American Express Serve®

American Express Serve is one of our favorite prepaid cards. It offers everything you need to say goodbye to your checking account or to check-cashing stores at a price point that’s hard to beat. Serve’s free online bill pay feature allows you to pay billers that don’t accept plastic, and its free mobile app enables you to fund your account simply by taking a picture of a check. There are only two fees to even worry about and both are avoidable. If you direct deposit at least $500 each month and withdraw money exclusively from MoneyPass ATMs, of which there are more than 24,000 nationwide, then Amex Serve will be completely free to use. As such, Serve makes for a great replacement checking account, check-cashing service or financial literacy teaching tool. And that’s all you really need to know. But if you want more information, make sure to check out our full American Express Serve review: wallethub.com/edu/american-express-serve-review/25925/

It takes 7 days for a merchant refund to be processed, this isn’t normal! I use my debit or credit card and refunds are processed immediately. Don’t use this card if there is a possibility you may return your purchase for a refund. I wish the US government would regulate this process and make them issue refunds promptly.

I have had this card for about 6 years now and in the beginning it was great! Of course there are stores/companies who wouldn't accept Amex, but that wasn't much of an issue. Customer service was helpful and they did all they could to help. I don't know what has happened in the past couple of years, but this is not a good card to have anymore. Lately, every time I have to receive a refund, the mechant will release the funds (and it will show, in green, the funds are back in the account on the app) but Amex will hold them for upwards of 7 days! When you call to get an explanation, they lie and will tell you 2/3 different dates depending on which rep answers the phone. Just today I had a rep tell me that maybe I called and "rushed" amazon to send my refund and that's why it came faster & when I told him "no, I never even had to call amazon" he just repeated the same lie, blaming the banks for holding the funds. Then insisted that he didn't have a manager or dept head that I could talk to. I will be cancelling this card AS SOON as they refund my money. It's not worth the headache or inconvenience, just get a visa.

I trusted serve because of the American Express brand and reputation for customer service. But, this one time I stayed at a hotel for two nights and they charged me for three. The hotel would not reverse the charges, so I called the Serve rep to dispute the charge for the night I didn't stay. They investigated and told me I wasn't getting a refund because the hotel manager said I was lying. This doesn't seem like proper customer service to me.

I used this card at a gas pump. Big mistake! It put $100 on hold on my account. The actual cost of the gas, $33 went through but the $100 hasn't and its been over 8 days. I tried calling customer service to get an actual person but got nothing. Maybe it was a mistake getting this card.

HORRIBLE DEFINITION OR HORRIBLE !!! Why is it legal for this company to put a REFUND on hold for 7days and blame the other party making the refund. Anyone who uses papal knows that it doesn't take PayPal 7DAYS to return money into an account. ESPECIALLY when it is already showing back in my actual account PayPal took the funds from to begin with. American Express Serve needs to be sued! I am seeking legal advise on my end to see what I can do besides close my account which I am closing my account 2day. I have been patient for several years. Not wks YEARS and its been a bad ride more then anything else.

If I could give a half of a star I would. I Have been trying to reload my card for the longest by linking my bank account. They are supposed to debit 2 small amounts that you need to verify. For a month I have been trying to do this, it only drafts one amount, I then call customer service to reach the customer service who you can barely understand. Their customer service is a joke and does not attempt to assist you. Need to just have automated system, this company sucks and needs to stop outsourcing their calls. NEVER WILL USE AMERICAN EXPRESS AGAIN!

They are scum and trying to get your money. They charged you fees $5.95 monthly either you use it or not. So basically you are giving your money to them to pay their customer service. So, Pls. Don't buy this card.

My direct deposits are never consistent! I was told to call my employer. They said the notify the same time every two weeks and still have never received a deposit two days early! Their company always manages to take their fee on time! About to cancel after my check is deposited for the last time and just be done with it!!!!

Like most other people I have been a victim of fraud and American Express Serve is doing nothing about it. My question is why do the charges need to post before they are disputed? Once i realized my card had been cloned and used fraudulently on Feb 7 I called right away and all the charges were still pending. They told me they could not begin the dispute process until they posted! Why is there no option to void pending transactions? Especially from a company like Amex. So the next day Feb 8th i checked my account again and most of the charges had posted with the exception of 2 (merchant never collected the money for 2 fraud transactions so i guess it released on its own) I have all my confirmation emails stating the dispute has been filed but i dont have time to wait 21-45 days for these dumb asses to investigate. Stay far away from this card people! I got this card out of desperation because I was in the chex systems and couldn't get my own bank account due to my PNC account being compromised years before. The only thing i really liked was that i get paid two days earlier but that shit doesn't even matter anymore. Hardly anyone takes Amex and overall it's a hassle. I couldn't even withdraw my own money in Dominican Republic back in September because it's not a real bank and you can't use it internationally. Some BS! Why wouldn't you be able to use an Amex worldwide?! Stay far far away!

They have no human customer service and then when you finally figure out how to get a person they don't speak English! Are they based in India?! I've been trying to get my money from a fraudulent transaction since January 16 First off I was on hold over an hour every time I call but was lied too and the non-english speaking customer service have no idea what the hell there doing and are extremely rude! Still haven't received my money back! Run people American Express Serve you should be ashamed of your business ethics!!! I'm reporting you to every to the BBB and any and all that will listen!

The Serve card is a POS. Forewarning if you use this card you can't get cash back anywhere!!! You can use the money transfer feature and you can transfer money to yourself but its $16.99, per every $2500, To Get Your Own Money!!!

People out there lying about this card. They hold your refunds for 7days. They charge 2.50 for each atm transaction. There’s no chip on the card so bank atm don’t accept it. And the so called free atm locations are, If accurate, Inconveniently located. I’ve been with AMEX for over 6 years and nothing has gotten better. The only plus, is getting your direct deposit early. Not worth the charge backs by my credit card company etc. I’m moving on !

I honestly think that the people who give this card a good rating are somehow affiliated with the company or just haven't been burned yet. I noticed some people said that in most cases it was user error or something the person did wrong. To those people, I just ask you to believe me and think of this scenario. I went to the ATM, the ATM was not out of money or malfunctioning because the second transaction went through. However, the first transaction for 200$ did not dispense money. I am told to wait 45 days to get this money back. I just want to warn people that even with Wal-Mart money cards if the ATM doesn't dispense money its ten days. I thought ten days was a lot but what if it had been 400$. Does American express really think everyday people who for whatever reason have to put their money on prepaid cards can wait 45 days for hundreds of dollars to be returned? Its sad. And I think about people out of work who this is happening to and it sickens me. I don't even feel confident the money will be returned in 45 days. It just feels like a scam. So to all of the raters including wallet hub who recommend this card, What did I do wrong in this case? How did I bring this on myself?

Don't do business with them. When you get a refund you have to wait up to 15 days. Let's say for example you do a Walmart return for 20 bucks it will go back to your account in 3 days and the minute it gets returned serve puts a hold on it for additional 7 days. So what ever money you get back from who ever serve puts it on review for 7 days. And when you call they don't have an answer for why they do it. They say oh it's normal bank practice bull shit shit!!! Trust me stay away from them!!!

dont get this card. its not worth the hassle, there is a fee for this a fee for that, they put bogus transactions on your card and expect you not to know...good thing i watched my transactions...4 fraud transactions that just appeared, from WISH.com, shutterfly ,and two from fingerhut freshstart..they said I HAD TO fill out paperwork that would take 45 days to review AND anything that was not already paid would have to wait. the next day 2 of the frauds disappeared into thin air and one was refunded???? they cant tell you how much money YOU had BEFORE the fraud, but sure can take your money for the fee.

This company is TERRIBLE. They put holds on basically everything in order to collect additional interest off your money. Returned merchandise They have a "7 day merchandise review" hold before they give you your money. Companies that release holds (like hotel's); 8 day hold. Also, used this card in Vegas. The resort puts a $50 per day hold on the card for incidents, which gets returned. Apparently Amex Serve also increases all hotel and resort charges by 25%, to cover incidentals. You will not receive any of this back for 8 days. The second I receive my refunds after their mysterious 7 day hold, I'm withdrawing all my funds and closing the account. Already transferred my direct deposit to my bank. I'll happily get my check one day later to not deal with this scam company.

I'm sickened by American Express Serve. I filed a claim on October 23,2018 for almost $1300. I was just informed that my claim was denied and my account had been permanently suspended. I gave them a copy of the police report that my card was stolen and used. And proof that I was not the one that made the transactions. It's Christmas time and now my family will be doing without Christmas thanks to AmExpress Serve. I will be contacting legal assistance for this matter. I'm disabled and that is alot of money for me to just write off.

If I could give no stars, I would. The worst customer service ever. I have been an AmEx card holder for over 20 years and purchased the Serve card for a family member so I could get them money in emergency situations. AmEx blocked my debit card on a weekly basis and their help desk were clueless as to why and how to fix it. The last straw was that they rejected my debit card and will no longer allow me to use a debit card to transfer money. I've never been in the red and my debit card always had funds available. Instead of alerting me that they were doing this, they just did it and when my parents furnace blew out I had no way to get them money.

Save yourself a lot of stress, don't use this card. I got hacked for $1500.00 while the representative watched it happening and all she did was say " oh my, I'm so sorry this is happening to you". I have been GUARANTEED by one of their supervisors in the dispute department on Dec. 7 2018 that I would have my money back in 24-48 hours. While following up on Dec. 10 I was guaranteed by the same supervisor that it would be back in my account by the end of day. Needless to say on the 11th I still didn't have my money. I called back and got a different supervisor which informed me that I will not get my money before the 21st. Apparently this company trains their people on how to do nothing but lies. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't use this card. If you have any issue beyond 60 days they will do nothing to assist you, regardless of the situation. Almost any other card will offer better results and won't hold your money for prolonged periods of time.

They have been holding $233 for 5 days now. I wldnt be so upset if I didn’t have this money set aside to pay for my sons medical procedure which is TOMORROW. Right now I’m contacting PrePaid Legal and I won’t have to deal with this BS!!! #VeryPissed

It takes entirely too long for your own money to be given back to you. I've had a few situations occur where where my money was just held because they wanted to hold it, even after they were able see that the merchant never charged my card they still held my money, $400 to be exact, I had just got paid and had bills due that I couldn't pay because they wouldn't RELEASE MY MONEY. I did a simple refund at the register, still had to wait for my money. I guess the people at American Express serve don't think people have important things to do with their money because they definitely take their time giving you WHAT'S ALREADY YOURS. THIS CARD IS HORRIBLE AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE, DON'T GET THIS CARD!!!

This card may allow you to get your paycheck early. How ever they approve decline transactions even if the merchant calls and verify th hey are not collecting funds do to being decline. They will hold your funds for 7 days.

I have been using an Amex serve card for my payroll direct deposit. It's a big enough pain that so many places don't take Amex because of the high fees they're charged by the company. Then finding an atm that won't charge a fee comes into play. Yesterday my direct deposit was sent and not released to my card by Amex. When I called I was told it is "technical difficulties" and there was not estimated time of it being fixed, but if I called my employer to get a trace number they could tell me when it would be deposited. I was dumbfounded by this response and called back to speak to someone else. They would not give me a supervisor but the second woman told me it should be by the end of the day. This morning it's still not there so I call them and get a message "we're sorry we're experiencing technical difficulties please try your call again later" I get this message 3 times. Then I decided to block my number and call again and sure enough I'm on hold now being told "all of our agents are currently busy, please hold for the next available agent." This isn't some new deposit they need to insure will clear, this is my paycheck that they have always cleared before, clearly an unreasonable hold. Not to mention that they didn't notify any of their customers that there was an issue. I could have requested a check be cut, or changed my direct deposit to somewhere else, and I damn sure would not have taken my car to the mechanic if I had known I wouldn't be able to get it back due to this issue. I'm 2 hours away from contacting a lawyer at this point.

I have had a card with them for a number of years... No longer do I receive my money early... Therefore there is no reason for me to keep using them... Likewise on my Facebook prepaid card page I am recommending my followers get rid of Amex Serve and Bluebird. I see where my money was released and is marked as paid into my account last Thursday and Friday and here it is Monday and I still do not have my money and that would be just like a regular Bank... Banks today also have no fee accounts.

Giving 1 Star is a fucking joke ! I am ever so happy and grateful I closed my account with this garbage SERVE CARD. Money being on hold .... servers being down and transactions being declined .... the pay your bill options is a fucking joke and your billing companies weren’t receiving payments .... this card service is a joke .... going back to chase was the best decision I ever made. Do not !!!! Have your taxes come to this card ... you will be awfully sorry. Screw the get your direct deposit one day quicker, you will be happy to wait that one day with another card service. ATM withdrawals are fucking ridiculous when you will be paying an extra $2.50 for each transaction you make (good luck if the ATM have a limit). Customer service is horrible .... wanted to dispute two transactions when instead they denied it saying I made the purchases of two items FROM OUT OF STATE! DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT USE THIS CARD FOR PERSONAL, vacation or tax money. IN ALL HONESTY DONT USE THIS CARD AT ALL .

AMEX Serve systems crashed last Friday 8/24/18 at the same time I was using my card to purchase groceries. $209.58 the card declined twice. Had to use another card, later found out the there was a hold on AMEX serves site for the $209.58, a hold that will not clear for 7 DAYS!! The store shows a decline on the card I have proof with the receipt. But AMEX Serve will not release the funds! So at this point I have paid $419 for $209 worth of groceries! This is the second time they have done this to me! As soon as the funds clear back to my balance I am closing the account

***WARNING*****DO NOT USE THIS CARD OR THIS COMPANY. WE GOT RIPPED OFF BY A MOVING COMPANY AND AMERICAN EXPRESS WOULDN'T REFUND US THE PAYMENT TO THE MOVERS AS IT WAS OVER THEIR 90 DAY LIMIT. NOT A SAFE CARD WITH HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. DO NOT USE AT ALL****

On July 12th someone hacked my account and transferred a total of $629!! ?? They were supposed to investigate but emailed me the NEXT DAY saying i authorized the 2 transfers within 3 mins of each other!!!! Ive had to file a police report and let some responsible adults do their JOB RIGHT!!!! I wouldn't NEVER go back to them!! I have NEVER transferred money to ANYONE, ESPECIALLY NOT $629!!!!

giving you guys one star is being fucking generous. I called to dispute fraudulent charges from my card last week. They told me in 7-8 business days the money will be returned back onto the card. I called on the 8th day and another representative told me "no one put in the request" the last time I spoke to them. Now i'm being transferred 10 different times to 10 different people trying to figure out when I will get my money back. American Express and AMEX Serve you all should just eat shit and die. You have no idea how hard it is for Americans to make their money and you just sit there and avoid fraud on your customers accounts. Shame on you and I pray your business fails. Fuck all of you and go to hell.

When I say the customer service is awful words can’t explain. First it takes 3 times for me to call in order to get a representative.. I had to say Lost & stoke card the last time & it connected me quickly. So the wait time wasn’t long less than 45 seconds. Well I got a rep & he answered. His name was “Darnell” so he say, but I know that wasn’t his name. Well anyway I was going to tell him about my card situation & he cuts me off so I said excuse me sir I’m speaking. He apologized. I continue to tell him my problem he cuts me off again.. by now I’m like how can you help me with my problem if you keep talking over me!? He kept talking so I listened. I then went to speak again & then he cuts me off again by then I got really frustrated and I told him off without cursing. I requested to speak with a manager & he immediately transfered me.. I then sat on the phone for 30+ minutes waiting to speak with someone.. I just decided to hang up this is he worst customer services.

If you are thinking of getting this card, I suggest you don't. I had this card for over a year because I was not able to get a checking account because of my credit history. Luckily I got that resolved. I had money taken out so many times from other account and different transactions from weird places. Not too long ago I had a transaction made from someone named "Loraine Sasser". This lady hacked into my online account and made a direct deposit of all my money into her account and left me with nothing but $0.98. So I called the bank and was on the phone for 2hrs trying to get my issue resolved and I got no where. I suggested they give me a credit or speed up the process and got nothing. This is the worst prepaid card out there. You are probably better off getting green dot. Honestly do not get it. The costumer service representatives are not helpful at all.

Where to Start? Tax Refund- We received our deposit for our tax refund (late) and went to use our card. Denied. Went to the ATM. Denied. Called Customer Service. No calls were getting through. We were not able to access any funds on our card including the funds that were on the card prior to the Tax Refund. AmEx says they received to many funds at once and it crashed their system. Direct Deposits- Like clockwork in the beginning we received our direct deposit on schedule almost down to the minute. After the tax refund issue they began to hold direct deposits. Some times they would not come until the day of. I called and they stated that as soon as the money hits their account they distribute the funds. Well, my company gave me documentation of when the money was sent to my account and I got it the following week. They had not answer for what happened. This has happened on more than a dozen occasions. I have even had problems with my son SSI and my husbands job. So they can't say it was "my companies fault". Refunds- Whether its a refund for a product you return or gas purchased I was told that they could take up to 30 days to refund the money. Really? 30 days. Customer Service: Pointless. As a matter of fact, I noticed that if you have an issue their system suddenly shuts down. This is like every other call. I am starting to think that they are taking advantage of us by holding our money to gain interest on it. Now I have a bank account where I don't have these problems. I guess this is a common thing which is why most stores don't want to accept American Express.

I had unauthorized charges for uber and lyft total 204they woul not credit it back to my card the raud dept told me i had to call uber and lyft this was clear fraud charges i never made what happened to zero liability will not recommend or use this card with jackson hewitt next tax season

BE CAREFUL !! I used mine to pay for gas at the pump. I pumped $19.00 and they put $70.00 ON HOLD. I called and they said that is the practice and it could take a week for the hold to be released and for actual amount to show up. I also used it to purchase a pizza on-line to be delivered. AMEX put the total on hold plus another 20% - they said this is for incidentals until it is settled. It still has not been adjusted. Not a bad card but don't use it for gas at the pump and be careful using it on-line

This card is the worst prepaid cc I have ever had. Anything happens where you have to deal with customer service your in a jam believe that. I think the whole service is trash including but not limited to the customer service it's really just the whole account they hold your money for stupid stuff everything is a 7 day hold terrible company...please avoid them at all cost or don't say I didn't tell you so.

Worst card ever! Cant ever get cash back and fees are horrible. Hard to find atms that dont charge. Alot of places dont accept american express. Never again will i use this for direct deposits im getting a walmart debit card much better i hear.

0 stars!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE, JUST DON'T GET THIS CARD! Believe me, someone (NOT ME) made some transactions from my account, they drained my money, almost $2 000 and this people told me there is no fraud so I don't get my money back! How in the hell could somebody just made 4 money transfers???? Now I have no money!

I liked serve but it’s hard to rely on it as a bank account. I spent 12.00 in atm fees last week because I needed to pay my rent and I didn’t realize WALMART doesn’t have money pass ATMs anymore. Many places don’t accept American Express which causes chaos when you have a buggy full of groceries. The bill pay option is amazing. Honestly some big banks I’ve had didn’t have those type of features. It basically is a bandaid for one of Serve’s bigger flaws, Many of the bills I paid online didn’t accept American Express so I had to set them up as a biller which got the bill paid but I’ll be honest it took a lot longer. I like the sub accounts. They made giving my wife money hassle free. I went at the review in a Serve vs Bank account mindset. Serve however beats every other prepaid card out there. But still I rate it 3/5, if serve was more broadly accepted in my area and had more free ATMs. I would keep the service.