Gane - Money Transfer App

Lately I have been playing around with various money transfer applications.  I recently ran across one called Gane, so I decided to play around with it and do a quick review.  This application doesn't have a referral program like some of the others, but right now you can get $1 free on the website which is a nice way to start playing around with the application.

Per the Gane website ( https://gane.io/ ), the application supports the following main functions:

Tap & Pay - Spending made effortless. Use anywhere that accepts Apple Pay and Android Pay.

Receive Offers and Share - Be in the know about exclusive offers. Sweeten your spending — save money and share.

Send and Receive Money - Send and receive money to use instantly. Anyone, anywhere, anytime.

All the applications I have tested have the ability to send/receive money, but the other two aspects are pretty unique.  You can do Tap & Pay with Square Cash via Apple Pay, but no similar ability exists for Android users (specific to Square Cash).  As far as offers, I don't think any of the apps I have tested (so far) provide that feature.

Here is some feedback I have so far based on using the application.

Initial Setup of app

I went to the Gane website and put my # on the page for the free $1 offer.  You just put in your # and hit "Collect", moments later you get a text message with a link.  The app was simple to setup, initially I didn't have to enter any personal information.  I did get my $1 free in the Gane app.  I think the application built-in tutorial should do a better job of letting the user know what they need to enter for the application to be useful - I didn't realize the last 4 of SSN and other details would be required for anything to really work.  I did do the option to register my #, so I can recover the account if needed.

"Discover" area of app

This is one area where the application stands out compared to the others I have tested so far.  You can see high level activities of others, but more importantly you can "Collect" and "Share" offers.  Some of these offers look pretty good - $3 off Chick-fil-A or 25% off Starbucks Coffee, for example.  Even if you don't want the offer you can share it with someone else that may be interested.

Discover

"Activity" area of app

Like most applications, Gane has an activity log area.  For me, it showed the initial $1 and then showed various offers I collected while playing around in the application.  The offers you claim show up as "Completed" which is a bit confusing - the offer is collected, but not yet used so I think they should use a different term.

Activity

Load Funds

The app has a "Load Funds" option, that seems to work with credit or debit cards.  I am still trying to find out the fees for this app, but I am assuming debit is free and credit has a charge.  I touch on the lack of being able to find the fees near the end of this post.

When I put my card info to test the "Load Funds" option, it then told me I was required to verify identity.  I didn't complete these steps so I didn't fully test the "Load Funds" option.

Send Funds

The main interface doesn't have a simple "Send" button like most money transfer applications, you have to go into the top right 3 dot menu and choose "Send Cash".  It gets a bit confusing here, you enter an amount ( I did 50 cents as a test ) and you choose "Cash" or "Starbucks Store Credit" as what you plan to send.  There was no place to put in who it was going to, but I hit "Send" anyways.  Next, a screen comes up saying you sent $0.50 and then the normal Android "share" interface comes up with various options.  From what I can tell you share the money as a link, using whatever method you want (email, twitter, whatever).  I have seen many people send money (on other apps) to old phone #s that no longer worked, so I think this is a creative approach to ensure it reaches the correct person since you communicate using whatever method is most current and effective.

There is no way to add a note to the payment - while you can send a note when you send the person the link, keeping it in the app is useful.

When you send money, it shows up as "Pending" and you have the ability to cancel it which most of the other apps do not offer.  I don't now if the cancel option goes away after time but once the person collects the money, then it will show up as "Completed" and you can't cancel it anymore.

Send Funds

Withdraw Funds

The app has a "Withdraw" option, which seems to only work with debit cards.  Most of the other applications work with debit or a bank account (using account/routing info).

After going into "Withdraw" I clicked "Add Bank Source" where it asked for the normal debit card (card # and other details).  After this step, I was asked for the amount to withdraw but was given a notice that I would need to verify my identity before I could withdraw funds.  I didn't complete these steps so I didn't fully test the "Withdraw Funds" option.

Request Funds

You can't... at least not in the app itself.

The Gane application does not have an ability to request funds.  Of course you can do it the old method of sending an email request, but having it done completely in the application (like most of the other apps) is actually convenient.

Since the application relies on the user to send a link to transfer funds, I would imagine even requesting funds would still require the person paying to do the normal "send funds" step - unlike other payment apps that make it easier to pay a request.

Balance Options

Based on the "Help" area of the application, it seems to have a few balances:

• Purchase Power balance: Used for tap & pay.  It is withdrawn from your Gane Account balance.
• Gane Account balance:  Available for transfers with friends.
• Premium Gane Account balance: This seems to be the combined balance after you verify your ID.

Per the help info if you complete your identify verification, your Purchase Power and Gane Account are combined.  As of right now I really have no clue why there are 3 balances and honestly this just seems confusing.

Verify Identity

After playing with the application I realized that verifying your identity is pretty much required for any useful functions, so I wonder why that isn't just done at the start - or make it clear to the user what they will not be able to do in a limited mode w/o user identification.

Identity Verification

It requires the following: First Name, Last Name, DOB, email and last 4 of SSN.  It also requires you to confirm you have read and accepted the Cardholder Agreement, Privacy Policy and E-Sign Disclosure.  All 3 of those items link to ( https://gane.io/terms ).  On the terms page I looked for the 3 items mentioned:

• Cardholder Agreement:  There is a section titled "Gane Gift MasterCard® Cardholder Agreement" and another one titled "Gane Prepaid MasterCard® Cardholder Agreement" but I don't know which is relevant.
• Privacy Policy:  I was able to find a section with details.
• E-Sign Disclosure:  There are multiple references to http://www.ganecard.com/ which isn't a valid URL.

I find it interesting that on Twitter, the Gane account bio says "Kind of like Venmo, but way better" but Venmo ( per https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/217532197-Social-Security-Number ) doesn't require the last 4 digits of your social until you hit certain triggers like sending more than $300 in one week ( as an example ).  I am guessing the tap & pay aspect makes the last 4 of SSN necessary earlier in the process, but for users that don't care about tap & pay it could be a deterrent.

Fees

Great question.  The FAQ doesn't even mention fees, which is odd because most services like this make it clear what the fees are either on the main page or in the support/FAQ area.  I checked the terms page ( https://gane.io/terms.html ) and it was not helpful either.  There are various $4.95 fees mentioned ( purchase fee, inactivity fee, card replacement fee ).  What card?  I ran across a mention of a complete list of fees at https://gane.io/fees, but that quickly led to disappointment when the page came up with a 404 error.

Overall impression?

Overall Gane seems interesting, and based on a quick look online it seems fairly new ( started late 2016 from what I can tell ).  Any new option has a chance, but I think they need to focus on some key areas to really make progress:

- The application could use some care and feeding on the interface for the application.  It should be easy to use, and not require you to dig around to figure things out.  The application should also make it clear what will / will not work before you verify your identity.

- The website also needs to be cleaned up and fees need to be clearly listed out.  I have a feeling that maybe Gane was originally going to include an actual physical card, but the business model changed and some of the website references still need to be revised but that is just my guess.

- The offers / special deals for the tap & pay ability are key features that none of the existing money transfer apps have as far as I know.  I personally use Samsung Pay and it has offers from time to time that encourage me to use tap & pay.  While the tap & pay savings does help, not every user will be able to use it or even care about that option - if Gane wants that target market (people not able/interested in tap & pay) it needs to figure out how to gain it.  Providing a virtual credit card, like Square Cash does, might be an option to consider to increase how useful it is for customers who can't or don't want to use tap & pay.  However doing any "me too" features isn't as impressive and will make it hard to get customers to switch companies.

- The ability to use funds is important.  From what I can tell most users want the money on their debit card instantly, as far as I know only Google Wallet does this free and Square Cash does it for a 1% charge.  Venmo and Circle Pay don't have an instant option.  The ability to use the money via tap & pay does give instant access, but that will only entice some users.  It could be a limited type of deal - one instant transfer for free per week or month.

- A meaningful referral program should be considered.  From what I have seen, the money transfer applications are very tied to social circles.  Most people use what their peers use, and aren't in a rush to try out new options.  Mainly geeks will try the apps because they are the "new shiny toy" - the average user will not try a new application without incentive.

- Customer service is critical.  I see people on Twitter all the time ranting about this application or that company, I personally have had issues with one of the money transfer applications.  I know you can't make everyone happy, but there has to be an escalation team that can handle unique/odd situations.

I have submitted some comments to the company support, and will update this post as needed.

If you want to see freebies/offers, go here:
http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2016/11/get-some-free-stuff-or-free-money.html

Square Cash - Use at your own risk

I recently ran into an issue where Square Cash took actions that ended up making me lose money.  Basically I was sending the $ back and forth to hit $50 total, and they decided to cancel all the incoming transactions.  The other person claims they didn't get the money either, so either Square Cash is lying or they are - either way Square Cash should have left the transactions alone, or cancelled them all - by choosing to only cancel the ones TO me I lost $50.

Of course their support is not helpful - you can't reach them on the phone, and via email they just give you the same pre-canned answered or don't seem to understand the issue.  Bottom line they told me to either try to resolve it with the person, or dispute the charges with my bank.  Of course some of the money was from my Cash App balance - so I can't dispute it with the bank leaving me out of options since Square Cash will not help me recover my loss.

To top it all off, they just advised me of the following:

"Our Account Services team conducted a review of your account and determined it to be high-risk. We are exercising our right under the Square Cash Agreement and have elected to deactivate your account."

Apparently having $50 taken from you then being a vocal customer who actually contacts their support about an issue they caused is "high-risk" because I know I didn't do anything else with my account that would be an issue.

"For security purposes, we cannot divulge further details regarding your account termination and our decision is final."

Well of course they wouldn't explain this decision, I am sure they don't have a good explanation and don't need one all they have to do is deactviate my account and I am out of luck.

Oh and to top it all off, I had pending referrals so that is another $10 per person they robbed me of.

So bottom line here, I no longer recommend Square Cash.  If you have problems they may not help you, and if you dare complain they will just deactivate your account apparently.  They need better customer service, like T-Mobile or Amazon -- companies that actually care about their customers as customers and not just profit.

Go here ( http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2016/12/money-transfer-apps.html ) for alternate options, personally Circle Pay and Google Wallet are my favorites.

NOTE: This is just my opinion, make your own decision.

T-Mobile DIGITS Beta

I signed up for the T-Mobile DIGITS Beta, and will update this blog post as I play around with it.

Initial Setup - I started off with the option of just using one number (my main one on a S7 Edge) on multiple devices.  I setup the T-Mobile DIGITS software on my LG tablet.  I used another phone ( non-T-Mobile ) for some of the testing.

Once everything was setup, I started to do a few tests.

Text Messaging

1) I sent a message from the non-T-Mobile phone to my number linked to DIGITS.  The message showed up on my S7E as normal and showed up on the LG tablet in the DIGITS app.

2) I responded from my LG tablet to the non-T-Mobile phone, and that worked fine.  I responded from my S7 and it took a minute or two for the response to finally show up on the non-TMobile phone.  The next test from the S7 to the non-T-Mobile phone worked much quicker, and the LG tablet showed the response too.

So far it seems like responses from the DIGITS app on the LG do not get sync'd over to the S7, but if you respond on the S7 it does show up on the LG.  I currently see this as a disadvantage when compared to Google Voice / Hangouts, which syncs the messages across both devices.

Calling

1) I called from the non-T-Mobile phone to the DIGITS number, and both devices rang.

2) I answered on the LG tablet using DIGITS app, it seemed to work fine.

3) I noticed a "switch device" option, when I pressed it two options showed up "No name" and "Sim Device".  I tried "Sim Device" and my S7 rang again.

So bottom line the tablet was able to answer the call, and hand off to the phone which was pretty cool.

Money Transfer Apps

Lately I have been playing around with various money transfer apps, so I figured I would share some thoughts on each one.  For the most part, they have the same basic features - send money, get money, and put it in your bank.  One important note - these apps mainly work with the concept of getting money from family/friends, some of these will charge a fee or have other requirements if you use it for business.

22 Feb 2022 Update: 

PayPal - This is a classic, not really going to focus on it - chances are you have heard of it.  It does have protections and customer service you can talk to, which are important.

Google Wallet - Another one that has been around for a while.  It gets the job done, and lately they added a feature that allows you to instantly put the money on your debit card without a fee.  So far, no other apps do that free - Square Cash can do it, for a fee.

22 Feb 2022 Update: Google Wallet is now GPay, you can still transfer to your bank for free but a faster withdraw to debit card now has a fee.

Venmo - This is actually owned by PayPal.  I really didn't notice any unique features that stood out, other than the social aspect.  When you pay or request money, you have to put in a note and by default that is a public comment.  If you get bored you can scroll through random payments and see some funny / awkward comments.

Square Cash ( also called Cash App ) - Based on my experiences with this company I do not recommend them.

22 Feb 2022 Update: Circle Pay is no longer in service.

Circle Pay - This application seems to have the normal functions, but does have a few that set it apart:

• Send money via US Dollars, British Pounds, or Euros.
• Earn $ via referrals

At the end of the day, most people are going to use whatever is considered popular among their social group - no point having a way to transfer money if there is no one to use it with!

If you decide to try Circle Pay, make sure you read my posts on how to get your referral money.

Bank Alternatives

So this post is straying a bit from my normal posts, but lines up with my recent ones and I still think it is a bit "geeky" since Simple has a smartphone app.  As I talked with people about Square Cash and Circle, I ran into a surprising amount of people who simply did not have a bank account.  Some of them used prepaid options, but not a traditional bank account.

NOTE: 12 Feb 2022 Update - Simple has closed down.  SoFi Money is a good alternative to consider.

$25 from SoFi Money - You can save, spend, and earn interest—all in one account. Use my link to sign up and you’ll get a $25 bonus. Referral link: https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=baf027eb-93db-453b-a474-fe7aae805180

Of course the easy option is to go to a local bank and open an account, but I wanted to share some alternatives to consider:

1) If you prefer a place you can walk into, look into credit unions.  They typically offer the same services as a bank but due to how they operate they normally have less fees and better rates.  You can read up on credit unions here ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_union ) and start looking for one here ( http://mapping.ncua.gov/ ).  Also, just search Google for "why are credit unions better" and you will find plenty of articles.

2) If you are ok doing "online only" banking, you can look into Simple.  I personally have been using the Simple card ( www.simple.com ) so I am comfortable recommending it.  Here are the main things I like about Simple:

- No fees ( https://www.simple.com/features/no-fees )
- Features to help you budget
- Smartphone app
- You can get your paycheck via direct deposit
- Works with online money transfer options like Venmo, Square Cash and Circle.
- Sign up using my referral link ( https://simple.com/friends/BRYN323 ) and get a free wallet.  See here for more details ( https://www.simple.com/referrals ).

I hope someone finds this information useful.

If you want to see freebies/offers, go here:
http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2016/11/get-some-free-stuff-or-free-money.html