Last week I wrote about how my experience of using Public Bank Visa Electron debit card did not work with Paypal when I wanted to link the card to my Paypal account. I’ve finally figured out what happened.
The Public Bank Visa Electron debit card works like a prepaid credit card. That means you need to load money into the card before you can swipe it for purchases. Upon approval of your application for the card, Public Bank requires you to load the card with a minimum of RM25 before they will send the physical card to you.
When I received my note to do this, I loaded RM30 into the card. Not long after, I received my card from Public Bank and proceeded to register it with Paypal. For Paypal to verify the card, you need to follow its steps to link and confirm the card. When you agree to link the card by a click of the mouse button, Paypal will charge US$1.95 to the credit card that will be refunded later on. This is where my earlier glitch came about.
I called Public Bank (as suggested by you clever bloggers, thank you!) and found out that there must always be a balance of RM25 in the card. I loaded it with RM30 and that means that I can only charge a maximum of RM5 to my card. Any transaction with an amount that will eat into the balance of RM25 on the card will not go through. Since Paypal charges US$1.95 for the linking process, it is equivalent to RM6.80. I only have RM5 available in my credit card and thus, I was unable to complete the transaction required by Paypal. I made a run to top up the card and have now successfully linked the card to Paypal.
So if you are applying for this card and linking it to Paypal, make sure you top up enough the first time round for your linking charges by Paypal to go through. It was a rather silly mistake but one that must be learned. I hope this mistake of mine will help save you time should you go through this process too.
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Very helpful. I think I might do the same mistake if I didn’t read this post. I wonder if the process is long…as in the paper works/documents. Do we need to prepare anything like payslips?
The application is very simple, you can download the application form from the website, then print a copy and send to the bank along with your copy of IC. The only pain is to wait for the bank to get back to you. It can take 3 weeks or longer. But it’s worth the wait if the card is going to prove useful. I was willing to wait because that’s the only way I know how to get cash out of Paypal!
yesterday i link public bank debit card to my paypal account but unsucessfully , but message come out “We were unable to verify this credit card. Please check the information you have entered is correct. If the problem persists, please try to enter a different credit card.”
but i get all information that public bank debit card 100% can withdraw $ from paypal
so i thinking may be i top up RM30 , balance must RM 25 at all time, paypal charge US1.95 charge may be , so RM 5 not enough , i planning tomorrow go to topup , but i still worry may be my card not yet activate or other problem with my card, so i try to suft net , hope can get solution, finally get this site, thank you , i facing same problem with you , now very happy cuz get the answer already
Hmm…this is quite a common “mistake” then. Glad that this post has helped you. It should work perfectly once you top up enough for your Paypal charges to go through. Good luck!
I also experienced a glitch in using my Public Bank Visa Electron Debit Card. I actually waiting for a month for the card to arrive when I finally found out that I had to top it up first. After surfing around, I found the information and topped up my card to RM50 and the rest was smooth sailing.
Diana, glad you finally got it working fine. Very useful card to withdraw cash out of Paypal!
I had applied public bank debit card today and I heard that $5 will be charge when I withdraw cash from ATM machine (Is that true?). Is there any charge if I withdraw cash from public ATM? Can I transfer the cash from debit card to my public bank saving account and withdraw without $5 being charge? Please assist.
Hi Chin, as far as I know, there are no charges to withdraw cash at Public Bank’s ATMs. At other banks’ ATMs, yes I believe there are charges. When you withdraw the cash using the debit card the Public Bank’s ATM machines, you need to choose the “Cash Advance” option but don’t worry, like I said it is free.
You can transfer the cash from your debit card to your bank account by manually withdrawing the cash and depositing it into your banking account. There is no other way, unfortunately.
Try it and I hope it works for you.
yuppp really help me with this info..keep it up..thanx 4 sharing
Glad you found the sharing useful
Hi there,
I have a question, when I send the application form for the PB electron ebit card, with my IC, must I enclose a check to pay for the annual fee together with it? It is stated that the annual fee is RM24, but another blog stated that I should give a check of at least RM25. Can you please enlighten me?
Hi Shanaz, to answer your question, no you DO NOT send them any money at all. Just the application form and the required supporting documents. Once the bank has approved your card, they will send you a note with your card number and ask you to bank in the payment. So you only do it upon approval.
The RM24 and RM25 are 2 different things. The annual fee for the card is RM24. The RM25 is a minimum prepaid amount that must at all times be in the card, otherwise you won’t be able to use the card.
Hope that helps
Hi Penny,
Thank you for clearing my head. I’m mailing my application with my IC minus the check then.
=)
YES!!!finally i found answer here!
i had searching every where b4 tis,bcos facing same problem!
now everythings solve!
all question had been answer d!
thnx for sharing tis useful info!!!!
***really helpful post***
PayPal should warn electron card holders too! I had the same problem to be honest. Thanks for helpful post
Yes PayPal should update their system to enable visa electron card holders to withdraw!
I heard you can’t register ‘FRESH’ PB Visa Electron. What I mean by fresh is the card has never performed any transaction. You have to perform some transaction outside Paypal, say pump petrol or pay for hotel room, then you can register with Paypal. Is this true?
very helpful post… you are my saviour
OMG… i found it here finally… a very useful info for me… thanks to mypennysense…