Author Topic: Be Aware of Payoneer Card (Read 8674 times)

Freedom · « **on:** July 28, 2016, 12:07 »

According to Payoneer FAQ, it does not charge any transaction fees when a card holder makes a purchase.

However, the amount of a recent purchase is higher than the US$ amount I authorized.

Today, a Payoneer agent explained to me, if I make a purchase in US dollars, an extra fluctuating percentage will be added on top of the purchase amount. It is called "Cross Boarder Fee" because the bank is located in Berlize. If the transaction occurs in a different currency, Payoneer will charge "currency conversion fee".

No transaction fee is a deceit.

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #1 on:** July 28, 2016, 15:08 »

You've lost me slightly. Just to clarify... you have a US Payoneer card, with a US balance and you were attempting to buy something in US dollars... and they still charged you a fee, just because the company you're paying is not in the US.

And if this company had been charging in something other than US dollars, then you would have been charged this fee, as well as the currency conversion fee?

Currency conversion fee is understandable... that's just the way it works, and although it's a fee that relates to the transaction, it's not a 'transaction fee' per se. But a fee just for buying something from a different country... without any currency conversion, is a bit extreme. Never had that with the PayPal card.

Freedom · « **Reply #2 on:** July 28, 2016, 15:24 »

Space, the Payoneer rep told me that, although Payoneer is in the US, the issuing bank is in Berlize, therefore, you cannot avoid Cross Border Fee even if you pay US$ in the US or elsewhere (except in Berlize?).

Each time when you make a purchase, you will be either charged a currency conversion fee (a hidden transaction fee above prime of course) or a Cross Border Fee if the transaction is in US$.

If you have a non-US dollar transaction, you will not notice the fee and assume it was part of the currency conversion. But if you pay in US$, you should be mindful of this.

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on July 28, 2016, 15:08

You've lost me slightly. Just to clarify... you have a US Payoneer card, with a US balance and you were attempting to buy something in US dollars... and they still charged you a fee, just because the company you're paying is not in the US.

And if this company had been charging in something other than US dollars, then you would have been charged this fee, as well as the currency conversion fee?

Currency conversion fee is understandable... that's just the way it works, and although it's a fee that relates to the transaction, it's not a 'transaction fee' per se. But a fee just for buying something from a different country... without any currency conversion, is a bit extreme. Never had that with the PayPal card.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #3 on:** July 28, 2016, 15:41 »

It isn't just Payoneer that charges fees for USD transactions that occur across borders.

I encountered this larceny when on vacation in a country outside the US which uses the US dollar as its currency (Turks & Caicos). After returning I saw conversion fees and complained to the credit card company. They explained their rules; I said I'd never have used the card if I'd thought for even a second they'd charge me a currency fee for buying in the national currency of US dollars. They agreed to refund the fee as a goodwill gesture, which was better than nothing.

In reading about this afterwards, it appears that lots of folks hoping to avoid high fees and shops hoping to encourage shopping were doing a conversion into a USD price and then charging it to the US credit card. The credit card companies didn't want to lose their totally bogus currency conversion fee (a computer needs to make a calculation; at worst this should be a few cents per transaction for the expense of keeping currency data up to date) so they invented this even more insane rule about transactions in foreign countries regardless of currency.

These fees are total ripoffs, but they're widespread, not just Payoneer

Freedom · « **Reply #4 on:** July 28, 2016, 16:09 »

Jo Ann, Payoneer rep says the fee fluctuates around 3%. It will be more obvious if your transaction is bigger.

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on July 28, 2016, 15:41

It isn't just Payoneer that charges fees for USD transactions that occur across borders.

I encountered this larceny when on vacation in a country outside the US which uses the US dollar as its currency (Turks & Caicos). After returning I saw conversion fees and complained to the credit card company. They explained their rules; I said I'd never have used the card if I'd thought for even a second they'd charge me a currency fee for buying in the national currency of US dollars. They agreed to refund the fee as a goodwill gesture, which was better than nothing.

In reading about this afterwards, it appears that lots of folks hoping to avoid high fees and shops hoping to encourage shopping were doing a conversion into a USD price and then charging it to the US credit card. The credit card companies didn't want to lose their totally bogus currency conversion fee (a computer needs to make a calculation; at worst this should be a few cents per transaction for the expense of keeping currency data up to date) so they invented this even more insane rule about transactions in foreign countries regardless of currency.

These fees are total ripoffs, but they're widespread, not just Payoneer