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Metrolinx: Presto Fare Card

I was finally able to use my card for the first time yesterday - Union, Dundas, and Yonge/Bloor - all worked perfectly.

Of course using it three times, I'm now down to $2.50 on my card, from the $10 that came pre-loaded on it. I went onto the website yesterday afternoon to reload it and to set up an autoload program from my credit card. I realize that it takes 24 hours, so I checked again today, and the balance is still $2.50. I called and was told that it's literally 24 hours from the moment I initiate the request, so if I entered it at 2:35pm yesterday afternoon, it won't be credited until 2:35pm today.

I find this a bit ridiculous, since they obtained authorization from my credit card yesterday. I thought the whole 24 hour thing was simply to allow for time so that non connected readers on surface vehicles could have time to obtain new data, but it doesn't appear to be the case.

Presto customer service also confirmed to me that if I did use the card today and exceeded the $2.50 balance before the reload kicked in, that I would have to pay the fee for going into a negative balance.
 
chriskayTO said:
Of course using it three times, I'm now down to $2.50 on my card, from the $10 that came pre-loaded on it. I went onto the website yesterday afternoon to reload it and to set up an autoload program from my credit card. I realize that it takes 24 hours, so I checked again today, and the balance is still $2.50. I called and was told that it's literally 24 hours from the moment I initiate the request, so if I entered it at 2:35pm yesterday afternoon, it won't be credited until 2:35pm today.
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Presto's website (FAQ) indicates that Autoload is immediate, and it's only the Ad Hoc reload that takes 24 hours. Presumably then the first Autoload takes 24 hours, and subsequent autloads won't be subject to the 24-hour rule?
 
nfitz said:
Presto's website (FAQ) indicates that Autoload is immediate, and it's only the Ad Hoc reload that takes 24 hours. Presumably then the first Autoload takes 24 hours, and subsequent autloads won't be subject to the 24-hour rule?
Click to expand...
I presume the same, however I still don't get why credit card ad hoc reloads should take so long. Anyone have a credible explanation?
 
From the website...

Why does it take 24 hours for my e-Purse load to appear on my card?
Some devices, such as Bus Fare Payment Devices, are designed to operate without being connected to the system. It can take up to 24 hours for those devices to receive data that would confirm the load.
Click to expand...
 
My money is on deliberate, to try and keep you out of the negative.

I'm sure people will complain that it was Presto's fault that they spent money that hadn't cleared yet, so it's a fairly simple way to avoid a customer service nightmare.

One of my pet peves at the bank is depositing money and having the updated balance, then not being able to withdraw until the cheque clears. Personally, I don't like to be taunted with money I can't have.
 
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I agree it's probably deliberate, though this is definitely not the same as a bank holding deposited cheques... when Presto takes a credit card authorization, they are guaranteed to receive the money (unlike a cheque which would bounce or be returned for any number of reasons).

At any rate, it is what it is, though FWIW it's now been 26 hours since I loaded my card and it still doesn't show on my balance.
 
Are there any plans for Presto to be available at convenience stores? It would be interesting if are any plans for Presto's application beyond transit fares (road toll payments [if there are any], bike share/car rental, purchases made @ participating retails/restos/groceries)?
 
hbl33 said:
Are there any plans for Presto to be available at convenience stores? It would be interesting if are any plans for Presto's application beyond transit fares (road toll payments [if there are any], bike share/car rental, purchases made @ participating retails/restos/groceries)?
Click to expand...

I have never understood why there is not more "crossover" on these convenient pay thingies (showing my techie side with that lingo).

Best/worst example (and for a change it is not a government body)....nearly every day I stop at an "On the Run".......inside there is a convenience store where I can buy chips/milk/gasoline/etc and I can use my esso speedpass.......skip over to the other line and I can fill my other tank with coffee from Tim Horton's....there are, literally, hundreds of similar locations across the country....but no one has ever said "let's let them pay for coffee with the speedpass" or, alternatively "let's let them buy their newspaper with their tim card".....very strange....my only guess is that the tech side of these things is way more complicated than we customers think!
 
I have long longed for a "smart card" that would let me do everything instead of carrying around a walletful of credit/debit/reward cards!
 
PinkLucy said:
I have long longed for a "smart card" that would let me do everything instead of carrying around a walletful of credit/debit/reward cards!
Click to expand...

Agreed. It will happen but not for a bit yet.

Visa Paywave and the mastercard equivalent are pretty solid replacements for things like Presto, with one snag, they refuse to reduce the fees they charge merchants. That $0.25 transaction fee holds back a lot of uses for it like transit fares, vending machines, etc. If they could get the fee closer to a nickle then it would probably appear pretty much everywhere the next day.
 
So almost 48 hours later and the reloaded funds still don't appear on the website. I spoke with the Presto call centre last night, and they could see the payment, but didn't see it reflected in my balance, so they escalated the matter. I received a call back just now advising me that I need to tap on to a reader somewhere to activate the reload, and it can't be a TTC reader. Apparently this is related to the activation problem - you have to use a GO reader for the time being. I asked if there was an ETA for resolution, since going to Union every time I need to reload is quite inconvenient, however they said there's no anticipated resolution yet, and to keep checking the website for updates.

I also asked if I could tap on at a GO reader before the 24 hours had passed, and they said it should be fine, though couldn't guarantee it.
 
I am still really confused by these payment delays.
I signed up on the website for the "requested reload" contract. You put in your credit card information once and it stores it, so next when you want to reload your card, it already has it on file. Sounds convenient, right? Then it said these type of transactions take 5 business days to reach your card! If you type in the credit card information your self, it's only 24 hours. If you do it in person, it's immediate! Is there a reason to ever use a requested reload then if you have to wait five days to access those funds on the card?

This is just stupid. They need to overhaul their payment descriptions and processes now, before any more phases roll out.

Also, I can't find where to go on the website to setup my "default trip"
 
I agree this is very confusing. I'm a technologically savvy guy (and work for a bank) so I understand the ins and outs of payment processing, however there's no reason they have to make this so complicated for the average user.

As for the "requested reload", I believe the 5 business days is only a maximum limit and would only be needed for pre-authorized debits from bank accounts, but for credit cards should happen within the 24 hour timeframe, which is the same for ad hoc reloads. Keep in mind I'm just idly speculating here and don't know if that is, in fact, gospel. In fact, I doubt you could even get anyone at Presto to tell you for sure one way or the other. The people at the call centre are very pleasant, but I have received conflicting information every time I've phoned in.

Also, another niggling annoyance - on my trip reports it shows I tapped in at "BLOOR YOUNG STATION". A silly spelling and grammar error, yes, but surely with all of the money dumped into this system at least they could get that right.
 
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