have to be expensive, you need to shop around for one that suits her needs, particularly since she won't be selling merchandise that is low priced.

 

[vanman2300]

oops! Didn't see that Vagabound. They gave a really nice rundown on different cards

 

[Queen]

Since all her work is handmade, she'd probably do well with an Etsy account. Actually better there than on Ebay IMO.

CC  merchant accounts don't have to be expensive, you need to shop around for one that suits her needs, particularly since she won't be selling merchandise that is low priced.

Agreed on Etsy, my SIL sells her quilts there and does very well.

 

[blars]

If your sales are fairly low volume, there are companies like square.com that you can accept credit cards through. When I saw it about 5 years ago, they had a smart-phone card scanner and the fees were less than most small business credit card accounts.

 

[Vagabound]

Two other cards to consider.

1)  Bluebird by American Express and Wal-Mart
* Chosen as best overall prepaid debit card by NerdWallet Inc.  Link to the review was provided earlier.

2)  Global Cash Card
* The one that sugar beet harvest employers use to pay workers (and likely other jobs)


Does anyone have experience with either of these cards?  How well would they work as a general credit card replacement/alternative (compared to other similar cards)?

Vagabound

 

[ArtW]

I've had a PayPal account linked to my bank account for years, never had a problem with it, but I also mostly buy from folks I 'internet know' like forum members on my motorcycle forums
I also linked it to my Capitol One credit card, and after reading some of the posts here, unlinked it from my bank account
I did have a First Premier CC, not a prepaid one, a regular CC, and while they never ripped me off, they are pretty high on their fees, and I dropped them earlier this year
One the plus side, that FP credit card allowed me to build up credit until my bank gave me a credit card through them

So at this pint I have only one credit card, though Capital One, and a link to that card through Paypal, though I don't much use them anymore due to their politics, a bank account, and my checks and debit cards

My Land payments I make in cash (and demand receipts) and on payday i withdraw funds for weekly living expenses
Everything else (bills) I've been doing through my debit card / bank account, but may switch over to using the CC more

 

[SoulRaven]

If your sales are fairly low volume, there are companies like square.com that you can accept credit cards through.  When I saw it about 5 years ago, they had a smart-phone card scanner and the fees were less than most small business credit card accounts.

Beware of square.com. They are not transparent about fees and have a LOT of complaint against them of accounts being shut down and their money disappearing with them.

Cardpaymentoptions.com is saying: "Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. ... As of this update, the Better Business Bureau is reporting an "A+" rating for Square despite 1,447 complaints filed in the last 36 months."


Follow the link and read the comments of those complaining. It's recent stuff. The typical story is that someone uses them for years without issue and then suddenly has their account frozen and no access to the funds.

I used them once a few weeks ago and was charged $7.50 fee for taking $120 payment. It was supposed to be free, unless I did a same-day transfer, which would have only been 1% anyway! I've read other stories of square increasing the fee without warning or explanation for individuals. I couldn't find any info on it beyond that. So, I'm VERY leery of using square.

 

[steamjam1]

Credit sux.

 

[RVTravel]

https://consumerist.com/2016/10/05/...ns-improve-transparency-take-effect-oct-2017/

New Prepaid Debit Card Rules Add Protections, Improve Transparency; Take Effect Oct. 2017

 

[Vagabound]

In my 10/6/2016 post to this thread, I mentioned a prepaid credit card called "Bluebird" by American Express and Walmart jointly.  I now have some firsthand experience to share.

Events:

• Got a temporary card on Thursday at a Walmart store (the only kind they sell -- permanent cards come later in the mail).  This card was rated the #1 prepaid card, so I thought I'd test one out.
• Just getting the card was problematic as the first store didn't have any, and at the second store, the employees either told me entire falsehoods (even supervisors) or had no real idea how to interact with these cards.  More on that below.
• When I got the card, simply purchasing it "activated" the card, and at the same time, I also put about $100 on it to make it useful.
• Yesterday I tried it out in Home Depot.  Even at the self-checkout stand, it worked like a charm (swiping).
• Went next door to Walmart again, to shop, and also to load more money on the card now that I confirmed it works.  This is where the fun began.
• After 7 attempts to load money at 3 different registers and with the involvement of management, no money could be loaded.  The system kept giving an error message saying the load was denied.  Called Bluebird Amex first time.  Rep was not that helpful (not knowledgeable and barely spoke English).  He said the card looked fine in their system.  He added a few pieces of my personal information to his database, and pronounced me healed.
• Went back to the registers to try again.  Two attempts, same failed results.
• Called Bluebird Amex the second time.  This time, I got a competent rep who also spoke intelligible English.  She immediately identified the problem -- I had never "registered" the card online, which was true. Didn't seem important as the card works without registration. Turned out to be important as lack of registration prevents any further reloads of money on the card.
• I registered the card on my smartphone (Internet) while in the store
• I tried loading money on the card again, and it worked immediately.  Solved.

Problem:

Walmart employees -- even those in the Money Center and in management -- do not really know much about these cards.  I even had one supervisor tell me that Walmart doesn't sell such cards, completely oblivious that Walmart is a co-sponsor of the card and the only / main outlet to buy one as far as I know.  All they know is a few keystrokes at the register to charge or load.  If that fails, they're done.  Seems little to no training is done for them on the cards, despite the card being co-sponsored by Walmart.  Some of that applies to the occasional phone rep at Bluebird Amex as I mentioned above.


Methods - This is what is true and supposed to happen:

• Buy the card at a Walmart store, take it to the register, pay $5 to "activate" it, and immediately load some money on it.  Think carefully about that amount because it is the maximum you can use until you register the card.
• $500 is the maximum amount that can ever be loaded on a temp card in its lifetime (allows enough use and time for the permanent card to arrive)
• Temp card can only be loaded once, and not again, until you complete the registration process.  This was the key fact that all Walmart employees did not know, nor the one Bluebird phone rep.  Not knowing this kept us all involved in this problem for about 1-2 hours.
• Get online and go to www.bluebird.com/go to "register" the card.  Registration and activation are two different, mandatory procedures.  Registration involves you giving so much information about yourself that you'll think you're applying for the FBI.  At the end, they ask some ID confirming questions that actually were unsettling:  Which drivers license number from the list below is correct?  They had it, but I never gave it to them.  Which is a valid past address for you?  Same.  What was the color of (a car I bought 10 years ago)?  Same.  Little unnerving.
• After completion of the registration process online, you can now load the card, and I did.  
• Keep in mind that the total amount loadable ever on a temp card is $500.
• The permanent card will arrive in 10 business days to whatever address you provided during your online card registration.

In the end, on limited experience so far, I decided that the card itself is a good, reliable tool.  Has the lowest fees of any cards, and most often, no fee at all.  The snag was training.  Most people that I encountered in the Bluebird Amex process were inadequately trained and otherwise dysfunctional.  Yeah, it was Walmart. I have since used it to buy Guinness in a local Irish pub, which of course, was the true test of its worthiness.

Hope this helps someone else avoid hassles if they buy a Bluebird AMEX card.

Vagabound

 

[Trebor English]

There are federal banking regulations regarding anti money laundering (they say) requiring banks to "know your customer" so the creepy questions are used to identify you. These creepy questions are from your permanent record. Now all those prior facts in their data base are tied to your new card and purchases done with it. You have to be identified to use a bank. It is the same as the real id driver license.

 

[DrJean]

A little of what I know on this subject:

Prepaid cards and debit cards....  if stolen, the money's gone.  Some prepaids have their numbers stolen while they sit in the drawer or on the pole at the store.  The thieves make note of the numbers and daily check to see when they've been activated and by the time you get around to using it, the money's been spent.  Your loss.   Bank atm/debit cards are not included in the FDIC insurance for theft.

Credit cards they can track you and your purchases. If that doesn't matter, then use ones that do not charge an annual fee.  If you charge more than you pay off each month, you're spending too much. If you already have balances, call each company and insist on a lower interest rate (they nearly always agree)...and begin paying them off.   Many like Discover and Chase have good refunding while they investigate any disputed charge you have, even if you made it and renegged on the purchase.  Easiest to close account and not have to pay any unauthorized purchases.

Paypal.. ah yeah paypal.  Right out of your checking account.  If they are hacked then your money is gone.  Yes they might have their own insurance but what a hassle right?   I doubt the bank insurance will step in because you gave PayPal the right to access your account in the first place.