by Tricia
For some time now, I have been hearing about Revolution Money Exchange. The premise of this company is very similar to PayPal. It’s a way to send and receive money through the internet by only using an email address. Best of all…there are no fees!
I’m not one to try things out first. I tend to sit and observe and then perhaps give something a try. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are giving out $25 bonuses right now until May 15th so I kept a very close eye on things 😉 I finally felt good enough about the company and their reputation, so I signed up.
Signing up was easy and setting up my web account took less than two minutes. Right away, there was a $25 deposit into my account. In order to access that money, I had to set-up account information and had to give my social security number. That was the big reason why I was sitting back and watching this one.
In full disclosure, I make $10 each time someone signs up using my link. I have my Revolution Money Exchange account tied to one of my savings accounts so any money earned from this will go directly towards our emergency fund. Thank you in advance to anyone who signs up using my link!
OK, Tricia – I signed up through the referral link you provided – only thing is that they want me to verify my address, my registration isn’t complete yet, but should be once I fax them proof of addy.
I called their customer service area and spoke w/a very knowledgeable and nice man, so that’s encouraging.
Thanks for the great blog – you’re an inspiration – Patti
Sounds interesting. I’ll check it out. Thanks 🙂
Do you know why they require your social security number? And how do they make money if there are no fees?
Sherri – here’s a link to their FAQ. According to their FAQ, when you sign up with them, your money is being held at First Bank & Trust, Brookings, South Dakota (Member FDIC). Since it’s held there, that’s why they need your SS# to ensure against terrorism and money laundering and to confirm your identity.
As for making money, I haven’t found info on that. But, with the way it works, you need money in your account already to be able to send funds immediately to someone. Otherwise, it will take a few days to deposit money in from your checking or savings account. If you leave money sitting there (which you might want to do if you will be using it regularly), my bet is that Revolution Money Exchange is making interest on it. As a customer, you are losing out on interest you could earn if you had that money still in a savings account and not in Revolution Money Exchange.
I believe I heard that ADP (a payroll service provider company) make TONS of money from interest. They receive money from employers one day, then the next day they direct deposit paychecks to employees accounts or issue paper checks. The money sits there for at least one day, more if en employee received a paper check. If you have multiple customers, it all adds up.
Thanks Tricia. I’m curious…do you know how you plan to use your account? Since I have PayPal (and I barely use that) I don’t see a need for this one. UNLESS of course they (eventually) surpass PayPal in popularity and it was very common for people to have an account there.
Yeah, I wouldn’t sign up for it if you don’t see a need for it. For me, I have a business PayPal account so I can accept all types of payments. Because of that, I get charged a fee for everything. I plan on pushing RME as a payment option to avoid the fees. I also plan on using it to pay others if they have it so they can avoid the fees.
It really does depend on how popular it can get and who is using it.
Tricia:
This is great info! Thanks!
Well, I finally caved and got one, so that I can collect money for my club’s fundraiser without losing money to Paypal fees. I think other club members like the idea of signing up under my referral (which gives $10 to the club), then taking their $25 bonus and putting that into the club, as well. Everyone wins!
Nice Article