Frequently Asked Questions

• Money Transfers – Secure and quick money transfers to over 130 countries
• Public Cash Services MasterCard – a reloadable prepaid MasterCard, it’s like a credit card without the credit check
• Bill Payments – Pay bills easily to any of over 4,000 companies.

At Public Cash Services, we help you to manage your money, for less. Secure money transfers to over 130 countries worldwide. Conveniently manage your money with a Public Cash Services prepaid MasterCard, no credit check required. Pay all your bills to over 4,000 companies all in one convenient location.

Our service is friendly, and we have convenient locations with extended store hours to serve you.

Please click here or call us at 1-855-4PUBLIC (1-855-478-2542 ) to find the nearest Public Cash Services store, information about the services offered or hours of operation. At this time, not all services are available at all stores, so please check that the services you are interested in are offered at that store before you visit. Not exactly. Unlike a traditional credit card, with the Public Cash Services MasterCard, you preload funds to your card before using it. Once you have loaded funds onto your card, you are able to use it anywhere MasterCard is accepted. When you use your card, the amount of each transaction, plus any applicable fees, will be deducted from your card balance. When your balance runs out, you must reload the card to be able to use it again. You can load a minimum of $10 and maximum of $2,500 at one time onto your Public Cash Services MasterCard. You can have a maximum balance of $5,000 on the card at any time. You will need to provide your name, address, phone number and date of birth. You will also need to bring one piece of government-issued photo ID for us to keep on file. Yes, you can. You must have a physical mailing address in Canada in order to sign up. A non-Canadian citizen will be required to provide government-issued identification (permanent resident card or foreign-issued passport with Canadian Visa). There is a onetime non-refundable fee of $10 to purchase a card with a minimum load of $10. Here are the main fees:

Load Fees:
Reload in store	$2.00
Monthly maintenance	$5.00
Usage Fees:
Point of Sale (POS) transaction fee (domestic)	$0.40
POS return fee (domestic)	$0.40
ATM Cash Withdrawal fee (domestic)	$1.25
ATM Decline fee	$1.25

For a full list of applicable fees, please click here or refer to the Terms and Conditions that accompany your Public Cash Services MasterCard. We will give you a temporary card in store at the time of purchase, which you can start using immediately. We will then mail you a personalized card with your name on it which you can begin using after activating it. For security purposes, please remember to sign the back of your card. A personalized Public Cash Services MasterCard has your name printed on it. It replaces the temporary card that we give you in store at the time of purchase. To activate your personalized card, please click here or call the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209. For security purposes, please remember to sign the back of your card. We will send you your new personalized Public Cash Services MasterCard via Canada Post to arrive within two to three weeks. If you do not receive your card within this timeframe please call the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209. Upon activation of your new personalized card, your balance will be automatically transferred to your new card and your old temporary card will be deactivated. Please visit one of the Public Cash Services stores that offer Public Cash Services MasterCard. Click here or call us at 1-855-4PUBLIC (1-855-478-2542 ) to find the nearest Public Cash Services location. There is a $2 fee to reload the card. We recommend that you keep receipts for all reload transactions and purchases made with your Public Cash Services MasterCard® for future reference. There are couple of ways to do this:

• Withdraw the funds at an ATM machine. ATM machines can only provide funds in $20 denomination. Any transaction fee and surcharges will still apply.
• For a $10 fee, you can remove your funds by calling the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209. Please allow up to 30 days from the time of your request to receive a cheque in the mail.

You can check your card balance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by accessing your online account at www.publiccashservices.ca or by calling the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209. Certain fees may apply when checking your balance by phone. If you spend more money than the balance available on your card, the transaction will be declined. You will be charged a negative balance fee of $10 and you will be responsible for both the fee and the value of the negative balance. This amount will be automatically deducted from your card next time you load it. Some retailers will allow you use two separate payment methods, which is known as a split transaction. Retailers are unable to obtain the balance on your card so it is important to always know your balance before making a purchase. Yes, you can use your card to make purchases from online stores. At checkout be sure to use the same address that you used when you registered your Public Cash Services MasterCard. You can withdraw up to $1,000 per day at the ATM assuming you have those funds available on your card at that time and assuming the ATM machine withdrawal policy allows withdrawals up to $1,000. There is a $1.25 fee for each ATM withdrawal, plus any fees that the ATM operator may charge. You may select your PIN online at www.publiccashservices.ca or by calling the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209. For safety reasons, you should not write or keep your PIN with your card. You can change your PIN anytime through your online account at www.publiccashservices.ca. The merchant will handle the return in accordance with MasterCard guidelines. Store return policies may vary. The merchant may credit your card, provide a cash refund, or issue a store credit. If the merchant reverses or cancels the transaction on your card, it may take up to 10 days for those funds to become available on your card. Pre-authorization means that a temporary hold is placed on a portion of your funds over and above the actual purchase amount until the merchant settles the transaction – usually within 3 days. This is done to ensure you have sufficient funds on your card to cover the purchase. During this time these funds will not be available to you to make additional purchases or ATM cash withdrawals. As an example, pay-at-the-pump gas stations will pre-authorize $75 and restaurants will pre-authorize 20% over the bill amount. Yes. Check with the company that is accepting the payment to make sure they accept MasterCard and then follow their payment instructions. Pre-authorized or recurring payments are charged automatically to your card. It is important to ensure have sufficient funds on your card to cover these transactions, as the company may suspend or cancel your service if the transaction is declined. Some online and telephone merchants do not process orders immediately at the time of purchase. Your balance will be updated once the merchant processes your transaction. It is also possible that the merchant only charges your card once the item is ready to be shipped, not when it is ordered. Contact us immediately if your card has been lost or stolen. You can call the MasterCard Contact Centre 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-855-298-4209 or visit www.publiccashservices.ca and click contact us. A replacement card can be provided at a cost of $10 and the remaining balance from your lost or stolen card will be transferred to your new card. Your funds are protected if your card is ever lost or stolen with MasterCard’s Zero Liability Protection. Your card will expire approximately 24 months from the date you activate or purchase it. The expiration date is printed on the front of your card. The current balance does not include pre-authorizations. The available balance reflects the amount of funds you have available at the time you check your balance. Your login is the 13-digit number that is located on the back of your Public Cash Services MasterCard. If you forget your password, simply click on the forgot my password link and enter the same email address used when registering your card. Your new password will be emailed to you immediately. You can also call the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209 to reset your password. If you do not recognize a transaction when reviewing your account online, try to match up the transaction amount with your receipts. Sometimes merchant names will show up differently than the actual name of the store. If you still believe that the transaction is incorrect you may choose to file a dispute by calling the MasterCard Contact Centre at 1-855-298-4209. Please click here or call us at 1-855-4PUBLIC (1-855-478-2542 ) to find the nearest Public Cash Services store, information about the services offered or hours of operation. At this time, not all services are available at all stores, so please check that the services you are interested in are offered at that store before you visit. We offer money transfers to over 130 countries through RIA Financial, an internationally recognized money transfer company. Click here to see if the destination where you want to send the money is included. Transfers are usually available for pick up 15-20 minutes after they are sent. Bank deposits may take 24 to 48 hours depending on the time of day the order was placed and the time zone of the corresponding bank. For example, bank deposits sent before 2pm will be processed the same day, but the credit to the beneficiary's account may still take 24 hours if they are overseas, due to the time difference. The cost of a transfer varies depending on the amount being transferred and the transfer destination. RIA Financial transfer rates are 20% to 40% lower than the leading competitor. Visit one of our participating stores and the sales rep will give you an estimate of how much your transfer might cost. You can also call the RIA Financial Contact Centre at 1-800-500-3994 for an estimate. To process the money transfer, we will need your full name, address, phone number and the same information for the receiving party. If you are sending the money to someone’s bank account, you will need to provide his or her bank information (bank name, branch number and account number). Yes. You can transfer up to $1,000 over a 7-day period. A PIN number is a unique identification number that is printed on the transaction receipt. You will need to provide the PIN number to the receiving party in order for them to collect the transferred funds. The receiving party will also need to show identification to collect their funds. The PIN is printed on the top right hand of the transaction receipt. If you have lost the receipt you can go to the store and present an identification to get a reprint of the receipt. Generally, the money will be received within 24 hours. To check status of the transfer, you can call the RIA Financial Contact Centre at 1-800-500-3994 or the receiving party. Yes. You can cancel the transfer for a full refund as long as the money has not been collected. As long as the funds haven’t been collected, you can either call the RIA Financial Contact Centre at 1-800-500-3994 or go back to the store and we can help you fix this. If the method of delivery changes from a bank deposit to a pick up, there may be a change to the fee. Please click here or call us at 1-855-4PUBLIC (1-855-478-2542 ) to find the nearest Public Cash Services store, information about the services offered or hours of operation. At this time, not all services are available at all stores, so please check that the services you are interested in are offered at that store before you visit. Please call the RIA Financial Contact Centre at 1-800-500-3994 or visit one of our stores near you that offer our money transfer service. Our store staff will be happy to assist you. You can pay bills quickly and easily to any of over 4000 companies. Please visit one of the Public Cash Services stores or call us at 1-855-4PUBLIC (1-855-478-2542 ) to confirm that the company whose bill you want to pay is available. It takes about three to five business days to get your bill processed. Please be sure to give yourself enough time to avoid any late payment charges by your service provider. Generally, it takes about three to five days to process the bill. To confirm that the payment was posted to your account, please contact the company to whom you made the bill payment. The cost is only $5 for unlimited bill payments per visit or $3 for each bill payment. You can also pay one Public Mobile bill per $5 unlimited bill payment bundle. Please click here or call us at 1-855-4PUBLIC (1-855-478-2542 ) to find the nearest Public Cash Services store, information about the services offered or hours of operation. At this time, not all services are available at all stores, so please check that the services you are interested in are offered at that store before you visit.