Will Virgin start charging cash advance fee for using Curve?

[Tom]

Lots of you will have seen the email from Virgin about cash advance fees. The line that stuck out for me was:

– adding money to a prepaid card, virtual card or e-money account

Does this mean we will be charged for using curve with virgin as the underlying card?

[BuildBackBetter]

Curve is not one of those. Curve works similar to Apple Pay, if you want an example to understand.

[Tom]

I wouldn’t describe Curve as being similar to Apple Pay.

[Youllnever]

Tom wrote:

I wouldn’t describe Curve as being similar to Apple Pay.

Agreed. Implementation-wise, they are completely different.

[JDB]

BuildBackBetter wrote:

Curve is not one of those. Curve works similar to Apple Pay, if you want an example to understand.

Curve describes itself as one of those – an e-money card.

“What should you know about your Curve account?
E-money. Your Curve account stores e-money, an electronic alternative to cash that can be used to pay for goods and services, in store or online and to take money out at an ATM.”

[slidey]

Would that not only be the curve cash element, its not even possible to add ’emoney’ or top up a curve cash acct is it?

[Rui N.]

Yes, that’s Curve Cash.

[JDB]

slidey wrote:

Would that not only be the curve cash element, its not even possible to add ’emoney’ or top up a curve cash acct is it?

This isn’t about Curve Cash – it’s simply the way the Curve card operates. Although it all happens behind the scenes, Curve tops up your account from the credit card you have selected and almost simultaneously uses that balance to pay the supplier on its/your Curve debit card.

I have no idea how Virgin will treat Curve transactions in practice, but Curve is definitely an e-money card and its only licence in the UK (for card purposes eg not BNPL)is as an EMI.

If you try it and get charged a cash advance fee and/or interest you will have no success in challenging that.

[JDB]

For what it’s worth, Curve operates more like PayPal rather than Apple Pay that someone suggested earlier.

In the same way as Curve, PayPal takes the money off one card and, in an effectively separate transaction, pays the retailer for your purchase.

This is also why paying via Curve or PayPal etc., deprives you of your s75 rights as there is no longer privity of contract. Using ‘classic’ intermediaries such as Worldpay, Stripe, Apple Pay etc preserves the direct relationship (so s75 applies) as they are just managing the financial plumbing/flow of funds, but don’t directly handle your money.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[BuildBackBetter]

JDB wrote:

For what it’s worth, Curve operates more like PayPal rather than Apple Pay that someone suggested earlier.

That makes sense. The reason why curve transactions won’t be impacted is because the MCC is passed on by curve. Unless the bank decides to block all curve payments like Creation.

[TGLoyalty]

BuildBackBetter wrote:

JDB wrote:

For what it’s worth, Curve operates more like PayPal rather than Apple Pay that someone suggested earlier.

That makes sense. The reason why curve transactions won’t be impacted is because the MCC is passed on by curve. Unless the bank decides to block all curve payments like Creation.

This.

[duke]

Why all the code words? I thought they knew we were getting free points from this?

[duke]

Just try curve and any credit card to the tax man or any other top up service. And then try the same card to pay off your Amex bill

[Shaw West]

yes, it did charge me Cash advance for curve fronted credit card bill payment