Since the disappearance of PayPal’s free online prize pools, is it still possible to collect money for a birthday, a going-away party or a weekend with friends without paying commissions? The answer is yes, but there are a few conditions to meet.
Until 2021, PayPal was the meeting place for those who wanted to collect money without breaking the bank. For 5 years, the electronic payments giant offered its users the opportunity to create online prize pools, then collect the money and spend it without charging them a single euro. Before giving up, almost overnight, to concentrate on other services.
In doing so, PayPal left a gap for users, but opened a boulevard for competition. Who got into it? Not many people, ultimately: during our market tour, we identified 3 players offering free online prize pools, provided that certain conditions are met.
Lyf, minimal constraints
Like PayPal in its time, Lyf uses free online prize pools as a flagship product, in order to attract new users and make your brand known. The French payment application, which counts BNP Paribas and Crdit Mutuel Alliance Fdrale among its shareholders, is known for its QR Code payment solution. But she also wishes make a place in money exchanges between individuals.
This is why Lyf only imposes one condition to create a free prize pool: open a Lyf account with verified profile, that is to say with presentation of an identity document. The operation takes place entirely in the Lyf mobile application, available on iPhone and Android, and takes just a few minutes.
For the rest, Lyf does not charge for the use of the bank card to deposit money into the kitty, nor for the transfer necessary to recover the money collected in a bank account. This money, moreover, can be spent directly with the Lyf application, at points of sale accepting it as a means of payment.
Lydia, the extra bank card
Increasing the number of users: this is also Lydia’s motivation. Like Lyf Pay, the French payment application conditions access to free prize pools opening an accountwith presentation of proof if you wish to collect and spend more than 150 euros per 30 days (1). As with Lyf, this opening is done from the mobile application in a few minutes.
The establishment of electronic money adds to this a little extra: it allows you toequip this account with a bank card for freewhich can be used to spend the money collected without transferring it to another account.
Be careful of the limits!
Obviously, there are few prize pools intended to collect very large sums. However, it is better to keep in mind certain limits imposed by Lyf and Lydia on the use you can make of the money.
Lyf allows you to collect up to 10,000 euros per kitty. Once the money is collected, the limit for payments and money transfers are fixed 3000 euros per day And 15,000 euros per year with a verified profile: the one for external transfers 10,000 euros per year.
At the house of Lydia, the prize pools can reach up to 30,000 euros. There payment limit is it fixed 3000 euros per month. To go beyond (up to 25,000 euros per month), you must upgrade to the Lydia Black+ paid plan (9.90 euros per month).
Tribee, 5% of the collection for an association
Among the pure online prize pool specialists, Tribee is the only one that charges neither the participations nor the transfer necessary to recover the money. In short, offer free prize pools.
However, you will not be able to recover all of the money collected. The principle of Tribee is as follows: 95% of the collection for you, 5% for an association chosen from those selected by the platform.
Specialists often paying
In addition to Lydia, Lyf and Tribee, there is no shortage of online prize pool services. The best known are Leetchi and Le Pot Commun. Let us also mention two other actors, We participate! or Papayoux.
They all have in common invoice the delivery service. Creating the prize pool is always free. Some, on the other hand, charge a commission for each participation, in particular in order to cover the cost they bear to accept power by bank card. Others choose to charge for the transfer of the money collected, with commission levels that vary depending on the amount. note however: Leetchi does not charge any fees if the amount recovered is less than 150 euros. The Common Pot, for its part, allows you to use the money collected free of charge, if it is used at Amazon, in the form of a gift card.
| Platform | Price | Who pays? |
|---|---|---|
| Leetchi | Free under 100 euros collected 6% of the amount collected, from 100 to 10,000 euros 1.5% of the amount collected, above 10,000 euros | Organizer |
| The Common Pot | 4% of the amount collected, below 2000 euros 2.9%, from 2000 euros collected | Organizer |
| We’re participating! | 3.9% of the amount deposited, per participation (0.90 euros minimum) | Participant |
| Papayoux | 1.9% of the amount deposited + 0.25 euros, per participation | Organizer or participant |
Rate statement as of January 20, 2024
(1) Beyond 150 euros in flows, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations require verification of the identity of the account holder.