Albo— it is a Mexican fintech and debit bank card. Albo has become popular because you can get a plastic bank card very quickly, even if you are not a resident of Mexico. A virtual card is opened immediately after account activation. However, for non-residents, card replenishment can only be done in cash through chain pharmacies, convenience stores and supermarket checkouts. In this case, restrictions apply to the amount of cash that can be deposited on the card at a time and per month.
Replenishment by direct transfers from other Mexican cards, simply indicating the Albo card number or using the SPEI interbank transfer system, is most often not allowed for non-residents. In addition, it is not possible to top up the card with an international transfer facilitated by SWIFT.
But now it has become possible to top up an Albo card with a transfer from another card using a link generated in the Albo application. In other words, the Albo card owner generates a payment link in the banking application, sends it to the sender, who follows this link, indicates his card details on the page that opens in the same way as if he were buying something online, and transfers the money to the Albo account. The sender can pay from both a Mexican and a foreign card (excluding cards issued in the Russian Federation).
To make payments, Albo uses Clip — leading digital payments and commerce platform in Mexico. Clip arranges for its clients to pay for their services, including Internet payments, acquiring and contactless payments from cards, e-wallets or contactless payment devices.
Commissionfor replenishing an Albo card via a link on the Clip website is a little more than4% of the transfer amount(3.45% + VAT). Clip typically charges users of its services 3.6% + VAT for each transaction, but for Albo they have made a slightly lower fee. In fact, Albo charges this commission, and from the owner of its card, and not from the sender of the money. In other words, the sender will send the amount that the Albo card owner specifies (for example, 10,000 MXN as in the image below). A smaller amount will be transferred to your Albo account, minus the commission (400 MXN). Not a cheap pleasure at all, but if it suits you, read on.
From the Albo app's main screen, select the Recibir tab. On the next page you will see an option to create a payment link accompanied by the Clip payment system.
Next, on the next page you will be asked to enter the replenishment amount. As we said, this is the amount that will be written off from the sender’s card. When you enter the amount, below you will see a calculation of the commission that Albo will subtract from the amount sent. In other words, the sent amount minus the commission will be credited to your Albo account.
After you indicate the amount to be transferred, click on the Genar link button. On the next page you can download a link to the payment page on the Clip website and send it to the sender, for example, via WhatsApp. By clicking on the link, the sender will enter his card details and send you the payment.
Limit for each transfer to an Albo card from the Clip website — no more than 99999 MXN at a time. There are no limits on transfers per day or per month.
If the sender's card is denominated in a currency other than the Mexican Peso, the conversion will take place at the rate of the sender's card payment system, Visa or MasterCard.
Typically, funds sent through the Clip system to an Albo card are credited instantly or within a few minutes.
You can learn about other functional capabilities of the Albo card from thispublications.