Supercard from Travelex is now available – the end of FX credit card charges?

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• lindsay says:

  13 May13 May 09:51

  keep getting ‘registration submission error’ message on iPhone app

• Mike says:

  13 May13 May 09:51

  Just got the email confirmation:

  Thanks for signing up for Supercard. We’re delighted to have you on board.

  We’ll be popping your personal Supercard in the mail – expect it through your letterbox shortly (you won’t need to be at home to sign for it).

  • idrive says:

    13 May13 May 12:23

    what’s the point i registered at 7 and got on the waiting list…so it’s hit and miss or depends how you answer the questions!

    • Daniel says:

      13 May13 May 19:23

      I tried at 6am, kept timing out and just got my registration successful email now………

• Christian says:

  13 May13 May 09:59

  I’m not entirely convinced by this, I know for overseas purchases that you can’t easily return it’s a bit of a moot point, but what happens to your card protections for stuff when it goes wrong / doesn’t arrive? For a lot of these things, you have to buy it on a specific card to be protected but the “merchant” billing your card will be Supercard, not the actual shop. They’re not going to be interested when you go chasing for a refund…

  • Cheshire Pete says:

    13 May13 May 10:14

    I also would like to know how they are going to deal with DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) issues. With my Halifax Clairty I’ve had to complain a number of times about transactions which appeared without my authorizing a DCC (mainly in countries outside the EU this is big issue). But even in the EU you have to actively reject a DCC.

    This card, just like Clarity, you would absolutely have NIL reason to even accept a DCC – With my Trinity Mastercard I even know the offical complaint code now which is a Code 76 Chargeback (incorrect currency billed) !

    But these things still take a month or 2 to resolve, for each transaction. I would hope Travelex / Visa are completely blocking DCC with this card, otherwise you’ll incur very large charges for anything that gets dynamically converted to Sterling. This will potentially be an admin nightmare!

    • ADS says:

      13 May13 May 12:27

      I agree about purchase protection – but honestly, how often have you used it ?

      Reading the T&Cs it sounds like GBP transactions will only go through if the Supercard is linked to a debit card … so if you only link it to a credit card, it might actually stop the GBP transaction!
      Although I must admit, apart from the Ryanair website, I’ve always managed to stop a transaction going through as DCC at the point of sale.

• AT says:

  13 May13 May 10:02

  This is mildly infuriating. I was one of the first to register back when news of the card actually came out. This morning I get to an e-mail from Supercard (~ 8 am) stating that their app is live and I can finally get my card. One download and 60 seconds later, I get a message saying that the demands outstrips supply. Think I’ll e-mail Supercard to bring this to their attention.

• sandgrounder says:

  13 May13 May 10:09

  Just tried again now on Android after multiple fails earlier on, registration went straight through and I got the ‘your card is on the way’ screen. All is forgiven 🙂

• suue says:

  13 May13 May 10:29

  It has just worked for me on 2nd attempt. First time it told me would email when available. Once I changed my answers went through OK and said card on its way!

• Cheshire Pete says:

  13 May13 May 10:43

  As per my comment above I’ve just seen the DCC advise in their t&c’s and it seems to have to actively make sure you don’t accept it! It’s surprising Visa can’t block this as default as this now going to be a double edged sword. As well as being ripped off by the DCC itself, Travelex will also impose additional Sterling charges,

  What a nightmare then to correct merchant mistakes and irregular opting in which does happen unfortunately. Would now make me think twice about using this card abroad as Travelex hasn’t got a great reputation for dealing with disputes and this card is also not regulated by the UK FSA.

  Here’s the t&c’s

  *Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) is an optional service that is sometimes offered by retailers and ATM operators abroad, giving card holders the choice of paying in either the currency of the country they are visiting or their own domestic currency, i.e. Sterling. If You use Your Supercard in a country where the local currency is the same as the currency on Your Supercard and You opt in to a DCC service, this may result in a foreign exchange transaction at additional cost to You. If You wish to avoid this risk, You should opt out of the DCC service and choose to pay in the local currency.

  • Mark says:

    13 May13 May 13:35

    Yes, important to have your wits about you when making overseas card purchases to make sure you don’t get caught out, doubly so here. Sometimes the only sign that you are being charged in Sterling is a numerical amount on a terminal (with no currency specified) that isn’t the same as the local currency price of the goods or services.

    I’ve taken to automatically putting up reviews on the likes of tripadvisor for any restaurant or hotel that tries it, indicating that they are overcharging customers through the very sharp practice on involuntary DCC.

    If cash withdrawals are charged as purchases I would be inclined to carry a bit more cash on the basis that any retailer being difficult about DDC will get payment in cash which will probably cost them more to process with little or no downside to me.

• Doug says:

  13 May13 May 10:52

  Registered but I’m curious to know how security works with this. If it gets cloned presumably the only card at risk is the one that is active, but how will your CC provider react to fraud through a third party? They would see the transactions as being in the UK but I assume you’d have to inform them they were overseas via the Supercard.

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