Zen.com EMI?

[Forester]

The first time I received the verification error, I contacted live chat support and the agent told me to use a passport but I used a driver license instead..

This can be a problem – it can trigger something. (If you are told to do something and you do not object, you are naturally expected to do it.)

Probably just s**t software made by cheap outsourced developers. For some reason a lot of EMIs are crap when it comes to software.

This is true, unfortunately.

Yeah, could be, it just doesn't make sense, why not wait for the passport but decide to revoke the application after trying with the driver's license for the third time.

Sorry but it makes some sense. With all due respect, being told to use passport and trying to use DL three times(!), it is... not a very reasonable behaviour. It leads to a suspicion perfectly. Do not forget that the process is to a large extent automated (otherwise it would be costly / would not be for free).

Or if I am flagged(because of the closure of my Payoneer account), something like a system between banks/EMIs

Well, generally it is possible (although there are certain law barriers blocking institutions from sharing data) but I do not think this is the case.

as well as my phone number could explain why it hasn't sent me a code for verification in the first place..

Some operators (especially with prepaid cards or virtual operators) do not handle SMS messages well, especially from abroad.

I doubt that's the case, maybe something about the verification system and the poor quality of the images?

Yes, it could have contributed.

I emailed them today about the phone verification problem and then about the identity verification problem and I received exactly the same reply from different agents with an hour difference:

"After careful review of your application, we are sorry to say that we are not able to open an account for you.

We wish you the best of luck."

Wrt this passport/DL problem, what have you expected? Zen is a cheap EMI; the complications with handling applications represent unnecessary cost.
To avoid misunderstandig: I am not advocating for Zen. It is not a very customer-friendly behaviour in general. I am just trying to explain the roots.

Such a bad experience,

See above...

I used another EMI which took me 20 minutes for registration to order a card.

Good for you! (You might just have a luck ). Could you share the name, for a recommendation?

 

[Moneydoesnotsleep]

Sorry but it makes some sense. With all due respect, being told to use passport and trying to use DL three times(!), it is... not a very reasonable behaviour. It leads to a suspicion perfectly. Do not forget that the process is to a large extent automated (otherwise it would be costly / would not be for free).

Hi mate! Thank You for your reply. I tried 2 times with an ID card and 1 time with a driver's license, because I wanted it verified asap due to the fact my passport is located in another city at the time of doing the verification..

Some operators (especially with prepaid cards or virtual operators) do not handle SMS messages well, especially from abroad.

Yes, the numbers are being managed by different operators, this could explain it.

Good for you! (You might just have a luck ). Could you share the name, for a recommendation?

Although it is not a very reputable EMI, I've decided to give it a try with small amounts since the card and the delivery is free, it's Monese. I am currently looking for other EMIs, besides Adv Cash, Revolut, and Wise, which have a card and don't ask for a TIN.

 

[Forester]

Hi mate! Thank You for your reply. I tried 2 times with an ID card and 1 time with a driver's license, because I wanted it verified asap due to the fact my passport is located in another city at the time of doing the verification..

Oh, well. I was misunderstanding a little bit. I understand your motivation, nevertheless you should have objected to the agent “I am sorry but I am not able to use my passport, as I do not have it here.”, when recommended. (It is pretty possible that it would not have changed the final result, I do not know.)

Although it is not a very reputable EMI, I've decided to give it a try with small amounts since the card and the delivery is free, it's Monese.

Understandable.

I am currently looking for other EMIs, besides Adv Cash, Revolut, and Wise, which have a card and don't ask for a TIN.

BTW, what service do you need from the EMI? Just a card, not payment service? In what currency? How you are intended to fund a card? There can be plenty of reasonable options... (You want a personal account, I presume.)

 

[Moneydoesnotsleep]

BTW, what service do you need from the EMI? Just a card, not payment service? In what currency? How you are intended to fund a card? There can be plenty of reasonable options... (You want a personal account, I presume.)

Yes, looking for a personal one for low amounts in EUR/USD, for temporary usage, can fund it via bank transfer.
We are looking for a corporate account as well, we have an application somewhere, and hopefully, it will be accepted asap.

 

[Forester]

Yes, looking for a personal one for low amounts in EUR/USD, for temporary usage, can fund it via bank transfer.

In such a case you can go well for example with Blackcatcard, I think. It is bound to EUR only account, so for payments in USD you will bear FX costs; but for low amounts and temporary usage it IMO does not matter so much. (Cards bound to a multi-currency account are less frequent.)

We are looking for a corporate account as well, we have an application somewhere, and hopefully, it will be accepted asap.

Good luck!
(If it evt. fails, come here for advice )

 

[Moneydoesnotsleep]

In such a case you can go well for example with Blackcatcard, I think. It is bound to EUR only account, so for payments in USD you will bear FX costs; but for low amounts and temporary usage it IMO does not matter so much. (Cards bound to a multi-currency account are less frequent.)

I remember I read it somewhere where they ask for tin and report automatically(implemented the CRS). My country is in the EU but it has its own currency so will pay FX fees, as always.

 

[Forester]

I remember I read it somewhere where they ask for tin and report automatically(implemented the CRS).

I do not possess any information related to this (maybe someone else here does); but generally:
All the EU (and UK, too) EMIs are in the same situation. Their countries of incorporation signed for AEOI/CRS but EMIs, as subjects, seem not yet being formally forced to report automatically. Whether some of them report or not, it is uncertain. In any case it is definitely not recommendable to rely on it, if you need some discretion in front of a taxman. (Note: you can be perfectly reported even without knowledge of your TIN.)
From the three subjects you have named above, only AdvCash definitely does not report – but it is just a shell, some subject behind might report; Wise is the same as Zen/Monese/Blackcatcard and Revolut reports for sure, it is a bank.

 

[Moneydoesnotsleep]

Yes, that is for sure, I don't rely on EMI for secrecy but I try to minimize the risk of getting automatically reported. I doubt any taxman in my country will be interested in low amounts, however, it is possible, but if I was the taxman, I wouldn't waste my time investigating my case since it is a mass practice among individuals nowadays and it is not such a crazy amount, also no illegal money source. I try not to use Revolut since it become really popular and turned into a bank. Many people use Revolut in my country, so if a taxman starts to investigate this sphere closer, then it would be Revolut to start with, that is another downside and why I don't want to use it, I think only people who deal with high amounts would be interesting("profitable") to be investigated due to the fact it would be a waste of time for a taxman to investigate 10 different cases where 10 people got a yearly turnover of 20 000 EUR instead of 1 person who got the yearly turnover of 200k EUR, that is just an example, how they can minimize their time and effort. Also, I believe more of the interest would fall into businesses and especially those that are dealing with VAT because most financial crimes are the abuse of VAT. Yeah, you may be interested as well, if you are unemployed, have a luxurious lifestyle, and show it to the public, without even paying your monthly health insurance and have nothing declared as an income.

 

[Forester]

Yes, that is for sure, I don't rely on EMI for secrecy but I try to minimize the risk of getting automatically reported. I doubt any taxman in my country will be interested in low amounts, however, it is possible, but if I was the taxman, I wouldn't waste my time investigating my case since it is a mass practice among individuals nowadays and it is not such a crazy amount, also no illegal money source. I try not to use Revolut since it become really popular and turned into a bank. Many people use Revolut in my country, so if a taxman starts to investigate this sphere closer, then it would be Revolut to start with, that is another downside and why I don't want to use it, I think only people who deal with high amounts would be interesting("profitable") to be investigated due to the fact it would be a waste of time for a taxman to investigate 10 different cases where 10 people got a yearly turnover of 20 000 EUR instead of 1 person who got the yearly turnover of 200k EUR, that is just an example, how they can minimize their time and effort. Also, I believe more of the interest would fall into businesses and especially those that are dealing with VAT because most financial crimes are the abuse of VAT. Yeah, you may be interested as well, if you are unemployed, have a luxurious lifestyle, and show it to the public, without even paying your monthly health insurance and have nothing declared as an income.

This is in fact OT here, so just briefly.
There is also another logic:
It is much more comfortable to catch 100 small fishes where the case is simple and clear; than try to catch one big fat fish involved in a complex case who can afford to pay very smart lawyers. (Small cases are all similar: There is ~4 figures sum landing at the account; where and how was it taxed?) It is just about semi-automatic processing of a big data that is pretty simple nowadays. (I heard that a nice example of applying this logic is contemporary Romania.)
Similarly, it is probably true that most financial crimes today concerns VAT but it represents a very sofisticated crime complicated to prosecute.
Of course, the decision what logic will be applied is a political decision depending fully on a particular country.
As this is really off-topic for this thread, if you like to discuss it more, I propose you to start a new thread here TAX & Legal Topics

 

[lostguy]

Yes, that is for sure, I don't rely on EMI for secrecy but I try to minimize the risk of getting automatically reported. I doubt any taxman in my country will be interested in low amounts, however, it is possible, but if I was the taxman,

I would not relay on that!

 

[JohnLocke]

Since they got recommend to us as an alternative payment processor I would like to know what the latest experience is if someone has used them for some time, at least 6 - 12 months wit clean business.

Any experience would be much appreciated.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

I’m using zen.com for personal and business banking, no problems at all.

 

[12345]

Since they got recommend to us as an alternative payment processor I would like to know what the latest experience is if someone has used them for some time, at least 6 - 12 months wit clean business.

Any experience would be much appreciated.

I heard from many people that recently they often do bans and reKYC but it's mostly regarding gray business

 

[Sols]

They're still performing well. Very reasonable to work with.

 

[vehzag]

Since they got recommend to us as an alternative payment processor I would like to know what the latest experience is if someone has used them for some time, at least 6 - 12 months wit clean business.

Any experience would be much appreciated.

I have only opened account with them the business one recently
But for now only have small amount with them
For now had no problems but will see in future

 

[Globalarb]

All good , personal and buss . they are crypto friendly also . PLN pair on binance is provided by them

SEPA instant not available

 

[tomboy]

Can anyone share which banks ZEN.com relies on for handling EUR and USD transactions? Specifically, when issuing an invoice with payment instructions for ZEN, which bank's details are provided to the client

 

[Sols]

Can anyone share which banks ZEN.com relies on for handling EUR and USD transactions? Specifically, when issuing an invoice with payment instructions for ZEN, which bank's details are provided to the client

For EUR/SEPA, it's Zen themselves handling it end to end. For SWIFT and other currencies, it's CurrencyCloud.

The accounts are in your name, though.

 

[kalikex]

Yeah, could be, it just doesn't make sense, why not wait for the passport but decide to revoke the application after trying with the driver's license for the third time. Or if I am flagged(because of the closure of my Payoneer account), something like a system between banks/EMIs as well as my phone number could explain why it hasn't sent me a code for verification in the first place.. I doubt that's the case, maybe something about the verification system and the poor quality of the images? I can not tell.
I emailed them today about the phone verification problem and then about the identity verification problem and I received exactly the same reply from different agents with an hour difference:

"After careful review of your application, we are sorry to say that we are not able to open an account for you.

We wish you the best of luck."

Such a bad experience, I do not recommend it, only a waste of time, I used another EMI which took me 20 minutes for registration to order a card.

Share EMI Name please ?

 

[JohnLocke]

Share EMI Name please ?

He already did in a previous post, it was Monese - however, I believe he has found others in the meantime