Revolution Money Exchange
02/14/2008, 6 months 2 weeks ago
Revolution Money Exchange is trying to place itself as a viable alternative to money processing companies like PayPal and OboPay. One immediate advantage stands out right form the start - no fees if both parties are Money Exchange members. I can see that being a huge selling point in trying to woo business away from established sites that charge excessive fees, like PayPal.
Money Exchange assures customers that it fully insures its funds. It also lists a large number of free transactions, only charging fees for transaction involving paper (like check transfers or paper statements) or the involvement of someone’s time on their staff (things like ACH returns and overdrafts that require processing). The list of free services includes:
- register for an account
- add money to your bank account
- send money
- receive money
- request money
- transfer money to your bank account
Any time a financial service pops up on the internet horizon, the question becomes “Is this company stable?” Users don’t want to put their money into an online only account that may not be around for the long haul. I’ve only been testing the site for a short while, so I can’t give you any helpful advice on longevity, yet.
The company is also offering a Revolution Card, a credit card that seems to be a “stealth crd”, operating with a PIN system good for one time purchases or regular credit. The company says the card is not embossed with your name or account number, which makes me wonder if anyone will accept it offline. Most stores check that information to verify the transaction, so a blank card should make things more interesting, PIN or not.
Some drawbacks to the Money Exchange service are its limits. It has a monthly cap of $2500 USD right now, an amount that won’t work for freelancers who may have a larger job they need to be paid for. The site also doesn’t have any disclosure about foreign users. Without a clear policy about allowing foreign money transfers, Money Exchange is alienating foreign clients for many freelancers, borrowers and sellers.
It’s nice that Money Exchange offers a solution for sellers to place an item for sale on their own website, eliminating the fees associated with PayPal, eBay and other auction sites. The timing couldn’t be better than right now, especially since eBay is playing games with its long term user base. If Revolution Money Exchange were to increase its transfer limit to a more substantial amount than $2500, I think they could be a viable contender against the auction giant.
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I signed up for RevolutionMoneyExchange last week. I also signed up a couple referrals. I received my initial $25 (the only thing they want that may turn people off is your social securtiy number, because of the Patriot Act). I also received the advertised $10 per referral that signed up.
A few notes: You MUST send an email through RME’s “invite a friend” link to your referral to receive credit for their sign up.
RME does not accept payment via credit cards. This is going to hurt them, sadly, because PayPal and GoogleCheckout do accept cards. Also, RME is not yet issuing a debit card to access funds, another thing that will hurt them.
I sent an email to RME mid-last week to ask about the progress on issuing debit cards. They mention in one of their pages that if enough account holders ask, they will offer such a card. I also asked if they were considering accepting credit cards. I have not received a response.
So far, I’m pleased with the idea of the service. I was a member of “PayPal” long before it bore that name. Previously, it was known as X.com and started much the same way as RME. I know we got a checkbook (instead of a debit card) and I honestly cannot remember if they accepted credit cards in the early days. It was guaranteed to be free for all, forever. That changed. And now, we seek alternatives.
Positives: no fees, $$ just to sign up and refer new clients, a clean interface that may be slightly confusing at first, but quickly learned.
Negatives: So far, they haven’t answered two emails I’ve sent them - that doesn’t establish much confidence in a new service. No debit card to access funds (I don’t have a checking account, so I would have to pay to receive a check), and sellers cannot accept credit cards. Few auction sellers are accepting RME, but the number is growing, and RME has to start somewhere, just as PayPal did.
Check it out. Even if it is just to get $25 for free, and you can withdraw that to your checking account immediately. My sister did withdraw her funds, and they were transferred correctly, so we know that there is legitimacy here. If anything, just sign up to thumb your nose at PayPal.
Hi folks,
RevolutionMoneyExchange is going to release debit cards for accessing your RevolutionMoneyExchange funds in May. You’ll be able to use it for purchases where RevolutionCard is accepted (currently 150,000 merchants) and at ATMs.
Take care,
Joe
Tara, thank you for sharing your personal experience with us here. In fact, I have not tried it out myself simply because I live outside of the US and any checking accounts are virtually miracle for me. I use PayPal and MoneyBookers with different credit cards to send payments mainly because they do accept credit cards. And I don’t think I will really want to trust my money to a service without an established name and reputation, especially one with a ‘Beta’ sign near the logo. But you are very right, every service needs to start somewhere - and we do need to have some alternatives to PayPal, that’s obvious.
Joe, it never hurts to listen to your customers’ requests so I’m sure it is a good move for you to issue debit cards. Thank you for joining the discussion and for informing us of your plans.
I entered my correct (very) personal info and was denied a new account.
Now some unknown company has all my personal information with no user agreement.
Just my personal experience with them: So far no issues, I have had several hundred dollars run through them to my bank account. A couple users that had problems signing up that let me know, were either under 18, or had moved recently. Not sure why you had problems, may be worth a call to find out, this is the info:
To speak with a MoneyExchange Customer Service Representative, call 1-800-794-9071
Hours of operation: Seven days a week, 7am – 9pm Eastern Standard Time
Which one is the original site?
https://www.revolutionmoneyexchange.com
or
http://www.revolutionmoney.com/
http://www.revolutionmoneyexchange.com is a direct link to the Revolution Money’s Exchange service.
revolutionmoney.com is a link to Revolution Money as a whole (they offer credit cards, money exchange, and some other service…)
Ok, thanks.
revolution money exchange: http://tinyurl.com/6683nz
Any internet company that insists on my date of birth and social security number is a ‘not on your life’ company for me.
Enough said?
What do you hear all the time? DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR SS NUMBER! Too bad they want something so personal, I was going to try it.
Not sure if you can sign up for financial stuff after 9/11 without giving your SSN? If you would give your SSN to Citibank to get a Visa card, then Revolution is no more ‘any internet company’ than Citibank. You can use your Revolution Card (same company as money exchange) at a pretty decent number of merchants. Publix, CVS, Barnes and Noble, Circuit City are a few I’ve used mine at. In fact, if you’re that worried about security, you’d be attracted to their product as they are the only pin based credit card in the United States. My name isn’t even on the card. So if you were to drop your Revolution Card on the street, noone would know who it belonged to, nor be able to use it without knowing the pin, where as if you dropped your Visa, it’s a lot easier to use with clerks who don’t check signatures. Down side is they are still small and aren’t accepted everywhere, but they seem to be growing.
signed up and recieved the instant $25.00 + $20 in referrals. I also sold and received payments from ioffer.com (totaling $668). I requested a transfer to my linked bank account and I have not received it yet. Its been 4 working days so far…I am still waiting for funds to show up in my bank account.Anyone else transfer funds to bank, how long did it take to post in ur bank account???
Dear Sue and Kathy,
I’d rather give my ssn to a financial institution that is going to give me money and know that they confirmed my identity. My SSN and bank account information…whether I type them in on that website or not…are probably already accessible on the Internet for hackers. So I don’t spend a lot of time burying my cash under the mattress and the VA already spilled my SSN once by accident - nothing happened to me then. This site is just another ‘bank’ looking for depositors and they are giving you an incentive. Many banks offer the same in return for your business. I did this and have two referrals! Yay!
I tried signing up and the site said my email was already in use, so I signed up with my other email, same thing. I know I have never signed up with this because the SSN would have been a turn off. So does this mean that someone used my information to open 2 accounts?
I signed up just yesterday. The $25 was in my account in less than a minute. This is a great alternative. I like the idea.
Now, I just have to find merchants who use it too!
Just a follow up…I got 45.00 total between the sign up and the referrals. I transferred them to my bank - no cost - no hassle. I think it took about 4 days.
I started out happy with them after getting my 25.00 plus 20 in referals and even accepted a payment…spent some of it to with no problems. However on the cut off day of May 15th I refered 4 people…they never recieve their referal email so i call Money exchange. They tell me their site is jammed and to have the people sign up manually and since the site is all automated when they get back up and running I should recieve credit. They also inform me that there is no way unfortunately to prove the referals if they get lost because its done through the site and not through your actual email box. I did however email them with the email addresses of the people i refered to CMA if you know what i mean so I did have Proof. Anyway 3 of the 4 try this manually going to the site to register and they are unable to complete the process at this time and it tells them to check their email…nothing is there and not in the spam folder either. One of them was so frustrated she even emailed them inquiring about the status and how to fix it. Of cource she got no responce. Case in point all of them hoping for their 25 never got it because by the time it came back up and running it was the next day and they have STILL not recieved my referal emails I sent from the site several times on May 14th and 15th so I am out atleast 30 more dollars in referals. I was pretty saddened by this and of cource I dont see any intention of extending the introductory offer either so The 2 phone calls with hold times in excess of 12 minutes and the several email contact attempts got me no where but time wasted. I will probably spend the remaining money in the account and close it or let it hang until they work out these bugs in a reasonable amount of time. Atleast there is a positive in that I did get some tho not all of the free money. Who doesnt like a bit of free money. Bummer. I am a seller and could see where this would benifit not having to pay fees but if i cant recieve payments and glitches cant be fixed in a 24 hour period im not risking my reputation over it.
I just signed up today may 19th and they must still be running the offer as I got the $25 and they appear to be connected with First Bank & Trust I did a little seaching and found they were and if you look at the bottom of I think the terms where they have a chart of the fees if also says First Bank & Trust
I tried signing up today and it said my request couldn’t be processed, but the $25 was in my account waiting for me to approve it, but I can’t approve it because my request couldn’t be processed.
Anyone else get this message?
keep trying may just be a temp glitch. I was able to approve it then like 48hrs later after adding my bank account the 2 small deposits showed in my bank account then I verified my account and then requested it to be transfed to my bank account and just got it today 48hrs later
I DID NOT sign up for this card. Got a “Thank You” letter from them in early June, so I e-mailed back, basically saying “What gives?” Reply said they closed my account. Today, got a card in the mail. Called Customer Service and she asked what was my security question on the application. Since I NEVER applied, it’s being closed again, a complaint sent to FTC, fraud alert on my credit reports and, if I find it has shown on said reports, the law will be involved. I make my own decisions on how to handle my money and will choose what cards I will or will not have.
Virginia,
The money exchange card you received is not a credit card and doesn’t impact your credit report as your credit report is never queried. Thus you will see no sign of it on your credit report. The card is simply a method for extracting funds from a money exchange account. Money Exchange has offered bonuses for signing up, or referring people..and of course some people use it to pay for things like on-line auctions. Once those bonuses or payments are credit to your Money Exchange account, you can use the card to pull the money out from an ATM or make purchases at certain merchants. Again..not a credit card..doesn’t touch your credit history or score. It stinks that someone signed up using your identity - make sure to check your credit report for actual credit cards they might also have applied for.