Old Oct 25, 2013, 11:21 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JAXBA
Read the wiki before posting a question.
It's a literacy test that's easy to pass.

This is the Serve thread. Post questions or information concerning other topics in the appropriate threads elsewhere in this forum.

For additional information on using prepaid debit cards, see PIN available now for Visa/MC prepaid debit cards.

Mentions of Softcard (formerly ISIS) are purely incidental to setting up and using Serve/Softcard. Softcard does not hold money, and you cannot load to it.


You cannot make an ACH pull from Serve. The direct deposit account and routing numbers are for deposits only.

https://www.serve.com/#/add-cash

If your card doesn't say "debit" on the front, it isn't a debit card.


Loads at 7-11 and CVS are cash only. Debit cards are NOT allowed.

Loads at Walmart have been confirmed with debit cards. Self checkout does not work for loading Serve. Many Walmart stores are enforcing a rule against the use of prepaid debit cards when loading, even though the register and the MCE do not enforce. Do not make your prepaid debit cards visible. Show them a bank debit card if asked, then discreetly use your prepaid card when asked to swipe. Otherwise, you may be asked by management to never visit the MC (Walmart Money Center) again to load.

Debit loading at Family Dollar appears to be limited to $500 per day per store total (not per person or per account). Whoever gets there first gets the load for the day. Troubleshooting loading problems at FD


Normal Serve
  • Serve loading via VR/MP or WM/FD load: $2,500/day and $5,000 total per calendar month
  • Online Debit Card Load - $200/day and $1,000/month (NOT a gift card with a PIN that some people call a "Debit card")
  • Online Credit Card Load - $200/day and $1,000/month
  • Checking/Savings Account - $2,000/month
  • Checks - $2,000/day and $10,000/month
  • ATM Withdrawals - $750/day and $2,000/month

You can combine the three methods above and load a total of $7k/month to a single Serve account for miles/points earning purposes, but beware that you're also subject to a $10,000/month add money limit which also includes check deposits, ACH transfers, and Serve transfers.

Serve/Softcard Check if your phone/network is compatible
  • Serve loading via VR/MP or WM/FD load: $2,500/day and $5,000 total per calendar month
  • Online Debit Card Load - $500/day and $1,500/month (NOT a gift card with a PIN that some people call a "Debit card")
  • Online Credit Card Load - $500/day and $1,500/month
  • Checking/Savings Account - $2,000/month
  • Checks - $2,000/day and $10,000/month
  • ATM Withdrawals - $750/day and $2,000/month

You can combine the three methods above and load a total of $8k/month to a single Serve account for miles/points earning purposes, but beware that you're also subject to a $10,000/month add money limit which also includes check deposits, ACH transfers, and Serve transfers.

The SD card in the iPhone case used for Softcard is account specific. Once an account has been registered to a card, it cannot be used for another.

Temp Serve
You can only load a maximum of $500/day, $1000/month on a temporary card. Once you get your permanent card, then you can load more. The initial $500 when you purchase the temp card doesn't count against the $5,000/month load limit.


Online Credit Card Loads
Only one card can be linked at a time.

As of 10/09/14, coding of credit card loads changed. In general, Mastercard and American Express cards post as before; see below for information on point earning. Visa cards transact as a cash advance and, therefore, require available CA limit; although most cards post as a purchase.

The Chase Ink Bold is a charge card and has no cash advance ability.

Treated as purchase, earns cashback/points/miles:
  • Bank of America (FIA) (MasterCard, American Express)
  • Barclaycard (Mastercard, Visa)
  • Capital One (Mastercard, Visa)
  • Chase (MasterCard, Visa)
  • Citi (MasterCard, American Express)
  • Discover

Treated as purchase, but doesn't earn points/miles:
  • American Express (May count toward minimum spend)

Posts as a cash advance:
For online CC/DC loads, the name on the Serve account is supposed to match the name of the primary or joint cardholder. So using someone else's CC/DB card to load a Serve account is not allowed.

Several people have reported no problems with loading with an AU card in the Serve account holder's name. Increase your chances by making sure the AUs social security number is on file with the Credit Card. YMMV.

When adding a new card you will usually need to call Serve Account security (1-800-555-4318) for verification of the new card on the second load try. This verification usually requires uploading of a photo of your ID and the credit card. You may pre-emptively avoid the error by going to the above website, logging in, and uploading a scan of a photo ID and the card you are trying to add. You may call back to expedite approval.


Online Debit Card Loads
For online debit load, only use of bank-issued cards is allowed. The use of pre-paid debit cards (Netspend, Paypower, Univision, Paypal*, etc.) and VGC/MGC/AGCs is not allowed. While initial transactions may work, your account will eventually be flagged.


Switching to Serve or Serve/Softcard
Helpful instruction post, latest. Thanks raeneye.

Also see this thread: Switching from Serve to BlueBird - 31 day wait???

Switching to Serve/Softcard
  1. Call up Bluebird or Serve and close account. Make sure your account is at $0.00 before calling. Just close it, don't ask for a temp Serve or anything. CSR will say account is now closed and you have 30 days to change your mind should you decide to re-open it.
  2. Download the Softcard mobile app from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. If you're an iPhone user you have to buy the NFC CashWrap case from your carrier store.
  3. Launch Softcard Mobile App and create Softcard account. You'll be asked if you want to open a Serve account; Yes you do. Start the registration through Softcard mobile app for a Serve account, once you are finished you will be told you will receive an Email from Amex with your account approval. I waited a few hours and called Serve customer service like the wiki says and completed the registration.
  4. Once I got off the phone with Serve I received an email from Serve where I verified my account and email; at this point Amex Serve is open.
  5. Launch Softcard Mobile app again click add new
  6. Activate card with Softcard and select Amex Serve. Follow the instructions & you're good to add. Once this is complete a Serve Card will populate in Softcard. Must activate physical card to get full load limits. Check account status and it automatically credits to your serve account based on who you signed up with. (Verizon - $25, T-Mobile - $50, AT&T - $30 (For AT&T: Get $15 w/activation. Earn additional $15 w/account replenishment))

Switching from BB to Serve
  1. Login to BB account, bring account balance to Zero, (By Bill Pay, Send money, etc..)
  2. Call BB, tell them that you want to open a serve account and close your current BB account. after they check everything they will say something like: "Your account will be permanently closed after 31 days, you can reopen it within 31 day if you change your mind, and you can apply for your new Serve account now, just make sure use the exact same register info from BB."
  3. at this point BB is closed. next morning, goto CVS and get a temporary Serve card (only with cash), load $500, ($2.95 waived, Yeah!!)
  4. get back home, register temporary Serve online, First error: "phone number already registered, please try a different number" could be the my BB's ghost account still showing up on their system, could be my info is not match my BB's registration? i'm not really sure at this point. What I did is keep the same number but change from Cell phone to home phone. and registration went through
  5. after the register and login, second error: "We're still processing your application. Please check your email for an update"
  6. I have see people on the thread reported waiting for weeks for the same message, So, I pickup the phone and called them, ask them to speed up the process.
  7. CSR, told me that my account went to "account security protection department" transfer me to them.
  8. at account security protection department, they told me need to call back on my phone number which I registered to verify.
  9. after the call back of verification, CSR told me that my new Serve account is active now, email address verification will be send with in 5 minutes, permanent card will be received within 7-10 days.
  10. CSR also told me the I can load and spend on the temporary card, but not bill pay.

The number to call to approve your registration after closing Bluebird: Serve Account security 1-800-555-4318



Loading with debit card at Walmart register
Loads at register over $500 will sometimes trigger ID requirement. There is a limit of four swipes per transaction; this means your card plus three payments.

Training a WM cashier:
  • If the WM cashier doesn't know how to load the card, advise them to enter "70" then press "action code".
  • If you are using a temp card that doesn't have your name on it, you can swipe the card from your side of the terminal. The WM rep never has to touch any of your cards. The screen will say "enter account." That is your prompt to slide the card.
  • The terminal will ask the WM employee if you are loading in multiples of $2000. Advise them to enter "no."
  • Avoid saying gift card. Always refer to your card as a debit card.

Error Messages:
DEBIT NOT AVAILABLE
Received when I used a card I thought I had activated but hadn't.

DEBIT NOT APPROVED
Received when the card's monthly load limit had been reached.

TENDER NOT ALLOWED
Card was incorrectly read, or wrong PIN entered.

HOST TIMEOUT
Connection problems. The GC may be drained but the transaction should reverse itself, and funds will become available again. Try again later.


Using Serve
For online bill pay
  • You can pay the credit card that you used to buy VRs/GCs
  • Error 1302 means that you have 1 pending payment the same amount as the one you just submitted. For example, 1000 bill pay to sapphire preferred from Friday and then on Saturday you submit another bill pay for 1000 to sapphire preferred, you will get this error.
  • Tip: if using online bill pay to the same place multiple times, vary your amounts by $0.01 to make it easier to track since your confirmation number does not match the tracking number on your credit card statement



For bank transfers
Under Settings --> Funding & Transfers --> Bank & Cards --> U.S. Bank Account, you can add your bank info and transfer funds from your Serve card directly to your bank. The bank account must be verified, either by the standard "deposit 2 small sums into your account, such as $0.23 & $0.42" method, or doing an "instant verification" by actually logging into your bank account while still logged into Serve.
===

People with an apartment address can find helpful information quoted in post #8530
Print Wikipost

Serve - Another Paypal/Amazon Payments.

Old Dec 5, 2013, 3:07 am
  #1096  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: California
Posts: 264
Originally Posted by jonnydoe1234
Yes, it is a big no-no. Why withdraw (which Serve frowns upon) when you can just pay any bill, including credit cards (which Serve is fine with)? Anyways, I wouldn't attempt it again if you want to avoid an account shutdown.
Is bill pay really treated any better than withdrawing to a bank account? In both cases I don't think AMEX is making money from those transactions, and they're both like giving yourself a cash advance. Or do you think they treat bill pay to a known company better than bill pay to a random person/yourself?
sbft77 is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 7:32 am
  #1097  
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Anaheim Hills, CA
Programs: UA 1K, 1.3mm
Posts: 918
Originally Posted by sbft77
Is bill pay really treated any better than withdrawing to a bank account? In both cases I don't think AMEX is making money from those transactions, and they're both like giving yourself a cash advance. Or do you think they treat bill pay to a known company better than bill pay to a random person/yourself?
They set up a bill pay system and they want you to use it.
SGJazz is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 9:29 am
  #1098  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: JFK
Programs: *$ Gold :)
Posts: 1,061
Originally Posted by yakk0
I did tell her I was using a debit card with a PIN. Handed her the card to swipe on her register and it just came up on the customer-side pin pad asking for a signature.
Looks like a signature (credit) transaction to me.
So CC could be used instead in that situation...
pier11 is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 9:49 am
  #1099  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott // WN, AA, BA, UA, AS // Avis
Posts: 1,310
Originally Posted by vagrants
The CC limit was $250/month (they reduced?). I was using Discover More to fund the Serve, so that I could get 1% after the $3k threshold (I'm aware of the Discover It. If I upgrade, I will miss the sign up bonus if they let me have both More & It). After I met the threshold with Discover, I switched to FIA AMEX. The rest of the fund came from PrePaids acting like debits (I was lucky enough to link PrePaids...I heard some were having issues doing so).

As long as you don't go crazy, Serve was reasonable...at least that was my case.

Good luck.

Has anyone other than the one quoted thread above used the FIA AMEX for Serve to confirm it wont be a CA?

If not, I guess I'll do a small load and see what happens
rajuabju is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 12:34 pm
  #1100  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 71
Originally Posted by pier11
Looks like a signature (credit) transaction to me.
So CC could be used instead in that situation...
sounds like this is an one-off situation where sometimes they allow you to use cc to purchase VRs at CVS when u aren't suppose to, blah blah..

but thanks for this input none the less.


so we know that cashiers can just load Serve via CC, just like typical gift card purchase.

Serve Users - please try and see if it works for PIN-enabled gift cards now! Thank you!
stimulus is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 12:36 pm
  #1101  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 71
Originally Posted by sharka
Just tried today at a NYC CVS. Walked in and presented them with a serve card and told them wish to load with a CC. They gave me a blank stare. Said unaware of what a serve card is? Maybe never got a memo from corp. office. Ask to speak to manager. He said as far as he knows all loads regardless of which card can only be done in cash only. I said I don't carry $1000 cash on me for security reasons and he basically said too bad and can't help me. Things might be different in your state but in midtown NYC so far it's a no go.

Note, after a response like that I didn't bother to ask if I could use a debit pin or GC as manager already said it was all cash only with any cards use to load.


Please attempt and see if it works with a PIN-enabled gift card at another CVS?
stimulus is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 12:49 pm
  #1102  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 22
Originally Posted by rajuabju
Has anyone other than the one quoted thread above used the FIA AMEX for Serve to confirm it wont be a CA?

If not, I guess I'll do a small load and see what happens
Did this a few days ago for the first time. It posted to fia and I don't see any indication about a ca.
ftdima is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2013, 9:30 pm
  #1103  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: California
Posts: 264
Originally Posted by yakk0
I just tried with a debit gift card at my local CVS. Short answer is YES it works.

I asked my cashier if she was familiar with Serve and if I could load it at the register. She had no idea what Serve was but was willing to try. She just went through the prompts on the screen for loading a prepaid card. I did tell her I was using a debit card with a PIN. Handed her the card to swipe on her register and it just came up on the customer-side pin pad asking for a signature. Loaded $200 from a debit gift card (purchase from Best Buy and PIN enabled). Checked my Serve app when I got to my car and the $200 was there. Shows up as "Purchase" from "Pos CVS PHARMACY INCOMM" in my transactions.

I guess the next question is whether or not CCs work, since I was never asked for a PIN.

This was in SoCal.
Maybe we should be careful about talking too much about what works at CVS...
But I had basically the same experience as you, except I swiped the gift card myself, and it asked me Debit or Credit; I selected debit and entered a PIN (didn't try pressing Credit).
The Serve app (on Android at least) has a funny bug: it shows the transaction as a purchase, rather than a load. But it correctly showed the increased balance, and the website shows it as Cash Reload.

Last edited by sbft77; Dec 5, 2013 at 9:32 pm Reason: typo
sbft77 is offline  
Old Dec 6, 2013, 7:51 am
  #1104  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Manchester,UK and NYC
Programs: One Pass, BAEC, AA
Posts: 708
Originally Posted by yakk0
I just tried with a debit gift card at my local CVS. Short answer is YES it works.


*edit: Just checked my Serve account in a web browser (was checking mobile app before) and it shows up as "Cash Reload CVS PHARMACY INCOMM"


Cash: $1000/day and $5000/month

Checking/Savings account: $2,000/month

Debit Card: $200/day and $1,000/month

Credit Card: $200/day and $1,000/month


Loading via Debit and Credit card can be done online - so that's $2000/month

Now if the Serve system is seeing CVS loads as CASH rather than debit or credit - there is a potential to put through $7000/month with Serve.


May I ask anyone who has loaded at CVS what the size of the load was - in particular, was it more than $200 (which is the day limit for credit and debit cards).

If you loaded more than $200, then more than likely, this is counting towards the $5000 cash monthly limit.

I will not have access to a CVS until January - so very curious to know what can or cannot be done - many thanks
forextrader is offline  
Old Dec 6, 2013, 11:23 am
  #1105  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 139
I recently started using my serve account and have done the following transactions:

Loaded Via CC in November for 275 with 2 separate loads.
Used the card for a couple cheap purchases.
Used a zero fee ATM to remove $100 cash
Made 2 more ~$150 CC loads using the same credit card I always have
Used Bill Pay to pay off different CC then what I am using to load the card
Made a purchase last night, went through fine.
Tried to load ~100 dollars today and got a message to call customer service.

Am I going to have my Serve Account shut down, and if so what should I tell CSR when I call in?

Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks
whitey4545 is offline  
Old Dec 6, 2013, 4:22 pm
  #1106  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: California
Posts: 264
There's a promo going on with Isis where you get 20% cash back on purchases done through Isis (on your Android phone) linked to Serve, up to $1000 in purchases. (has been discussed in detail in other places, like SD). I wonder if $1000 in purchases on your Serve card will make amex less likely to shut you down for moving money around...
sbft77 is offline  
Old Dec 6, 2013, 7:44 pm
  #1107  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: JFK
Programs: *$ Gold :)
Posts: 1,061
Originally Posted by sbft77
There's a promo going on with Isis where you get 20% cash back on purchases done through Isis (on your Android phone) linked to Serve, up to $1000 in purchases. (has been discussed in detail in other places, like SD). I wonder if $1000 in purchases on your Serve card will make amex less likely to shut you down for moving money around...
From experience with other prepaid card issuers, extra real small swipes don't make any difference with respect to shutdowns.
Our luck is that amex don't shut people accounts yet.

It worth to take free $200 anyway if you can.
pier11 is offline  
Old Dec 6, 2013, 8:33 pm
  #1108  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: Delta PM | US PP | Hilton Gold
Posts: 288
Originally Posted by pier11
From experience with other prepaid card issuers, extra real small swipes don't make any difference with respect to shutdowns.
Our luck is that amex don't shut people accounts yet.

It worth to take free $200 anyway if you can.
Isis Mobile Wallet will be your best friend when it comes to MS. Besides the 20% promo going on (which is a steal), I have had zero problems using tap and pay to purchase all my GC needs .... even at places that don't take CC as tender. You just tap and pay no questions asked. I even go to 7-11 and purchase money orders.
john doe iii is offline  
Old Dec 7, 2013, 10:28 am
  #1109  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 163
I got my serve card about 7 days ago, was able to load using my FIA Amex CC. (I loaded different amounts: $100, $120, $140). For the last 2 days when I tried to load $90, I keep getting the error:

You have the following errors.

We're sorry - we are unable to complete your add funds request at this time. Please call Customer Service at 1-800-555-4318 so that we may help you with your request.

I called CS and they said that they could not find a problem on the serve side, the CC company might be blocking the purchase. I'm going to call them up and find out. Anyone else experience this with FIA Amex CC?
msnut1 is offline  
Old Dec 7, 2013, 5:52 pm
  #1110  
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 377
Will link to a post I made a while back:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21608852-post980.html

It suggests that CVS knows about debit/credit loading for Serve and is OK with it. But also that it might change in the future.
jonnydoe1234 is offline  

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