EDIT: Payza relocated to .eu domain, but is not paying for a few months (and unlikely to restart). See details at justice.gov
Payza, formerly known as AlertPay, is a well-known online payment processor.
They are available in 190 countries and currently accept 21 different currencies.
If you create a free account with Payza, you will notice that the Payza fees are slightly higher than in Paypal, the current industry leader.
Payza increase in popularity could be explained by the fact that they have a less restrictive behavior when it comes to merchant accounts (especially for the money making opportunities).
Moreover, the recent announcement that Payza is now supporting bitcoin transactions also helped their online wallet to be seen as a great alternative.
Payza Fees: are you wasting 1% of your money?
Theguardian quoted that only 7% of the people are brave enough to read online terms and conditions when signing up for products or services.
It’s a natural behavior, and I must admit that I’m part of the “lazy” people as I did read Payza TOS approximately 7 years after I registered… lol :)
If you analyze Payza Fees structure (including the little asterisks), you will read:
For currency conversion within a transaction, the foreign exchange rate includes 3.5% over the wholesale exchange rate at which we buy our currencies.
…but also…
For manual currency conversion, the rate includes 2.5% over the wholesale exchange rate. Exchange rates are adjusted regularly.
Long story short, this means that if you are having a Payza Account Balance and withdraw it in another currency to your bank; they AUTO-CONVERT it and bill you an extra 1% in fees!
Payza currency conversion: how to get 1% richer today!
The “trick” to avoid paying 3.5% is to use the “Exchange” option inside Payza (the link is just under your PAYZA BALANCE), to manually convert the currency before placing a withdrawal.
Here is an example on how it can impact your fees for a transfer USD/EUR (date: 07/10/2016):
While saving 0.22 cents may not seem like a life changer, put this in perspective; if you withdraw a $25,000 income this year, you could save about $250 by doing it the right way!
The kind of budget that could, for example, serve your business with a 1-month advertising campaign! ;)
Let me know in the comment if you were aware of this “trick” or if you wasted a few bucks with the automated process (like I did)!
I would also love to read your tips and story related to online payment processors.
What are your favorite and why? And what do you think about the “nearly no fees” alternatives such as bitcoin wallets?
Ps. your activity may be rewarded through our contest (Learn More).
hi Incognito007
is there any way to get rid of the payza 2.5 fees ? i mean if i wanna to add bucks about 40k$ to a website i should receive it from someone and so i should pay a fee , i want to get rid of this fee
This is a great tip, I rarely withdraw money to bank but already did it 2 times before knowing this. Next time will use the trick before :)
Hello Dav7,
Yes – It’s written in their Terms Of Service and FAQ, but most humans (including myself) rarely read it! ;)
I made the math, and… oops… I wasted about $600 on fees.
It’s good to know that this article will allow a few people to not make that same mistake! :)
Enjoy your day,
Tanguy – Incognito007
Tanguy,
Excellent post. Thank you for this tip.
Payza costs are high so if we can make some savings, it’s very interesting.
From my side I appreciate “ADV Cash” which in my opinion is not quite common and famous. The costs are low and there is an integrated exchanger. I hope it will be expanded in the future.
Do you know or use this payment processor ? What is your opinion ?
Maurice
Hello Maurice,
You are welcome. I have myself wasted about $250-$500 in extra Payza Fees during my first years,
so I’m glad if it helps! :)
I have heard a lot of good about Advcash, but I have no experience with it.
This said I’m always cautious when it comes to online payment processors as I have seen HUGE ones like Liberty Reserve or Egopay being shut down or suddently disappear.
And even in the “safe” ones, you are never sure that you won’t trigger a “security check” and get stuck for up to 180 days.
At the moment, I think that using Bitcoin gives a lot of advantages (no restrictions, no high fees, no suspension) assuming that you use a decent online wallet… or, even better, store it by yourself.
Cheers,
Tanguy – Incognito007