iKobo discontinuing Money Transfer Services

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief November 7, 2008 · 2 min read

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Just got an email from Ikobo saying that they are discontinuing their money transfer services. A copy of the email can be found below:

We regret to inform you that iKobo is discontinuing services. Effective immediately, no further money transfers to your iKobo account will be allowed. Your card issued by Palm Desert National Bank will continue to be active until November 13, 2008. Your card will no longer work after this date. However, the card funds are safe and guaranteed, even after the card is de-activated.

Please use your card at an ATM or to make purchases between now and November 13 to spend down the balance of funds on your card. Any remaining balance as of November 13, 2008 will be refunded to the sender, the US resident, as stated in the bank cardholder agreement (https://www.ikobo.com, link at bottom of page to â€œUS Program Terms and Conditionsâ€) .

We will assist you in any way possible. If you have any further questions regarding the above notice please contact us at [email protected].

It has been a pleasure serving you and we appreciate your business. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Sincerely,
iKobo

I’ve been an Ikobo user since they’ve started advertising on this blog about 2 years ago. I even got the Ikobo Visa Debit Card sent to me so I can withdraw cash from any ATM. Good thing I’ve already withdrawn almost all of my funds via the ATM card.

I’m not really an active user but this is still a surprise. Wonder what caused this. It’s very likely that the global financial crisis is the culprit. This news came in very fast and people outside of the US didn’t have time to get their funds out before the ATM service closes.

In hindsight, I guess that means I need to take down their ad now.

When will iKobo cards stop working?

Cards issued by Palm Desert National Bank will stop working after November 13, 2008.

What happens to funds remaining on the card after deactivation?

Any remaining balance as of November 13, 2008 will be refunded to the sender.

Can I still use my card after the service discontinuation?

The card remains active until November 13, 2008 for ATM withdrawals and purchases.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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27 Comments

supplier perusahaan · 13 years ago

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Charlie @ Georgia 4G Wireless · 15 years ago

Hi, just stopped by doing some research for my Georgia 4g website. Can’t believe the amount of information out there. Looking for something else, but very nice site. Take care.

GIBoris · 16 years ago

iKobo – be careful to make a deal whith them.
I tried to transfer money to Ukraine. After multiple steps iKobo collected all my info: 1.bank account, 2. copy of driver’s license, 3. copy of bank statement, 4. copy of utility bill, 5. bank account confirmation – account was closed “by high security reason”. I spend more than 6 hours on the phone with customer service, bunch of emails with security department and did not received any reasonable explanation. Now iKobo has all info about my account and could use it for non-appropriate purposes. I have to call my bank and made restriction for any transfer by iKobo. If you want to keep your money save – avoid to have any deal with iKobo!

Adriana · 17 years ago

Me llego un mensaje de iKobo diciendome que me gane mucho dinero y que les deposite 120 dolares para los tramites y por supuestono lo hice pero veo con asombroque esta empres ya cerro sus puertas dien que es de IKOBO NIGERIA

anna · 17 years ago

Yeah, Xoom was easier but i dont know what was going on with their service that i cant send money successfully, I am sure that i dont have any problem with my bank account, but when i placed my order to it canceled automatically. I had 3 attempts and the results is still the same. I even tried with another accounts but it worked still the same, i never canceled my transaction, it appeared to my activity graph that they process it and after a few minutes its written Cancellation Complete and there’s no cash collected.

So, I tried to call the customer service…I can not access either, i just had an electronic operator and waiting, waiting for such long still no avail.
Then i tried to call again the next day, doesnt work at all.

Tried to emailed them but cant get my message sent, i dont know why this happening though its not my first time having a transaction with them.

I have no explanations about this problem.

Is there any online money remittance left that is realiable except Western Union? Please help.

Ahu

XYFloyd · 18 years ago

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Juan Carlos Lebrija · 18 years ago

Ajay, iKobo was a licensed money transmitter (Georgia) and as such had a bond with the state guaranteeing the customerâ€™s funds. If your dispute is related to an actual money transfer, a claim can be presented to the banking department in the state of Georgia. Otherwise, the terms and conditions governing the use of the card issued by Palm Desert Bank will apply. Either way time is of the essence.

ajay · 18 years ago

Am an Ikobo user too since they advertised with me. Since August, I disputed an erroneous transaction amounting to $134.72. I guess that money goes down the drain now that they’re folding up. Drats. talk about reliability of online financial services :(

elmer · 18 years ago

Also.. blame the global financial crisis.

Abe, this is out of topic.. what happen to sulit.com.ph did they fold? or, maybe they been hacked that’s what according to pinoymoneyforum.com forum.

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 18 years ago

probably not much users compared to Xoom etc. Their fraud checking is what probably killed them, I remember i had to send in so much documents just to get my card so I can receive funds quickly. Xoom is just so much simpler and faster.