An Post PostFX™ prepaid MasterCard® currency card

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Golfer50

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

As someone suggested here, I took out a card in my name for my son iin the US. I kept the original and topped up for him. You must present photo ID, license or passport. I may have supplied both of these at the start so that either would be valid when topping. They are always very strict on the id, taking note of the number etc each time - even in a PO where I'm known. So in short, no, mummy can't do it unless she is the cardholder and no, you cannot top up online.

irishgeo

Revenue money laundering laws

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

CuppaCocoa

I want to get a pre-paid sterling card for a friend in the north as a present. Can I do this with the An Post card? If I give my I.d. when topping up can they use it as a different person? If not, what's the best option? It has to be a credit card as I don't want to give cash.

dingding

You can check the balance on the card at ATM's in the states. Just select balance enquiry and checking / current account.

peckerhead

lilybarlean wrote: »

I want to get a pre-paid sterling card for a friend in the north as a present. Can I do this with the An Post card? If I give my I.d. when topping up can they use it as a different person? If not, what's the best option? It has to be a credit card as I don't want to give cash.

Yep. In fact this is nearly exactly what I got two sets of cards for (1 sterling, 1 USD). The card doesn't have a name embossed on it so just leave the signature field blank and tell your friend the PIN. Retailers won't give a toss about the signature because once the purchase goes through they're paid. But they should of course use your name if they're using it to pay for something online, as it's issued to you.

Last week my 15yo used my Sterling one while visiting her sister in London and right now my 18yo is in New Jersey burning her way through the dollar balance on the other one. In both cases I hold onto the secondary card and I can check purchases/balances online and top up in the local post office if/when necessary. Safer and cheaper than giving them cash, and any of us can use it in the future. I'd say the banks here are hoping it doesn't catch on; it'd be the end of a very lucrative little business line for them... :-*

Peig Sayers

I got one of these yesterday. Put £200 onto the card and it cost me €257 :mad:. The exchange rate they were using was 0.77. There's no charge for the card and no commission (built into the exchange rate :rolleyes:) so where did the extra charge come from? Should it not have been €246? Didn't query it at the time because I though there was an extra charge somewhere but on looking at the receipt there's nothing .

Anyone any ideas?

brian_gall85

The current exchange rate is £1 = €1.256 on the markets. That would mean that £200 = €251.20, don't know where you got the €246 from.

Those rates are the market rate at present and the only way you would get close to that is by using a credit card to purchase an item in the UK. The rate you got was €1.28, which is the very least the banks would give you and you would then have to pay them commission. As you say, there is no commission with the An Post card, but like all 0% commission exchange services you get a slightly poorer rate in that case.

Peig Sayers

brian_gall85 wrote: »

The current exchange rate is £1 = €1.256 on the markets. That would mean that £200 = €251.20, don't know where you got the €246 from.

Those rates are the market rate at present and the only way you would get close to that is by using a credit card to purchase an item in the UK. The rate you got was €1.28, which is the very least the banks would give you and you would then have to pay them commission. As you say, there is no commission with the An Post card, but like all 0% commission exchange services you get a slightly poorer rate in that case.

The exchange rate quoted on the receipt was 77p. Perhaps my maths is bad but would that not make £200 = €246?

brian_gall85

You're right, it is lol

€1=77p means that £1= 1.2987, so almost €1.30.

£200 should be €259.74 in this case.

The €246 would equal a rate of 0.81

McP2011

Use this before topping up to see what it will cost you.

https://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent/Personal+Customers/Money+Matters/Foreign+Exchange/Currency+Calculator+for+Dollars+and+Sterling.htm

Zipppy

Currently in the states with an FX card from an post.

Any way I can top this up from here?

fergm

I checked the rates last time I went to the UK (last summer) and found that the An Post Card works out a fair bit more expensive.

The rates I found when I looked into it were as follows:

Withdrawal Ulster bank/RBS atm - €100 = £87.70 (for Ulster bank customers only)
Standard ATM using Visa debit card €100 = £85.11
An Post card €100 = £82.98

irishgeo

fergm wrote: »

I checked the rates last time I went to the UK (last summer) and found that the An Post Card works out a fair bit more expensive.

The rates I found when I looked into it were as follows:

Withdrawal Ulster bank/RBS atm - €100 = £87.70 (for Ulster bank customers only)
Standard ATM using Visa debit card €100 = £85.11
An Post card €100 = £82.98

you including the fees in that?

fergm

irishgeo wrote: »

you including the fees in that?

Yeah that included all fees etc.

If you are an ulster bank Customer you don't get charged fees if you withdraw in a Rbs ATM.

chopperp

these cards are a joke , no way of topping up online which is ridiculous as i was in the US and tried to top up online as I ran out of dollars so ended up using my visa debit anyway

irishgeo

chopperp wrote: »

these cards are a joke , no way of topping up online which is ridiculous as i was in the US and tried to top up online as I ran out of dollars so ended up using my visa debit anyway

i don't think they offer a topup online option due to money laundering laws.

peckerhead

chopperp wrote: »

these cards are a joke , no way of topping up online which is ridiculous as i was in the US and tried to top up online as I ran out of dollars so ended up using my visa debit anyway

In fairness, you might have, er, RTFM before taking off to the States?

chopperp

No need to be so rude peckerhead !!!!!( I take it RTFM means read the ****ing manual ) I would well be within my rights to report you !!!!!!!!!!!!

my point I was told I could TOP UP online so I put on what I could afford as I was planning on topping up halfway through my trip when I got paid so i didnt bother reading the T&C's

Jimdagym

chopperp wrote: »

No need to be so rude peckerhead !!!!!( I take it RTFM means read the ****ing manual ) I would well be within my rights to report you !!!!!!!!!!!!

my point I was told I could TOP UP online so I put on what I could afford as I was planning on topping up halfway through my trip when I got paid so i didnt bother reading the T&C's

You are saying the card is a joke because you were "told" one thing so didn't bother reading the t&c's?

Crunchy Friends

For anyone interested in getting the post fx card, I can report back that it's working well.

Boyfriend is working in the states and using one card. I'm topping it up for him here.

No problems so far. Make sure if you are getting one to remind them you want 2 cards.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

peckerhead

chopperp wrote: »

No need to be so rude peckerhead !!!!!( I take it RTFM means read the ****ing manual ) I would well be within my rights to report you !!!!!!!!!!!!

my point I was told I could TOP UP online so I put on what I could afford as I was planning on topping up halfway through my trip when I got paid so i didnt bother reading the T&C's

I'm not being rude. You were complaining that the card was "ridiculous" and "a joke", when all that happened is that *you* didn't bother reading the info on the application form *you* signed... (and now you're claiming that someone "told" you lies about it? Time to ring Joe...)

Hopefully you'll have learned something from the experience. But from your aggrieved tone I doubt it.

Politely yours,
Peckerhead

chopperp

NO : 1. you are k being rude
NO : 2. I didn't expect n to be furnished with the incorrect basic information
NO : 3. I loaded my card o with what I could afford at the time and explained to the clerk that I was due to be paid a week after I arrived in the US and she informed I could reload online , so it was only when I ran out of money and tried to reload that I decided to read the T&C's
NO: 4. So in my opinion because b you can't TOP UP online I just so see the major benefit

peckerhead

Having some difficulty following you here, but I gather you still feel offended at my suggestion that you might have read the (very short, very clear) t&c before putting yourself in the situation you did. I don't know why you appear to think this was someone else's fault, but my intention was not to give offence.

chopperp

would you expect to be furnished with incorrect basic information regarding this product considering it is from a Semi State body ? . becuse I wouldn't and after contacting my local post office the clerk admitted that she had provided incorrect information to me regarding the card , i certainly would have expected that the staff would have read the T&C's ( I hold my hands up I should not have just took her word for it ) but I still feel the card is useless without the facility to top up online

peckerhead

Not useless, just not useful for your purpose. I found it very useful.

Most prepaid debit cards will only be available to you in euro, so you're still going to pay FX fees. I've had a Neteller card until now, but I plan to ditch now that I have this PostFX™ yoke.

As an afterthought to my earlier post — my kid came back from the States with about a $30 balance left on the card. I could have brought it in to the Post Office and cashed out my €20 or whatever, but instead I added it as a payment source to my PayPal account. Now I select that card when buying USD items on eBay, Aliexpress, etc. and pay exactly the USD price instead of VISA's FX rate plus 2.75% fee. Pennies saved, but what the hey... :pac:

mjp

Is your card insured for theft or loss when abroad? Seems to be very easy to get away with purchases without pin code in America and signatures can be forged very easily

peckerhead

No, but they will block the card and protect your funds as soon as you report the theft/loss to their 24/7 helpline. See here.