Megafon bank card: digital and plastic

The capabilities of a ]Megafon[/anchor] subscriber are growing every day, for example, today you can apply for an operator’s bank card online, it’s called digital and its number completely duplicates the card number. Also, thanks to innovations, you can receive up to 10% of funds on your account balance (cashback).

Everything is controlled by the Megafon Mobile Bank application. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of bank cards, methods of replenishing and transferring funds in this material. Please don't forget to leave your comments.

Megafon bank card - main features

Megafon digital bank card is a virtual card issued under the subscriber’s mobile number. Here your mobile number is your bank card number. When a card is issued, all payments are synchronized, for example, you top up your mobile number and funds are credited to the card, make a purchase in an online store and the money is debited from a single balance.

Megafon plastic bank cards are standard financial settlement instruments designed for making payments and receiving transfers.
You can apply for a card only in Megafon communication stores.

General information

Type – MasterCard Prepaid, issued for a period of 3 years.

The virtual card has standard details attached to it:

16 digit number;
expiration date (month-year);
security code CVC2;
PIN code.

The balance is topped up through your mobile phone account.

A digital card is issued free of charge. In 2021, when applying for a card, you will need to choose one of the paid tariffs.

Tariffs of classic bank cards

In total, three tariff plans have been created for Megafon bank card holders:

Maximum . The most expensive and attractive tariff, for only 199 rubles per month you get 1.5% cashback and as much as 10% on the balance (maximum 200,000 rubles with a positive balance of more than 500 rubles every month).
Standard . There is a cashback of 1 percent (up to 1,000 rubles per month) and 8% is charged on the balance of funds. The cost of card servicing according to the Standard tariff is 149 rubles per month.
Light . When you first connect, you get the first and second months of free service). There is a 6% cashback on your cash balance (maximum 200,000 rubles with a daily balance of more than 500 rubles). The cost of the tariff is 49 rubles per month, and with a turnover of more than 3,000 rubles every 30 calendar days it is free.

An interesting condition is a gift in the form of 10 megabytes of Internet for every 100 rubles spent through a bank card, as well as free SMS information and a protection service against accidental (paid) subscriptions.

Payment limits:

For a digital map . Every day you can withdraw 5,000 rubles in cash, transfer 15,000 and pay for purchases in an amount not exceeding 60,000 rubles.
For a classic card. Every day you can withdraw 50,000 rubles in cash and make a transfer/purchase in the amount of 100,000 rubles.

How to spend bonus megabytes?

Megabytes will be credited within 30 days after the operation. Their number can always be tracked in your personal account through the mobile application. First of all, traffic according to the tariff plan will be consumed, and then bonus megabytes. However, you cannot use them in international roaming. There is no need to activate points; they are activated automatically immediately after the limit is exhausted.

How to apply for and receive a Megafon credit or debit card?

Megafon offers three options for bank cards:

Digital . Release is immediate. Contactless payment (linked to your smartphone or smartwatch).
MasterCard Platinum . All privileges from MasterCard with contactless payment. Named.
Megafon Standard (Mastercard) . A regular debit bank card with your initials on the front. It is possible to make contactless payments.

All physical cards are issued with the participation of the subscriber in the communication salon; you can view and choose a convenient place for registration here: https://bank.megafon.ru/cards. You must have your passport with you.

A digital card is issued instantly; this can be done through the operator’s official website or in the mobile application (section “Issue a digital card”).

Activation of a plastic card is possible in two ways:

By calling 5555 or chatting on the Megafon Bank website.
Using the Megafon Bank application. You need to select “ Activate card ” and set a PIN code.

Cons of a digital card

Compared to a plastic card, a digital one has only two “minuses”:

In order to use a card to pay for goods and services offline, the phone must support NFC technology with connection to Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay wallets. If these functions are not available on the phone, the card is only suitable for online use on the Internet.
Spending limits are significantly lower compared to a plastic card. This is due to incomplete client identification when opening a virtual account.

Otherwise, the “virtual” has all the advantages of its plastic counterpart.

To use extended limits, you need to go to any Megafon office with your passport and get a plastic card. For clients who received plastic, the limits for subsequently issued digital cards will be increased accordingly.

Limits and restrictions compared to plastic

daily spending limits

, thousand roubles:

Virtual	Plastic
Total per day	60	100
Cash withdrawal	5	100
Transfers to cards and payment systems	15	100
Payment for goods and services	60	100

Monthly spending limits

, thousand roubles:

Virtual	Plastic
In just a month	100	600
Cash withdrawal	40	300
Transfers to cards and payment systems	40	300
Payment for goods and services	100	600

Safety

All money is reliably protected from intruders; Megafon uses modern security standards and Mastercard technologies. All data transfers between the bank and the operator are carried out in encrypted form. Card details are not stored in Megafon Bank, but are only requested if necessary via a secure SSL connection.

If you have lost your bank card or it has been stolen, take care of timely blocking using a simple command via SMS message: send BLOCK to 5555 and the card will be instantly blocked.

#2. Cash out up to 10,000 rubles. monthly

This point is relevant for credit cards that do not have the function of free (no commission) cash withdrawal. The essence is the same - you pay for mobile communications, and then 10,000 rubles. cash out at any ATM. Megafon's only condition is that you need to complete the turnover depending on the tariff.

For example, if we are talking about the Light tariff, then you need to spend at least 3,000 rubles. per month. You pay for communication with a credit card for 13,000 rubles. Then for 3,000 you buy groceries in the supermarket or something else, the remaining 10,000 rubles. withdraw from any ATM.

By the way, I use this function not only with credit cards, but also with business cards that are linked to the current account of my individual entrepreneur. Some RKO tariffs have restrictions on free transfer of funds to the accounts of individuals. In addition, by replenishing the phone balance on the operator’s website, we also receive cashback from the bank that services the individual entrepreneur’s current account. Plus, the Megafon card itself awards cashback.

Checking Megafon card balance and other useful commands

To check the balance and cash balance on a bank card, you can send an SMS to the free short number 5555 with the message “Balance”, other operations connected to this number:

PIN – get a new PIN code.
HISTORY – order a statement of the last 10 transactions on the account.
HISTORY NNNN – obtaining details of the expenses of a specific card, where NNNN is the last 4 digits of the card.
BLOCK NNNN – blocking of Megafon bank card (NNNN – last 4 digits of the card).
BLOCK ALL – blocking of all bank cards available and issued to the subscriber.

Additional costs for Megafon Virtual

Registration, blocking and unblocking of a Megafon virtual debit card is absolutely free. For all transactions, no commission will be charged for expenses up to 10,000 rubles per month if the turnover for the current period exceeded 3,000 rubles. The billing period is 1 calendar month. The following procedures have exceptions:

0.75% – withheld from the operation (part of it) if expenses exceed 10,000 rubles for the settlement period;
8% – charged when replenishing an electronic wallet (MCC 4829, 6050, 6051, 6539, 6540);
when withdrawing cash from ATMs and service points, the commission is 2.5% for amounts up to 10 thousand rubles per month, 3.5% for 10–50 thousand rubles, 4.5% for withdrawals over 50 thousand rubles for the current period ;
when withdrawing cash at points of issue – 4.99%.

is provided free of charge.

Contacts

If you need to contact representatives of Megafon Bank, you can use any of the following contacts:

Hotline number - 8 (800) 550 55 00 . The call is free throughout Russia;
Number for calls from abroad - +7;
Short number 5555 , mentioned more than once in this article, is also intended for communication with operators;
Write a direct request via the feedback form on the website using the link: https://bank.megafon.ru/contacts ;
Write to administrators of Megafon groups on social networks: VKontakte - https://vk.com/megafon ;
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MegaFon.ru/ .

Virtual card management

To manage the Megafon virtual payment instrument you will need:

Download the Megafon Bank application to your mobile device. After installing the application, the user must go through the authorization procedure. The account balance and list of payment transactions are available online.
Save SMS and USSD commands. To carry out payment transactions, access to the Internet is not required; you just need to enter the required combination of numbers.

Is it possible to issue several cards for one person?

Each user can apply for up to ten MegaFon cards to their passport for free, and the money will always be protected. They can be linked to a single personal account. This will allow you to always know about the movement of funds and keep complete records. If necessary, you can link each phone you use to a separate MegaFon card, which has its own personal account, and the money will begin to generate income. Since the bank card and phone number are linked, replenishment can be done through regular terminals by depositing money into your phone number. This greatly simplifies working with bank cards.

Description of Megafon’s “Virtual Card”

The Megafon virtual card does not have a material medium; it exists only in digital format. It is an electronic analogue of a plastic bank card, which can be linked to any electronic wallet and used to make online purchases on the Internet. This is very convenient, you will never lose such a card, it will not become an easy prey for pickpockets. Even if a fraudster gains access to your account, he will not be able to withdraw money from it.

The high security of this payment instrument is ensured by a secret code that is assigned to it before paying for the goods. A special code is sent to the subscriber’s phone number via SMS. Thus, virtual card data cannot be used by attackers.

Using VK Megafon, the user can:

Pay for goods in stores and online.
Withdraw and transfer money from the balance of a phone number.
Receive cashback as part of company promotions.
Pay for the purchase of games and applications for your mobile device.

Varieties

Today, there are both debit and installment cards. In the first case, the subscriber manages only his own funds that were deposited into the account. They are released in the form of virtual and physical media. The client has the opportunity to choose the plastic version: contactless, regular.

Megafon Bank provides the following types: Standard, NFC Standard and Gold. When registering, you select a tariff plan under the terms of which bonuses are awarded. Tariffs determine all the details of use. It comes in: Light, Standard or Maximum.

All banking products from Megafon belong to one international payment system, Mastercard. The NFS standard differs from the gold standard only in the ability to pay contactlessly. PayPass technology allows you to make purchases without entering a PIN code. But if you pay a one-time amount of more than 1000 rubles, you will still have to provide a secret code.

The use of standard plastic cards involves inserting them into the terminal and entering the password for the plastic card when performing any offline operations. Gold plastics are considered the most prestigious.

Their owners can enjoy a full range of privileges from the bank. Registration of such a banking product is not available in all regions of the Russian Federation. More details about the registration rules and terms of use are described in the corresponding section on the official website of the mobile operator.

How to withdraw money from a virtual card

You can withdraw cash from your account from an ATM with a contactless module. To make payment transactions, connect VK Megafon to Google Play, Apple Store and Samsung Pay. To pay for purchases in stores, touch your mobile phone or smart watch to the reader. Instructions will appear on the screen of the mobile device describing the actions that the subscriber must perform.

#6. Earnings from other banks

This point is the most interesting, but it can be used in rare cases. Some banks periodically issue cards that award cashback for paying for communication services. This was the case, for example, with the Host card from Rosselkhozbank, with which you could get 10% cashback in the Telecommunications category (mcc 4814). But the number of bonuses accrued was limited to 2000 rubles. per month. For the sake of such a freebie, my wife and I even got two cards (one for me and one for her).

In practice, it looked like this: we received a salary and immediately transferred it to the Owner’s card, paying for communication through the Megafon website. In essence, they transferred money to another card. Then we paid our expenses with Megafon, and the next month we received 4,000 rubles. (2x2000 rubles) from Rosselkhozbank.

Yes, such offers are very rare. Previously, there were much more of them, but then banks saw through this trick and began to cover such shares. However, this does not mean that such actions will not happen again in the future.

Terms of Use

The digital card can be used like a regular credit card. Despite the fact that it is issued without a plastic carrier, it is easy to pay with it in stores - add the card to a special application that allows you to pay for purchases contactless.

Read the terms of the tariff - limits, paid services and options, conditions for calculating cashback and interest on the balance. This way you can use plastic and benefit.

Release and maintenance

Megafon produces Gold category MasterCard plastic. There is no fee for re-issuing the card after expiration. The cost of service depends on the selected tariff plan. It is impossible to refuse the paid tariff.

Tariff plan

Customers are offered a choice of 3 paid tariffs with different conditions - “Light”, “Standard” and “Maximum”.

Light	Standard	Maximum
Interest on balance	6%	8%	10%
Conditions for calculating interest on the balance	The daily balance must be at least 500 rubles. and no more than 200,000 rub.
Subscription fee (per month)	49 rub.	149 rub.	199 rub.
Conditions for free service	turnover more than 3,000 rub. per month	turnover over 10,000 rub. within 1 month	turnover from 30,000 rub. per month

Limits and restrictions

VK has monthly and daily limits on spending funds. You are allowed to spend 60,000 rubles per day, of which:

15,000 rub. - Money transfers;
5,000 rub. - cash withdrawal;
up to 60,000 rub. – payment for purchases.

Monthly spending is allowed within the limit of 100,000 rubles, of which:

40,000 rub. – translations;
40,000 rub. - cash withdrawal;
up to 100,000 rub. - purchases.

Upon request, you can increase the limits to RUR 100,000. per day and up to 600,000 rub. per month. To do this, you need to visit a Megafon retail store with your original passport and get a real plastic card - an analogue of a digital one.