DJRoombasRoomba t1_ixondzm wrote on November 25, 2022 at 2:05 AM

Reply to comment by elentiyaa in A (maybe stupid) question about the Septa key? by [deleted]

This is good, thank ya

aintjoan t1_ixoprw5 wrote on November 25, 2022 at 2:27 AM

In case it's not clear - any money you put on the card using a fare machine or the SEPTA Key website will NOT be available for anything but paying SEPTA fares even if you activate the debit card functionality. They are separate pots of money, if you will.

I'm also not sure how much longer the debit card functionality will be available. It was an interesting and well-intended idea - many Philadelphians are unbanked and the thought was that this would give them a way to have a debit card without a bank account - but in practice almost no one uses it.

DJRoombasRoomba t1_ixoqm8y wrote on November 25, 2022 at 2:34 AM

This is the last thing I wanted to hear.

So you're essentially saying that my money is stuck and can't be used for anything except Septa rides?

Edit - I don't even know why I asked this when you already said exactly that. Was hoping I misunderstood but don't think I did.

Thanks anyway

aintjoan t1_ixosty5 wrote on November 25, 2022 at 2:55 AM

Yes, you're understanding correctly.

I don't know that you'll get anywhere, but you could try calling SEPTA Key customer service. Maybe if you explain that you were confused about how the Key wallet works versus the debit card functionality they'd consider giving you a refund. Probably not, but, it might be worth a try.

The good news, ish, is that your fare money won't expire if you register the Key card. The card itself will expire in a couple of years, but if you still haven't used the fare money by then you can have it transferred to a new Key card. So you could try to look at this as paying ahead on a whole bunch of SEPTA rides. The system has its problems, of course, but its reach is pretty extensive.

DJRoombasRoomba t1_ixotej8 wrote on November 25, 2022 at 3:00 AM

It was basically my grocery/hygiene products money until my foodstamps reload, so this is very less than ideal. Also I tried Septas customer service number before I made this post but it's automated and said to call back during business hours, then auto-hangs up on you. So yeah, just a not great sitch all around.

For real, thanks for the information though. At least I can temper my hope now.