TL:DR: Payza gave me less than half the value of my Steem for a transaction they cancelled that I tried to get refunded repeatedly over the course of roughly two months.
I hate drama. I truly do, but if telling this story can help someone else to avoid my mistakes, the story must be told.
I spent months researching cryptocurrency cards so that I could find a way to spend Steem that's available to people who aren't citizens of the US or EU. I posted about that here. There weren't many options to choose from but I signed up with Payza.
On December 14th I sent 40 Steem to Payza. I was trying to access the Payza card. Their website said altcoin transactions would take 24 hours and that I'd receive approximately $67.60 for my Steem. They also stated "An initial exchange rate will be shown at the time your deposit is created in your Payza account, but the final exchange rate will only be calculated when your altcoins are received by Payza." . Five or six days passed without my transaction being completed or any word of explanation from Payza so I used the website’s contact form and explained my situation.
On December 20th, a Payza agent emailed and basically stated that I should send the Steem again. I told them that the transaction was visible on the Steem blockchain (40 Steem left my account and arrived in the account they specified with the memo they specified). I sent links to both wallets. They asked for screenshots. I sent screenshots. They asked for screenshots of a different size, I sent them and on it went.
On December 22nd I received an email from Payza that stated "Your deposit By Altcoin - Steem transaction has been refused." It also stated, "If you wish to try again, you can log in to your Payza account at: https://www.payza.com and go to Add Funds to create another deposit by By Altcoin - Steem."
I thought this was an error (after all, I no longer had the 40 Steem, why would I send more) so I messaged again asking when I would receive the cash in my Payza wallet. Days passed without a response. It seemed they had no interest in completing the transaction and I was really suspicious of the company by now so on December 26th I started asking when my Steem would be refunded to my Steem wallet. They never acknowledged my question.
I started leaving messages on their Facebook page and speaking with their social media team (always asking for a refund). They were less abrasive than the email reps and promised to pass my concerns along to their banking team. Still, nobody said if or when I would receive my Steem. They never even mentioned that Payza had stopped facilitating Steem transactions. I had to figure that out myself (along with the fact that they no longer offer a Payza card).
Having received no emails from them since December 26th, out of the blue on February 8th they sent an email saying my transaction was complete and my Payza wallet contained $67.60. This email contained no apology for the 56 day delay on what they advertised as a 24 hour transaction. I checked my Payza account and the $67.60 was there and had been for all of 20 minutes. I quickly hopped over to coinmarketcap.com to check the value of Steem. My 40 Steem was worth roughly $152 at the time the transaction was completed. Receiving $67.60 would be logical if the price was fixed at the moment the transaction was initiated BUT they repeatedly stated that it was not. The email on February 8th also said, "Lastly, transaction once completed cannot be cancelled or reversed."
I believe they “completed” the transaction despite my multiple requests for a refund just so they could say I had no further grounds to ask about my Steem. Is it also possible that they sold the 40 Steem when it spiked to $292.40 on January 3rd? Clearly I’ll never know. I know these are really small figures but there is something very suspicious going on here and if this is a scam and not just gross incompetence, it could be very lucrative if they're engaging in it consistently. So I owe a duty to anyone else around here who might get suckered by Payza.
Anyone else’s good experiences with Payza do not negate my horrible one. There are many negative reviews online that I wish I’d seen before I tried them out. This was my experience and due to the unwillingness of their staff to answer my questions (coupled with the ever changing stories), I have no clue why this occurred. But it did. I feel stupid for not researching them more but what’s done is done.
Please resteem (even if you don’t upvote). I want everyone on Steemit to understand that based on my experience, Payza's rules are bendable in their favour and they will not hesitate to ignore your concerns.
Image sourced from pixabay.com