• expired

No Foreign Transaction Fees (i.e. Use ANY Mastercard/Visa & Avoid Foreign Transaction Fees) via DiviPay Virtual Mastercard

1710

This is an ongoing benefit with no specific end date. The waiver of forex fees is an ongoing benefit. However, there will be a 2% funding fee charged in the future (after the beta period) as per kungbernard's comment (from the T&Cs).

This was previously posted but has been marked expired for over a month. It also, for some reason, did not receive a very positive response. I suspect it's because the benefits were not highlighted clearly.

I've used DiviPay a few times now to make overseas transactions instead of 28 Degrees. I also don't have a Credit Card that both waives foreign transaction fees and earns me points, so this, for me, is the only way I can earn points and have forex fees waived.

Really good for when you're buying stuff off Gearbest, Geekbuying etc. which are priced in USD.

I've found their exchange rates to be incredible, for example..

I bought this Xiaomi Mi Band 2 posted, priced at USD $14.44, estimated to be (in the title) at $18.11 AUD. xe.com showed $17.92. I was charged $17.94.

Why don't you just use 28 Degrees/Citibank?

Because you don't earn any points. Yes you could use one of the other cards that earn you points and waive overseas transaction fees (e.g. Coles Rewards, Bankwest Qantas/More Platinum, CBA Diamond/Platinum, ANZ Travel Adventures), but this allows you to use any Credit Card. This means you could use a card that earns you points at a better rate (or a more valuable currency of points) than one of the ones I listed.

In addition, if you don't have a CC and can't (or don't want to) apply for one, this is another way for you to have forex fees waived.

DiviPay market themselves as being useful for splitting transactions with friends, but I find them most useful simply for waiving overseas transaction fees, being able to top up with any Mastercard/Visa and being able to earn full points on the transactions. They also market themselves on the basis of anonymity - i.e. you can use a "virtual" Mastercard to make payments without revealing your real Credit Card details.

If your item is ~$15.50 AUD, just top up $16 and get a refund for the unused amount. You'll probably get points on $16 worth of spend rather than $15, because the $0.50 refund won't trigger a points reversal*!
*Depends on how points are calculated by your Credit Card provider.

Summary:

  • Open Account
  • Enter Credit Card Details into "Profile" section - this will be your funding card - only Mastercard/Visa accepted at this stage
  • Create Virtual Personal or Group Card (you need to specify value for group cards)
  • Fund account (can only be funded once) with required amount
  • Use Mastercard to make payments online, particularly useful for transactions in foreign currency
  • Obtain refund of unused amount. Refund will go back to funding card (I believe)

There are other little quirky things about it - some of which I have not figured out, others of which will make this post too long if I include everything! But their FAQ section is pretty good and my link below has some additional info.


This was first posted on The Bulging Wallet on 11 September 2017. Please click through to read about DiviPay in more detail, and subscribe to the mailing list/follow on Facebook if you enjoy the content.

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closed Comments

        • +1

          Privacy.com is a great service and they have built a fantastic product. We started DiviPay as a group payment service, however, have seen some great uptake of our virtual cards being used in a Privacy manner. In response, we will continue to build out our individual single use and reloadable cards, improving the customer experience.

        • @divipay:

          I think that adding a few, short videos to your website, which cover the basics, would be a very good idea.

          I'm always hesitant to put my info out there when things aren't completely clear. The OP even admits the initial post to explain it is long….

        • @Geekomatic: Definitely, we are working on a number of updates to both our website and also the online platform. Some major redesigns coming the next few weeks which will make the value prop and process more clear and also provide more tools and controls for the user.

  • How does one find out all the fees they do and don't charge? I know op has had a favourable transaction with them but how do we know what rates apply? I couldn't find anything on their website

    • Hi, we currently do not charge any fees. We currently state in our FAQs that we will be charging a 2% load fee after our beta period, however as mentioned in previous posts on this thread we are currently assessing whether that fee is appropriate.

  • -3

    I still prefer the Citibank Debit Card as I can draw cash via ATM overseas
    There's no info in the DiviPay site about cash advance rate

    Also, DiviPay card needs to created in every transaction
    which is not that convenient as an overseas spending card

    • +2

      You can't have a Citibank Debit Card and a DiviPay account…?

      I'm not recommending this as a replacement for the Citibank, or even the 28 Degrees for that matter because there are definitely still situations where they will come in handy (e.g. deposit for hotel/car hire, places that require physical card for payment, larger transactions)

      I see this as a replacement for making overseas transactions online, such as for buying things off the likes of Gearbest, Geekbuying, Banggood, etc.

    • Hi, all of our cards are now reusable(up to 60 transactions). We are also working on reloadable cards.

  • I keep getting - DiviPay is not currently available in your region

    Is it not available in Victoria?

    • Looks like their website is melting down at the moment and is having issues. I have an account and I'm unable to login currently. But if you're using a VPN You may have to turn it off.

      • It's called being ozbargained (verb) :D
        I'm not using any VPN but behind a corporate proxy, will check in late.

        btw: excellent post OP @illumination

        • It's called being ozbargained (verb) :D

          I highly doubt it's just this site as they are receiving a lot of traffic from elsewhere as well. DiviPay is been heavily discussed on multiple fronts. In the last couple of weeks.

          I'm not using any VPN but behind a corporate proxy, will check in late.

          That may explain why you are getting the not available in your region message.

    • I'm getting this too even when VPN is disabled. Seems Victoria is not part of Australia.

  • +2

    Heads up to CBA CC holders (plat and diamond) that the AMEX card no longer incurs international transaction fees and can earn 3pt per $. Shame Mastercard still incurs fees…

    • +3

      That's CommBank points where 3 points= 1.2 Qantas points or 1.5 Velocity points.

    • Is exchange rate good though?

  • Good for Manufactured Spending

    • +1

      How do you turn it back into cash though?

  • +3

    Thanks OP for letting us know about the app. Without the fee-free feature it would end up in the forums and I would never hear about it.

    Does anyone know any other free virtual cards within Australia at the moment?

    How easy is it to de-load the card? It seems like a dream come true for points-hackers/manufactured spending.

    I registered and played around a bit. You need a minimum virtual card of $5 and can share a card for up to 4 people in total. But then it wouldn't let me delete my test card unless I top it up first…that card might sit there for a while. It doesn't appear there's a Developer's API for now.

    I'm happy that we can now get merchant-independent splitting in Australia (free or not), but since it's only serving Australians at the moment anyway I think it's going to have to be revised for domestic use once the New Payments Platform (NPP) comes into effect. Real-time payments are a game-changer.

  • -2

    Or you could get a Bankwest platinum mastercard, especially if your mortgage already with Bankwest under their complete package

    • +1

      I acknowledged that card in my description:

      Yes you could use one of the other cards that earn you points and waive overseas transaction fees (e.g. Coles Rewards, Bankwest Qantas/More Platinum, CBA Diamond/Platinum, ANZ Travel Adventures)

      But.. why not have both?

      Use Bankwest Platinum Mastercard when:

      • You need a higher payment limit (due to $1000/day limit of DiviPay)
      • You need to make purchases offline/does not accept contactless (in the future)
      • You want Travel Insurance

      Otherwise, use DiviPay:

      • To earn points on your choice of Mastercard/Visa and have forex fees waived
      • For anonymity, if the merchant doesn't accept PayPal (and if you care about anonymity)
      • To "cap" the amount that your card will be debited - useful if you're unsure on what rate you'll be charged (but have a rough idea based on xe.com)
  • +5

    Hi OzBargainers,
    Daniel from DiviPay here. Thanks OP for sharing.
    I will be making my way through the comments and adding additional information where I can.
    We are a startup company from Sydney and will be constantly updating our product to ensure the best customer experience possible. As a result, you will see many changes as we take on your feedback. Please feel free to let us know how we can improve the product.
    We will be launching our mobile application later this year and are constantly improving our online platform, making it easier to fund and generate virtual cards.
    As many of you have referenced in our FAQs we have stated a 2% load fee after the beta period. We are currently still experimenting with this fee and assessing whether it is appropriate.

    • +5

      Daniel, my pleasure for sharing.

      As I said I've had positive experiences with the platform so I wanted to share it here.

      We are currently still experimenting with this fee and assessing whether it is appropriate.

      I can't speak for everyone, but I think you can safely assume if a 2% fee was implemented, a lot of ozbaraginers will probably stop using the service… I most certainly will, at least!

      Unless your rewards system is very appealing/offers great value for customers? Haha

      • I doubt that, just look at what happened to Coles Reloadable Mastercard once the fx fee waiver finished.

        • That had no funding fee throughout the life of the product.

          Their plan with DiviPay is to have a funding fee, which is worse than a forex fee.

        • @illumination: they also have 2.5% fx fee so I have stopped using it. Some credit cards got charged cash advance fee with Coles, not sure about DiviPay.

        • @samehada: I stopped using it as soon as the promotional forex transaction waiver ended. The use of that card for me was simply to earn a small amount of points on overseas transactions which I otherwise earned 0 points for. DiviPay changes the equation for me.

          Credit Cards I've used for DiviPay so far do not get charged a cash advance fee.

    • Hey Daniel,

      Does divipay have a PDS?

  • If we travel abroad, is there any way we can use it for over the counter payments?

    • +1

      Theoretically possible but practically impractical lol

      You'll need a merchant who knows how to manually input card numbers, expiry dates, etc.

      The closest we'll come to a convenient way to use DiviPay for over the counter is Android Pay/Apple Pay.

    • +1

      As @illumination has said the card can currently be used in store but only at merchants that are willing to manually enter the card details into their terminal. A caveat here is that not all merchant terminals allow this type of input, the merchant must be set up to take phone payments, so it may not work everywhere at this stage. We are working on the Apple/Android Pay capability and once available you will be able to use your DiviPay card in-store, around the world.

      • Thanks guys…Yeah thats a far stretch I guess…But this will really help us with online purchases.

  • Is it possible to create multi-use cards or cards that simply expire after a certain time?
    Some sites (e.g. eBay) create separate transactions for each seller in your order, so if you use a DiviPay card only one item will go through and the remaining will fail. Only way around it is to create a card for each individual item, which means coupons with minimum spend can't be used.

    • Not really sure I understand your question… let me try and break it down.

      Is it possible to create multi-use cards

      Their cards should be multi-use. I was advised in writing (email) that it's "up to 5 times", but see no mention of it in the FAQ. The FAQ used to state it was single use.

      So far, I've only personally used one card a maximum of two times.

      or cards that simply expire after a certain time?

      The virtual cards appear to have a 6 month validity from the time it is created, so 6 months?

      I'm not sure what you mean by the eBay reference or how it is relevant to what your questions were though.

      • +1

        The FAQ for me still states 'DiviPay virtual cards work just like a prepaid MasterCard, a balance is loaded onto the card and transaction limits can be applied. DiviPay virtual cards are single use cards, the card will be deactivated after a single payment.'

        I used it for an eBay transaction with 2 items, the first went through and the second failed with "This order was not successful. Order cost has not been included in the total amount. The seller hasn't received payment for this order yet".

        It's possible this could just be an eBay or seller error, but because PayPal makes separate transactions for each seller it seems quite likely the second one failed due the card being single-use.

        • Ah I see what you mean.

          Ok - best a rep responds to you on that. Your theory sounds like it could be write if the cards are actually single use only. As I said, I've only used a card more than once once.

          Yea you're right. FAQ still states it's single use. Thought I noticed it had been removed in a recent iteration but I must've remembered wrong.

    • +1

      Hi, all cards generated as of now are multi-use (up to 60 transactions and 6-month validity). We will shortly be releasing reloadable cards, so balances can be topped up, as well as the functionality to set time limits around how long cards can remain active. Sorry for the confusion with our FAQs, we will be updating shortly to reflect all the changes we are currently building.

      • up to 60 transactions

        So it's multi-use for up to 60 transactions, after which point it will automatically be cancelled (i.e. remaining balance refunded)?

        Not that I think I'll ever use a card 60 times..!

        • Correct, refunds will be issued after the 60 transaction limit is hit and the card will automatically be deactivated.

      • Nice, I tried it again today and it worked for multiple transactions :)

  • So this is like Entropay but with less fees? The only reason for using Entropay was that you could use it to pay for items where Australian issued credit cards were blocked (geo-dodging).

    • The key feature is actually meant to be bill splitting. The fee free (for now) virtual card is the "bargain".

      Although adding funds may stay free with DiviPay as suggested by the rep (with bank transfers this would be a non-issue, let alone with NPP), they may charge for refunds eventually like Entropay. If they don't plan to already (the terms page is not very descriptive).

      Neteller is another option for domestic use but the foreign transaction fees are 3.99% for non VIP members…but at least a friend in 201 other countries can turn the value into cash if needed.

  • Loading $20 via Westpac Visa and got charged CREDIT CARD REPAYMENT PROTECTION -$0.10
    Still its better then these stupid FOREIGN FEES :)

    Banks and soo many of their different fees they charge that one can not keep up with them …

    • What on earth is that? It doesn't really quite sound like it's related to the Divipay load?

      • My mistake :)
        Oppsss I forgot I made an eBay payment today and that could be where the CREDIT CARD REPAYMENT PROTECTION -$0.10 is coming from…

        But still these bank fees are too greedy.

        I`m starting to like DiviPay :)

      • Thanks for that info,
        Never knew about it nor did I ever sign up for it.

        Guess maybe its time to say goodbye to Westpac CC :) lol greedy bank

  • Hi OP. Great post.. I'm sorry for asking, but I'm in Europe at the moment (5 week holiday with the strife n kids). I'm funding it rather haphazardly by grabbing a big chunk of cash every few days at a local ATM with my Westpac Mastercard - of course there'll be rotten exchange rates and transaction fees for me to "enjoy" doing it this way. Bearing in mind I'm in situ atm - is this a solution to the way I'm funding it atm, do you think? Sorry to ask - I'm not great with money!

  • Ta PPP.

  • Anyone received dodgy sms since signing up?
    https://www.scamadviser.com/is-yournewsms.xyz-a-fake-site.ht…

    • I haven't, I signed up 2 days ago.

    • I think that's a coincidence, I also receive that SMS at two numbers but not the one I gave to them.

  • Tried to use it on Amazon.co.fr but got payment declined - not sure why. Definitely had enough money on the card.

    • We are currently fixing an issue with the copy paste feature. Please be sure to remove the spaces if you copy and paste the card details. This can cause the payment not to work. Please let us know at [email protected] if you are still having issues.

  • The virtual card can only be funded once, I guess if you want to spend a certain amount each time without depositing a large sum, you will have to create a different virtual card every single time?

    And is funding transaction instant?

    • I guess if you want to spend a certain amount each time without depositing a large sum, you will have to create a different virtual card every single time?

      Yep

      And is funding transaction instant?

      What do you mean?

      • Does it appear on your Credit Card immediately? Not in my experience.
      • Does it get funded instantly? Yes.
      • Thanks for that.

        I was wondering if I know to deposit the fund before hand.

        Looks like not.

        • Hi, thanks for checking out DiviPay. We are currently working on re-loadable virtual cards, meaning you can top up a balance on your cards anytime you like. We are hoping to push this update in the coming days.
          Funding of the virtual card is instant, you will be able to immediately make a purchase with your DiviPay card.

  • In the case of a refunded transaction, how long does it take for the funds to be returned?

    • +1

      From my experience, refund of a purchase to your DiviPay card can take about 2-3 working days.

      Refund of remaining credit from a DiviPay card to your own credit card is about the same - 2-3 days.

      i.e. no quicker or slower than "normal"

  • +2

    Update: DiviPay now supports the following features
    • Top-ups via an add funds button
    • Multiple transactions per card
    We are currently in the middle of a complete redesign of the online platform, improving the user experience and providing more controls for the virtual card. Will let the community know when we launch the changes. As always, any questions or feature requests please contact me at [email protected]

    • I noticed the ability to top up an existing card. I like it :) Thanks.

      I think multiple transactions were always technically possible?

    • Hi Dan,

      Can you please confirm if a new card can new loaded from already existing divipay card?

      Example Card 1 in my divipay account has balance of $100 and I want to fund 2 new cards of $20 each, can I fund it from my card 1?

      By the looks of it there is nothing which is stopping this but just wanted to confirm.

      TA

      • Can you share why you might want to do this out of curiosity?

        I don't imagine it would be an issue

      • Hi, Currently we do not allow funding of DiviPay cards from an existing DiviPay card. This is more a requirement of our funds acquiring partner. We are however looking at providing customers with the ability to transfer funds from one card to another, rather than funding virtual cards with existing virtual cards. Interested to hear your use case for this as it can help us with how we design this feature.

  • Just tested out DiviPay
    nice and easy signup

  • Server error at the moment?

  • +1

    What happens if 6 months from using the virtual card for the original transaction I cancel my transaction with the original vendor and they reverse the transaction to the original card used to make the booking? Where will the money go? I guess the question applies even for physical cards after expiry date.

    • Hi, We keep a record of all expired and deleted cards. If a refund is made we will return the money to your original funding source. In any case, the consumer will always receive the refunded amount.

  • What are the consequences of funding a virtual card and then the next day refunding it? That's an interest free loan then of up to 54 days.

    What does it cost Divipay and how is it restricted?

    • Do you mean that you could fund a virtual card with your credit card balance amount after you get a statement and then close and refund the virtual card to carry over the balance for another month?

      • Exactly.

        I was wondering what the cost of this carrying over balance thing is. How much are we exploiting the system? How guilt-free can I be?

        • Hmm I just got off the phone with Westpac and for their cards the credit voucher or reversal is not considered a "payment" as such so you can't carry the balance across to the next month.

          Speaking with 28 degrees MasterCard they said it is considered a payment and I don't have to pay.

          Is this a difference between the banks or a misunderstanding with either Westpac or 28 Degrees?

  • Has any one been charged the 2% fee yet? Previous post incidate since beta is over there will be a funding fee. However on the site they are still saying sign up for the beta program.

  • Anyone, trying to pay through divipay, experiencing any problems?? The website says that "We are currently experiencing a period of high demand. Transactions performed on your virtual cards may be declined during this time. We apologise for the inconvenience and are working to cope with the demand." Been like this for 2 days already.

    • Been like that for more than two days actually.

      Probably been there for about a month.

      To answer your question, yes I have experienced it. I would contact customer support for assistance.

      • Thanks illumination. I will certainly contact customer support for assistance. I wonder if my money is safe??

    • Any updates? or is divipay is gone now?

  • All good now. The people at Divipay reply right away and explain their problem and that they are working on it. Anyway, everything works so rest assured.

  • I was setting up my cards last night after adding my funding source and then was logged out. Can't log back in, resetting password doesn't send the email, contacting support but no reply.

    What's going on with this site?

  • I'm not sure what is going on, but I managed to create a new account ok. I funded some virtual cards as a test in my first account though and I can't get back into it. Divipay are not responding to me.

  • I am getting "504 Gateway Time-out" if I try to create a new card.

  • Site not working?

  • Getting '502 Bad Gateway'. Last week it was ok and now this. Not being able to handle Black Friday sales???????

  • Yep having same issue as you guys.

  • I realise it's in beta, but some response/communication from the site would go a long way in inspiring some confidence.

  • Now getting 'Server Error 500'. Its slowly getting there. I did shoot an email to the rep and requested him to explain on ozbargain why this is happening but looks like it has fallen on deaf ears.

  • Looks like it's back up and running!

    • I still can't access my account. I've tried the reset password link but don't get an email. =(

      • Hi, I believe I just responded to your email. If that wasn't you could you please email us again at [email protected] and we will resolve immediately. Thanks

  • +3

    Hi Everyone,

    Sorry for the lack of communication recently, we have been focused on a few business critical issues and with a small team have been stretched. Ill explain the 2 issues we have been having recently.

    1. 502 Bad Gateway- This issue has now been resolved. It was the result of an internal upgrade to our systems which caused an outage.
    2. Not being able to load funds- We have a monetary limit we are able to process on a daily basis. Due to high demand we have been constantly hitting this limit and as a result are not able to allow customers to load additional funds. This is not a technical issue but an operational requirement we are looking to resolve immediately.

    Thank you all for your patience. We are constantly working to ensure the reliability and improve the user experience of the product.

    If you have any questions please feel free to contact us anytime at [email protected]

  • So it seems using a prepaid debit card with this flags fraudulent activity and freezes your account.

    • Prepaid debit card flags as fraudulent? I would've thought a Credit Card would be considered riskier/fraudulenter (yes it's a word now)

      • Perhaps it also relates to anti-money laundering flags too. Anyway my intention was to load up funds using $100 prepaid debit cards to use for > $100 purchases to maximise my amex point accrual. Given divipay refunds unused money back to the original card, it seems the system is only built to handle one 'funding' card. I usually throw away my prepaid debit cards once I've used them up, so it would have been funny if I had funds returned to them and I didn't know the number/PIN combo.

        • I think you're simply referring to Prepaid Credit Cards as opposed to Prepaid Debit Cards…? Pretty sure what you're referring to is treated as a Credit Card rather than a Debit Card. You're referring to those cards that are like $100 Visa1 right?

        • @illumination: That's correct, I'm referring to prepaid cards like Only1Visa, Coles Prepaid Mastercard etc. I've taken to calling them "prepaid debit cards" since technically they are, in that they don't offer any form of credit. But you're right in that they are treated like a "credit card".

        • @marquise: Ah yes ok, fair enough.

          I think I tried using one of those cards with them once and it worked out fine.

          I had intended to use more of these with DiviPay in the future for a similar purpose as you mentioned (to combine multiple $100s into a larger card to buy more expensive stuff).

          Can you share what happened?

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