Discover Fee
Evolve sent out an email today saying that Discover is no longer a free option for paying bills; it now comes with a 3% fee. Payments with debit/gift cards are still free.
This isn’t huge news since they already cut down to one bill-payment per month a while back (AFAIK this will still apply), and they already dis-allowed Discover on many of the bills. Now that it comes with a fee, they’re re-allowing Discover on all bills.
Visa & Mastercard
On a more interesting note, Grant from travelwithgrant.com noticed that Evolve now allows Visa and Mastercard payments – with a 3% fee of course. This something that Evolve has been mentioning for  a while that they’ll start allowing credit card payments in 2015.
Though it comes with a 3% fee and most of us won’t use it regularly, it’s still a notable option for meeting minimum spend requirements (and possibly for a 5x retention offer – don’t hold your breath waiting for one). I personally have no problem meeting minimum spends, but for those who like using easier options, sending money to a friend using Google Wallet has long been the easiest. We also mentioned the possibility of using RadPad to meet minimum  spends (in fact, the RadPad website itself mentions this). This new Evolve update would add an additional option to the mix. It could also be useful as a last-minute resort if you see you need a little more to go until hitting a minimum spend.
Paypal Debit Card
Grant also points out is that Paypal debit cards are now allowed as a credit card with the 3% fee. I just tried using my PPBDC to make an evolve payment a couple of days ago and the system didn’t allow it, “debit card not accepted”.
Of course, it isn’t much use, since it comes with a 3% fee, but I still find it interesting. It now seems that the reason Evolve was not accepting them was due to the fees involved in processing PPBDC transactions. Apparently, those fees are even more than the fees to process gift cards. (Gift cards cost more than regular debit cards.) We’ve been wondering about this for a while, see Who’s the Sucker. On the other hand, we’ve pointed out that RadPad is accepting PPBDC fee-free as a debit card, which would indicate that the costs are similar to debit/gift cards.
I know a lot of people use Evolve, but will they ever figure out what their service is? I guess they’re still “evolving”. (buh-dum TISH!).
Dunno what their business model is. Stumps me too.
would they charge 3% bill pay fee for the bills already scheduled (before we got this email from them)? I have already scheduled 3 bills back in January to be paid in this month. I am understanding If I don’t accept their new terms they should still process it fee-free. right?
Good question. You’re referring to bills you scheduled to pay with a Discover card, I assume. Try contacting them, let us know.
How about UFB direct Airline Rewards Checking? Fee or not? thanks
Not sure. It will be clear on the system if there’s a fee. So if they don’t tell you about a fee then you’re good to go.
Can you use Evolve to send a check if you can’t find the payee in their system?
In reference to the gift cards, so I can purchase AGC’s and use them to pay bills for free?
I think Evolve only works with those in their system.
Amex GC’s won’t work on Evolve.