Plastiq makes it possible to pay most bills using your credit card, including those bills that typically require you to write a cheque or set up pre-authorized debits.
Paying your utility bills, rent, taxes, mortgage, insurance, or tuition using a credit card means earning more rewards points and cash back when you spend.
That said, the service offered by Plastiq does not come cheap, and its standard 2.85% processing fee can easily outweigh any benefits you hope to gain.
This Plastiq review covers how it works, fees, competitors, pros and cons, and whether it is legit.
What is Plastiq?
Plastiq is a third-party payment processing platform that allows you to pay most bills using your credit or debit card. It is especially useful when a vendor or service provider does not accept card payments.
You pay Plastiq using your credit card, and it pays them using their accepted means of payment, e.g., cheque, wire, or ACH.
Plastiq was founded in 2012 and has been used by more than 1 million people to make over $2 billion in payments.
How Does Plastiq Work?
You can create an account for free and enter your card details.
Add any recipients you want to pay, their location, business phone number, email, payment method amount, and other necessary details.
If you are going to be making payments to a recipient more than once, you can set up recurring payments and enjoy Plastiq’s Delivery Guarantee.
Plastiq supports payments in about 40 countries and 20+ local currencies. There are no daily transaction limits.
You should note that a wire transfer fee of $60 may apply to global payments in addition to the standard transaction fee.
The debit/credit card types you can use for payments include American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard.
Related: Best Prepaid Credit Cards in Canada.
What Can You Pay With Plastiq?
You can use Plastiq to pay the following:
- Tuition
- Utilities (water, gas, electricity, and internet)
- Car payments
- Insurance
- Taxes (property and income tax)
- Mobile phone plans
- Rent or mortgage and more
If you are a business owner, you can also use it to process international payments to your suppliers.
For tax payments to the Canada Revenue Agency, you can use Plastiq to pay your T1 and T2 return, payroll deduction, excise tax, excise duty, GST/HST, withholding tax for non-residents, and more.
There may be restrictions on the kinds of payments you can make using a card type.
For example, American Express cards are not accepted for mortgages, student loans, and automobile payments. Also, personal prepaid debit card payments are not supported.
Confirm how long it will take for Plastiq to process your payment so you can avoid late payment fees charged by the recipient.
Cheques take up to 8 business days, and EFTs, ACH, and bank transfers take 3 business days in Canada and the U.S.
If your Plastiq account is verified, you may be able to access accelerated payments at an extra fee.
Plastiq Fees
Plastiq has a 2.85% fee when you use your card to make a payment. So if you paid a $1,000 bill, your total fee is $28.50, for a total payment of $1,028.50.
Additional fees may be incurred if your recipient is in a different country and for expedited payments.
Payments to the CRA in Canada attract a lower 2.50% fee.
The fee for payments using U.S.-issued debit cards is 1%.
Is Plastiq Legit?
Plastiq is a legitimate company that has been in business since 2012.
It has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau, where it has been accredited since 2015.
On TrustPilot, the business has a 3.7/5 review rating from users.
As per its website, Plastiq uses bank-grade security to protect your personal information, including AES 256-bit encryption.
Related: Best Credit Cards for Gas.
Pros and Cons of Plastiq
If you need to make a bill payment when you are out of cash, Plastiq makes it possible to use your credit card in the meantime and avoid late payment penalties.
Note that you will need to pay off your credit balance before it is due, or you will be hit with additional interest fees that may be up to 20% per year.
This service may also be useful if you want to reach the minimum spending requirement on a credit card promotion that far outweighs the cost of using Plastiq (i.e. > 2.85% rewards).
Since these sorts of deals are few and far between (especially in Canada), this value proposition is not as attractive.
On the flip side, Plastiq payments come with a 2.85% fee, and this alone makes it a ‘no’ for me. There are barely any cards in Canada with loyalty programs good enough to justify Plastiq as a means for racking up rewards.
Also, it may take a while for your bill to be processed. Keep this in mind, or you may be dinged for late payments by the recipient.
Plastiq Referral Program
Plastiq has a referral program that rewards you for inviting friends to use the platform.
When they sign up using your referral code or link and make a payment (s) totalling $500, you receive 100 Fee-Free Dollars (FFDs).
Fee-Free Dollars are credits you can use to lower your Plastiq fee. For example, if you have $500 FFDs and need to make a $500 payment using Plastiq, your fee is waived.
Plastiq Competition
The two main competitors of Plastiq in Canada are PaySimply and Paytm.
PaySimply has a 2.50% fee and allows you to pay thousands of billers using your preferred payment method.
It accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express credit cards.
Plastiq Review FAQs
The standard fee for making payments with Plastiq is 2.85% for credit cards and 1% for debit cards. In addition to these fees, you may also have to pay cross-border fees and fees for faster processing times.
You can make some mortgage payments using a Mastercard or Discover credit card. American Express and Visa cards cannot be used to pay off your mortgage loan.
You can not pay yourself as a recipient using Plastiq.
Plastiq Review 2022
Overall
Summary
Plastiq allows you to pay all kinds of bills and mortgages using your credit card. This Plastiq review covers its fees, competitors, pros, cons, and whether it is legit.
STAY AWAY FROM PLASTIQ!
I have been a Plastiq customer for a few years now and, until this past month, had been satisfied with their services. On June 23, 2021 I initiated a payment request to pay our 2021 Property Tax (due on July 2nd) as I have in the past. The payment due of $3,553.99 processed to the City account on time. On July 19, 2021 I received my credit card Statement and was shocked to find out that Plastiq had charged me TWICE for the same payment request. The Statement clearly shows TWO charges, one right after the other, for $3,655.28.
On July 20, 2021 I logged into my Plastiq account and started an online “Chat” session with a representative. Unfortunately, despite the importance and urgency in such matters, Plastiq does not offer any telephone support. In the Chat, the agent apologized a number of times for the error “on their part” and assured me it would be looked into and rectified. It apparently needed to be escalated to the “Finance Team” for further review. I requested that someone from Plastiq get back to me by email (the only method of contact offered) within 3 business days. I considered this to be a reasonable period of time to review the information they had as well as the documents I attached and forwarded to them via the Chat app.
I contacted them again by online Chat on July 23, 2021. This time I spoke with a different agent who, while somewhat apologetic about the error and the situation, could not provide me with any information other than to restate that the matter was still in the hands of the “Finance Team” and that they would “reach out as soon as we know more”. He abruptly ended the Chat session after wishing me a “good rest of the day”.
It is now over a week later. No contact has been received nor any refund posted to my credit card.
It is completely unacceptable that: 1. Such an error occurred and was not caught internally in the 27 days that followed; 2. That there is no telephone support available for such situations – any respectable financial institution provides telephone support, especially when it comes to errors and overcharges – and, 3. That it has now taken over a week since I first contacted Plastiq about the problem, and more than 30 days since the error occurred, and no one has seen fit to contact me about it! Having to patiently wait for a company while it takes its time to investigate and reimburse my credit card of almost $4,000 is absolutely ridiculous! I WILL NEVER USE PLASTIQ TO MAKE A PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD EVER AGAIN!!!
I used Plastiq to pay for my daughter’s university tuition. When I reviewed my credit card bill they had charged me twice for the tuition of 6900.00. I contacted the university to see if they received the funds twice, which they had not. I then contacted Mastercard, where they confirmed that Plastiq had put the 6900 twice, 12 seconds apart. It was very difficult to contact Plastiq as they have no phone contact information. I emailed the first time and they suggested I wait to see if it “was pending and would be reversed.” After a few days, I used their online chat program. Their only advise was to get my credit card company to dispute it. I asked to talk to someone else in person and they said it was not possible. I reconnected with my credit card company and they said they would investigate it, but it could take up to 45 days. They also confirmed again that Plastiq had definitely received the funds twice. This is a very large sum of money to have to carry on my credit card.
I am in the process of contacting the university to inform them of my experience when using this product and to see if there is an alternative way to pay for tuition. I definitely will not be using this service.
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE.
Received an email yesterday that my payment to CRA would be cancelled and going forward no more payments. In order to not have a late payment I paid immediately by PaySimply. Funny thing, the payment went through my credit card instead of being reversed. The short reply from them was just that my payment has been made. Can’t speak directly to anyone. Turnaround time >24 hours for emails. No one should use their service anymore.
USE PAYSIMPLY INSTEAD. Cheaper and can’t possibly have worse customer service.