How to send payment to FairPhone without a working banking app (they no longer allow Bank-to-Bank (SEPA))?

Discuss The Industry
1

My 6(-ish) year old FP3 currently has a dark screen but does vibrate and shows other signs of life. Whilst I will continue to investigate resolving the screen issue, I have (somewhat reluctantly) decided to replace it with an FP6+ (probably Android). The catch: How can I make the payment? I have the money, but how do I get the money to FairPhone?

My banking app is on the FP3 (my only phone). My FP3 is “dead”. Without the banking app, I am unable to confirm the on-line order. I had assumed FairPhone would accept a bank-to-bank transfer (SEPA) but apparently that was discounted in 2024: “We no longer accept Bank Transfer as a method of payment. This option was retired on March 27, 2024. We’re confident that our current selection of payment methods provides a smoother and more efficient experience for all our customers.” — https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/201060927-Available-payment-types

Unable to use my card or SEPA, none of the listed payment options is acceptable (and I rather suspect they will all (probably) require card confirmation (“PrCCC”), which is impossible). I’ve omitted options which do not work where I live (France):

✗ PayPal: No f-king way. And PrCCC.

✗ UnionPay (Online Banking): Never heard of it, but it is based in an untrustworthy country I’ve had problems with before, so no f-king way. Unsure about PrCCC as it’s not European?

✗ Pay-after-delivery (Klarna Payment); Not necessary, probably more expensive (it seems to be an instalment payment system), and PrCCC, so highly unlikely?

✗ Google Pay: No f-king way, no f-king way, absolutely no f-king way! And PrCCC.

SEPA would be so much easier! Any ideas?

I will try e-mailing(probably) FairPhone support. One good thing about not having a phone is I will not(?) have to fight that f-king stupid A“I” bot when contacting FairPhone via their site (or being put on indefinite hold); both of which have been what’s happened to me the past few years… Grrrrr.

I suppose I could buy the cheapest(?) Android phone I can find locally, install my SIM and the banking app, and use that to place the order. (As I recall I’ll have to physically visit my bank to change the phone the app is tied to, so I won’t ask to use even a trusted friend’s phone.) Grrrrr. FairPhone is stocked by one of the French mobile services (Orange), but there isn’t an Orange shop near me and it’d be hit-or-miss whether or not they have any FP(6(+))'s in stock, etc etc…

Apologies if this sounds like a Rant. SEPA, FFS, SEPA is the answer. Silly FairPhone. Constructive suggestions are very welcome!

2

Don’t know where you’re at - get some cash and buy it locally? Here are official sales points: Where to buy | Fairphone

But in the forum you will find more ideas, maybe also more available in your area? Or: Check if they have other payment methods you like more.

✏ List of Fairphone 5 Resellers (somewhat outdated, but ideas for which dealers to check)

3

Looks like nobody has bothered to add French resellers to our community assembled list of resellers.

Fairphone itself has a list of resellers at Where to buy | Fairphone and there are a couple listed for France.

Maybe you can order with one of them if they offer a payment method to your liking.

4

I also think that the lack of SEPA payment options is a major problem for many people who are seriously considering buying a Fairphone and in terms of the impression of the company Fairphone it evokes.

However, just some speculation as to the “why”: While for a really big price tag as that of the Fairphone 6+, the added manual administrative hassle a SEPA payment creates for the company probably still works out economically, for smaller items (think 5€ silicone earbud tips) it seems obvious that this hardly works out. And I would doubt that Fairphone’s shop system would allow for different ranges of payment options depending on product (like SEPA allowed for phones and perhaps Fairbuds XL, but not for accessories, spare parts, Fairbuds …).

5

There are shop systems which can do this, though.
(shop.deutschepost.de is an example, omitting payment options they else have when you just order some online stamps, but I don’t know which shop system they use.)

6

A1 have a temporary spare / borrowed phone from a friend

A2 go to bank / online and unlock the payment card, use that to buy the phone

B maybe on murena store they have different payment methods

anyway, I also hope direct SEPA payments will be available in more and more shops, since I hate credit cards also

7

A1: the phone must be factory - resettable

C: if you have cash enough, you can buy a payment card in a shop, put credit in it, buy

D: there are second hand shops with FP6 with other payment methods

E: have some friend pay for you and you instant SEPA him

8

Hi

not sure how helpful that is but here is my experience.

When my FP5 was sent to repair, I realised online payments might be an issue. With one bank I was able to call them and sort it over the phone, the second one I had to visit in person with my ID. It felt strangely limited.

But I had my old physical SIMcard and a backup phone so I could switch to text confirmations (I know not all banks seem to like it, and some institutions might even expect you to have a smartphone to proceed).

I also used Klarna - so far once, it was very pleasant, I gave them my card details, did not have to pay more and I managed to break the whole price into three installments. I understand it might not be a preferred way, and it might be a bit more confusing to return a device or claim a warranty, but I never had to do any of that with my shining coffee machine.

9

Does orange not offer SEPA payment or other payment options?
If you were already willing to wait for delivery from fairphone, you could just order it online from orange?
Promotion Le Fairphone Gen.6+ 5G bleu cobalt 256 Go : modulaire et éthique - Orange

With fairphone being a Dutch company I’m pretty sure for bank transfers they opted for the Netherlands only iDeal and its European counterpart wero. I see more and more businesses moving away from SEPA in the future, to be honest.

Klarna typically lets you use your bank account for payments in many countries and the flexible payment is the “hook” however during checkout you also have the option to just pay the full amount at once.

11

Wallace already mentioned it, but I think it deserves to be singled out a bit more prominently again (I am aware it does not help blf given the lack of a working smartphone) that this seems to have been recently (?) enabled:

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12

You mean Wero (which technically is a SEPA Instant Credit Transfer under the hood)?

In that case it still needs your bank to participate in the Wero system (my GLS does, my old Triodos Deutschland didn’t).
And when I recently tried to use a “Wero” payment with this additional “iDEAL” logo, my banking app said that the corresponding QR code isn’t a valid Wero QR code.

And I think yesterday when I ordered some accessories, there was no Wero available for me (otherwise I would have chosen it instead of credit card payment). You are talking about the Fairphone shop, right?

13

Yes. I actually became aware of it from a comment on Instagram today. My first screenshot is from my shopping cart at shop.fairphone.com

14

thank you @blf for this post. I just had a similar experience. my FP3 died, and I wanted to buy the FP6+.

obviously I couldn’t use the credit card (for lack of a phone) and I won’t use google pay or Klarna.

@ all I don’t know if it is the same in all countries, but in Germany purchasing anything with Klarna - no matter whether you pay all at once or in bits - has really negative side effects! (for all Germans: durch die Anwendung von Klarna wird Euer Schufa-Score schlechter!! ist uns gerade passiert, und wenn Ihr Euch dann auf ne Wohnungsanzeige bewerben wollt …).

I have no idea why Fairphone - one of the very few European smartphones about - does not allow its customers to pay via SEPA.

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a payment-integration system of the European Union that makes cross-border bank transfers in euros as fast, cheap, and simple as domestic payments. It allows individuals and businesses to make cashless euro transfers to any account within the zone using a single bank account and an International Bank Account Number, under the same basic conditions and charges as transfers within their own country (wikiped)

why this focus on google pay and Klarna?

so frustrating.

oh and @blf - my partner paid for my FP6+ and I pay him back as soon as I have all the security app blabla accesses.

15

@Ruth_FP1

Your statement - “in Germany purchasing anything with Klarna - no matter whether you pay all at once or in bits - has really negative side effects!” - got me interested to check my Schufa score, because I often use Klarna with the pay later option and was completely unaware of any possible negative side effects.

Based on my research / experience, I strongly disagree with your statement. I looked into my Schufa score in detail, and the only possible places where I could have lost points due to using Klarna are:

1. “Neue Konto & Kreditkartenanfragen oder Abschlüsse”

2. “Kein laufender oder erledigte Ratenkredit”.

With regards to 1. I lost 35 points (with a maximum loss of 117 points). I have opened actual accounts with Klarna within the last 12 months so that I could use my garmin watch in emergencies to purchase items in shops. But this loss is then not related to using Klarna to pay later. These were actually new accounts opened with Klarna.

With regards to 2. I lost 10 points, but I have the impression there that that is because I simply don’t use credit to be able to increase my credit score. There were no negative points to be seen here, only my +9 points for “kein Ratenkredit”. And if Klarna is somehow responsible for a loss here, the maximum points loss is only 19.

So, it is impossible for Klarna to be responsible for the loss of more than 45 points for me, but without the opening of actual Klarna accounts in the last 12 months, it could reasonably be 0.

And I am happy to see my Schufa score is Hervorragend, although barely. I lost most of my 164 points due to not living in Germany for long enough, and not having any immobilienkredit. The absolute maximum loss of 45 points (which I believe is actually closer to 0) is not significant in relation to my other score deductions.

But if you can point me in the direction of information as to how Klarna may damage my Schufa score when I pay everything as agreed (whether all at once or in installments), I would be interested to know more.

16

Thank You to everyone for the ideas and generally helpful discussion.

Please allow me to clear up a few minor things:

✓ I have the money. (Cash if needed.) Not an issue.

✓ I have my Credit Card (“CC”). It is not blocked. I can and do use it almost every day in the shops.

✗ What I cannot do is use my CC to make an online payment. This is because I need both SMS and my bank’s App, which means I need a working mobile, which I do not (currently) have.

FairPhone’s shop locator confirmed what I suspected, not only are there very few shops with FairPhones near me (ironically, the closest is in the one Orange shop I know about), but none of them have the FP6(+) in stock. (FairPhone Support did reply quickly but essentially only confirmed they no longer accept SEPA; they did not mention the shop locator.)

Whilst my bank is offering Wero, I’ve not looked into it, nor do I know if it requires the App and/or SMS. Alternatively, according to my bank’s website there is a method of making online payments when you do not have a mobile. I’ve never done that, so am uncertain of the details, but apparently they issue you with a secret code which you then somehow enter when making the online purchase. And it seems to be an either-or thing, either you use the mobile App, or else the secret code; you cannot have a secret code as an emergency backup. And you need to physically visit the bank to obtain a secret code. That, or Wero might be an option, I do not know.

Finally, q Big Shoutout to @wallacewells for the tip on Orange. This is the option I am pursuing, for two reasons: The FP6+ is currently on Special Offer at a reduced price, and I’m a long-time user of Orange (which causes an additional discount). Indications are I can get the FP6+ at less than half the price (more than a 50% reduction!) from FairPhone’s price, if I can resolve the how-to-pay problem before the Special Offer ends. Yeah, I can pay full price, but that sort of discount has grabbed my attention…

I currently expect to have Good News soon…
Again, Thank You for all ideas, tips, and discussion on this annoying problem.

17

Wero is currently App-only, so not a viable alternative for you at the moment.

18

congratulations, that is really great!

Because of the similar problems I encountered I wrote to fairphone and asked about SEPA, no answer yet but will keep you in the loop.

19

Hi @JimboX! thank you for your comment - I’ll answer later!

(or maybe just in a personal message? )

20

Getting a new phone directly from Orange is a good idea, for another reason.

Summer 2025, I ordered the FP6 from Orange, fast delivery, straightforward set up etc etc.

Very happy with it until 6 weeks later the phone no longer recognised the SIM card, mine or any other one.

We went to the Orange store nearby, and it was quickly verified that there was a problem with the phone and the SAV (service après vente, after sales service) was activiated.

Phone returned to Orange, was quickly replaced with a new one as it could not be repaired.

Should you require SAV with a new FP6, getting Orange near you to deal with it will be far less complicated than dealing with FairPhone itself, in my opinion.

21

Hi @JimboX

sorry for my late reply.

Just to follow up on the Klarna thing: Apparently, up until two years ago, Klarna transactions definitely had a negative impact on your Schufa score. And now that’s supposedly no longer the case. So my information wasn’t up to date. (see Bezahlen mit Klarna: Wirkt sich das negativ auf die Kreditwürdigkeit aus? )

I haven’t been actively following this anymore, and I’d have to double-check the data, but I thought that less than two years ago, my Schufa score had dropped, and Klarna was cited as one of the reasons.

In any case, even if Klarna no longer hurts your Schufa score, it did so for years—that’s why they’re still no option for me.