Read summer 2020 Mastercard updates here.

 

*Oct 22, 2019 – Update is coming! (80% of the below still applies today).

For now, read the changes on withdrawing cash and linking your Mastercard to a bank account.

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Today is stuff on Karatbars.

Commissions which you earn with Karatbars are put on Karatbars MasterCard debit card. That’s a long name for a prepaid MasterCard issued on behalf of Karatbars. I have emailed one of the individuals working for the company about it. He was nice and provided me with the most updated facts.

Okay, first of all, as the name suggests in order to use a card, there must be funds on it. So, it’s not a credit card in sense that you can borrow money but rather than that it has all features of a credit card.

In order to receive it, you must accumulate at least 20 euros in commissions. Once you do, a card will be mailed to you. It is issued by Optimal Payments Limited or Prepaid Financial Services. Again, on behalf of Karatbars. Both are shipped from UK via Regular Air Mail. It may take quite a bit of time before your card arrives – takes about week to make it and 1-5 weeks to deliver it, depending on where you live. For example, if you live in South America, you may need to wait for up to 2 months. To reach Canada, mine took about 1.5 months.

 

How to activate Karatbars  prepaid MasterCard

When you do finally receive your card, you will notice that the balance is zero. To fix that, you need to activate it. Log in into your back office, click on “Commission” tab and choose “Card Info”. Then type in the last 4 digits of your card number. When done, you will be asked for your cellphone number, enter that as well. Within minutes you should receive a text message from Karatbars with a four-digit PIN number. Memorize it and never write it down, no-brainer. If you have not received a text within one hour, send an email to debitcard@karatbars.com and ask what’s wrong. If everything is fine and you actually activated it, any money that you have earned are deposited to your account on the first Friday following the activation.

Use your Karatbars MasterCard anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Meaning, almost everywhere. As well as you can make purchases online, by phone and withdraw cash through ATM machines. A couple words regarding paying with this card…

 

Paying with a card

In the last years, there were incidences when Karatbars MasterCard was cloned! That happened mostly in Canada and US. For this reason, now the issuers don’t allow traditional magnetic swipe-only terminals. Meaning, that today you can only use it in EMV-enabled terminals and ATMs (see a picture). Don’t worry, they are on every step.

What is EMV?  EMV is payment card technology that uses a small microchip. Stands for “EuroPay,” “MasterCard,” and “Visa”, the developers of the technology. Cards with embedded EMV chip are becoming the global standard as they do a much better job at keeping your money safe. For some bizarre reason, Canada and US still have magnetic swipe-only terminals around. In fact, they are among the last countries to do that. Magnetic stripe technology is ancient to say softly. Cassette tapes are based on the same technology!

Anyways, the solution is simple. Find the nearest EMV terminal or ATM. To do that, go here. When doing a search, tick “Chip Reader Enabled” at the bottom of the page.

 

A few more points

Remember, every time you buy something, there is a tiny fee. So, avoid buying coffee and snacks with it. At the same time, you can make virtually unlimited number of transactions. Your choice.

To see a history of your transactions and balance, go to “Card Info”.

A convenient feature – it’s possible to load a card with your own funds. But that’s only if your card is issued by Prepaid Financial Services. For this purpose, use your regular credit card or do a bank transfer. Write them at info@prepaidfinancialservices.com to request more information. At Optimal Payments Limited this service is not set up yet. By the way, the issuer of your card is written at the back of a card.

 

Watch this 1-min video on Karatbars Mastercard

 

All right, above I have touched the most important points. Still got questions? Write them down here. Or shoot an email to support@karatbars.com.

 

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Main references:

https://www.karatbars.com/