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4 Ways to Reload FamZoo Cards Instantly

“I need to get more money on my FamZoo card. Right. Now.

I hear that often from panicked parents.

Good news on that front! Apple just joined the instant reload party.

On August 5th, Apple added instant transfer support for MasterCard debit cards — like ours. I tested it myself the following weekend. Worked like a charm. 99 bucks to my Bank of Dad card instantly for a $1 fee. (Apple has since bumped up the fee from 1% to 1.5%.)

That brings the digital wallet instant transfer support count to three: Apple, PayPal, and Venmo. So, if you have money sitting in any one of those digital wallets, you can move it over to FamZoo within minutes.

All three digital wallets charge a fee for instant transfers: typically 1.5% to 1.75% of the amount, with a minimum fee of 25 cents and a maximum fee of $15 to $25.

Unfortunately, CashApp is the one remaining instant transfer hold out. CashApp doesn’t support linking the FamZoo card as a debit card yet. So, only the slower 1 to 3 business day transfer option is available there.

Here’s a summary of the FamZoo reload support for the major digital wallets:

Digital Wallet Instant
Transfer
(Fee)
1-3 Business Day
Transfer
(Free)
Apple Cash
PayPal
Venmo
CashApp

To perform an instant transfer:

  1. Move some funds into your digital wallet (if you don’t already have a balance).
    Apple Cash Instructions
    PayPal Instructions
    Venmo Instructions
  2. Add your FamZoo card as a debit card to your wallet (first time only).
    Apple Cash Instructions
    PayPal Instructions
    Venmo Instructions
  3. Initiate an instant transfer from your wallet to your FamZoo card.
    Apple Cash Instructions
    PayPal Instructions
    Venmo Instructions

If you aren’t in a hurry and want to avoid the fee, you can add your FamZoo card account as a bank account to your digital wallet instead. Then, select the slower 1 to 3 business day option when transferring. To add your card as a bank account, you’ll need its routing and account numbers which you can find on the FamZoo Card Information screen.

Pro Tip: you must enter your card’s routing and account number manually, not by searching on our issuing bank’s bank name. That’s because the FamZoo card program has a special routing number at our bank. It’s different from traditional retail banking routing number that you’d find in a name search for our bank. So, if you’re prompted for a bank name on a search screen, type in “add manually’ instead of the bank name. That should yield an alternate screen allowing you to type in the numbers explicitly.

Not digging the Internet’s digital wallet scene? No worries!

There’s always the trusty in-the-real-world option number 4: the “sneakernet” option. Hoof it down to your nearest Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid or other participating retailer with some real cash in your real wallet. You can reload your card within minutes at the register — typically for a flat fee of $4.95. See here for instructions and store locators.

So, that’s 4 ways to reload your parent card in a pinch. Right. Now.

Update: now there is a fifth option: Send Money To Your FamZoo Card In Minutes With PayPal’s Xoom.

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4 comments:

Anonymous aka The Blog Post Author

It wouldn't let me add my famzoo debit card to my wallet. It kept telling me to contact my card issuer for me information.

Bill Dwight aka The Blog Post Author

Please contact us at service@famzoo.com.

Somewhere in Apple settings the wrong address is being entered or has been stored.

Please see the "Update your billing and contact information" section here for possible solutions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205583

And, if that does not work, here's an even more comprehensive recipe pulled from:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7270409

1. Open Contacts. At the top, tap the contact that says "My Card". Correct the address info there if needed. Also, click in the search field at the top and enter the address that is wrong. If you find any with "my name" or "me", correct the address in those entries.

2. Open Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay

2a. Shipping Address; Edit to remove any outdated addresses, add any new one(s) you may wish, and select your default.

2b. Select each card and scroll down to Billing Address. Modify as appropriate as you did for shipping addresses.

Note: Apple Wallet seems to pull default addresses from the contact card designated as "My Card" first, and those addresses can only be edited in Contacts. After editing contacts, the old addresses still remain in Wallet, but then can be removed from the Wallet settings. So you must make the changes in the order indicated above.

And, finally, another tip passed along from a customer:

1. Go to https://appleid.apple.com
2. Sign in with your iTunes Store account and password (your iTunes Store account is an Apple ID).
3. Scroll down to "Payment & Shipping" and click "Edit Payment Information".
4. Edit your payment method and billing address to make any needed corrections.


Anonymous aka The Blog Post Author

The link for Venmo transfer instructions goes to a faq that doesn’t include instructions.

Bill Dwight aka The Blog Post Author

Yes, Venmo seems to have removed some critical helpful info on their Instant Transfer FAQ entry. Here's a summary for what to do in the FamZoo app as of now: Tap on the "Me" icon in the bottom right of your Venmo screen. That will display your current Venmo balance and there will be a bit "Transfer money" button beneath the balance. Tap on that and you should be good to go.

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