Nowadays, all countries have their own specific online payment methods, and it’s quite normal, considering that each country also has its own specific laws and regulations, especially when money transactions are in question.
Overview
Papara is one such service, as it operates on the Turkish market exclusively. It started off in April 2016 under permission from the local Banking Regulation and Supervisions Agency and it is actually a pioneer on the Turkish market, offering the first prepaid card on the market. By the end of its first business year, the number of users has climbed to hundreds of thousands of users, and now they can track down a transaction made using their service each 7 seconds.
The Transactions
In order to use your Papara account and card for purchasing things, you first need to load it with cash from your bank account. There are 15 banks in Turkey that support such wire transfer, but in order to do that, you can also rely on tens of thousands of ATMs all across Turkey. Sending money or shopping is easy then, and probably the best bit about it all is that all you need is an email address and a phone number.
Papara PrePaid Card
There are actually two different types of Papara prepaid cards available, with or without the chip. The main difference here is that the chip card comes with a 10 Turkish Lire fee, which is double the amount required for the chipless one, but it also allows for a much bigger spending limit of 250,000 TL, compared to its chipless counterpart’s 50,000 TL. Last but not least, it gives you the option to withdraw cash, whatever your location is. This will be much appreciated by those who like to gamble online.
Papara Edu Card
This is yet another type of prepaid card that’s been designed with parents and parenting problems in mind. This is an excellent way of loading some cash onto a card and being to able to monitor the expenses via an app, so it’s actually a great pocket money system.
How to Get a Papara Card?
Chipless cards are obviously much easier to obtain as they can be purchased from various sales points around Turkey, but they can also be ordered from N11, Hepsiburada, or Gittigidiyor.
If you still prefer obtaining a chip card, the first thing you need to do is to open an account. Don’t worry, it’s free, it’s easy, and it won’t really take long. They will ask for your name, surname, phone number, email address, and the password you plan on using for your account. If you like you can also sign up much faster by using your Facebook account (if you have one, of course).
Once you’re done signing up, log in to your account and click the “Apply” button on the Papara Card page. When you get there, you will prompted to type in the adrress to which you want your card delivered.
When this process is finished, the card will get printed, and sent away by courier service. It commonly takes 4-7 business days for your card to arrive, and it arrives with a contract that requires your signature.
Now that the contract is signed, simply sit down at your computer and log in to yout account. Once you’re there, you need to pay a visit to the page named “Activate from the Papara Card”. On your card there will be certain info, and you will be prompted to type in that very same info. This will activate your card, and then you can use it for purchases anywhere in the world or online.
Fees
As soon as your card gets activated you can use it to make withdrawals anywhere in the world. All Papara cards come with a monthy card fee that’s 1 TL. This fee is charged only in those months when you use your card. This fee is charged with each first transaction of the month.
On top of this there is yet another fee for all Papara card users, and that’s 4.90 TL for Chipless Papara Card users, and 9.90 TL for those who use a card with a chip.
If you wish to withdraw cash from an ATM it will take away further 0.25 TL for each transaction. All domestic transactions that take place within Turkey involve a 1.15% + 1 TL fee per transaction, while all foreign transactions of up to 500 TL come with a 5 TL fee. Abroad transacation of over 500 TL come with a 1% TL fee.
As you can see, there are numerous fees for using this type of ewallet service, but apparently, Turkish players aren’t left with many online payment choices.
FAQ and Customer Support
If at any time you stumble upon an issue or you simply need some questions answered, it’s good to know that there is quite a comprehensive FAQ page on the site, segmented into several categories, including Upload Money, Money Check, Send Money, Checkout/Shop,Papara Card, Edu Card, Debit/Credit Cards, and Account Settings.
If you still need to reach out to the customer support staff, you can write them an email and address it to [email protected]. Those of you who have urgent matters that need to be resolved should definitely pick up the phone and dial 0850 340 0 340.
On top of all this you can follow them and contact them on various social media networks, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Mobile users with surely appreciate the fact that the official apps are available for free download, and both Android and iOS users are covered.
