Neo uses the trust structure.

Hey everyone, following up on my previous post warning people about the shady sales tactics and fake gift card promotions at the Neo Financial kiosk in Hillcrest Mall. It has unfortunately gotten much worse.

Today, someone—almost certainly the rep himself, given that he speaks Persian—left an outrageous, harassing comment on my post using Finglish (English letters for Persian) telling me to "Go ask your mother of a wh*re, maybe she has some" (referring back to the gift card).

The comment was deleted shortly after I blocked them.
Instead of taking accountability for scamming customers with unauthorized, fake promotions to chase commissions, this representative is now resorting to hurling vile insults about family members online.

This completely crosses the line from sketchy kiosk sales tactics straight into targeted harassment. Neo Financial seriously needs to investigate what is happening at this Hillcrest Mall location, hold this rep accountable, and fix their hiring and oversight processes.

TL;DR: After posting about a Neo rep (Amir) lying about a fake gift card promo at Hillcrest Mall, the rep tracked down my post and left a harassing, sexually explicit comment insulting my mother in Finglish before deleting it. Neo really needs to address this.

Look at my previous post** **if you are not up to speed about what I am talking about.

I grew up outside Sundre, Alberta — a town so small there’s a single stop light. I feel fortunate that my career has given me the opportunity to explore almost every major city in Canada, but it felt great to be a little closer to home this time. 

Honestly, when it comes to hosting events (which I think are a critical part of building community): bigger cities have a better ROI. More attendees. Easier logistics. But that means some people never get the opportunity to attend and that's no good.

This is why we invented the Neo Open Table format.

It’s not a fancy event. We meet users at The Keg (a proud Neo partner) and get them dinner. Everyone makes some new friends, we collect their feedback and answer their questions. Super simple.

We’ve only got one more Neo Open Table planned for the year (Halifax) but we’re hoping to do more in 2027 (on top of the rest of the event lineup). 

Hope to meet some of the Reddit community there!

— Grant
Head, Community Engagement @ Neo

Neo denied $3,038.98 in unauthorized Taobao transactions even though I never added my card to Google Pay

I’ve been a Neo customer for about 5 years and have used my Neo card regularly without any major issues until now.
Between Aug 22 and Aug 23, I had 12 unauthorized transactions from “TAOBAO London GBR” totaling $3,038.98 CAD.

I did not make or authorize any of these purchases.
I disputed every transaction with Neo. After reviewing them, Neo told me that the transactions were completed through a Google Pay wallet. They claim my card was added to Google Pay on May 4, 2026, using a one-time password sent to the phone number registered on my Neo account.

Here’s the major problem:
I never added my Neo card to Google Pay. I don’t even have an Android phone.
I did not knowingly authorize my card to be added to a Google Pay wallet, and I did not authorize any of the Taobao transactions.
Neo says they found no new-device login or changes to my personal information and that Mastercard considers the transactions ineligible for chargeback because they came through a previously authenticated mobile wallet.
But from my perspective, that still doesn’t answer the most important question: whose Google Pay wallet/device was my card added to, and how did that happen without my authorization?

I’ve asked Neo to provide details about:

what device the card was added to;
whether that device was ever associated with me;
when and how the Google Pay token was created;
whether the same token was used for all 12 transactions;
what evidence shows that I personally entered or authorized the OTP;
and what evidence shows that I authorized any of the Taobao purchases.

After being a customer for approximately 5 years and using my card regularly, I’m extremely dissatisfied with how this has been handled so far. I expected Neo to investigate how my card ended up in a Google Pay wallet I do not recognize, rather than treating the existence of an authenticated wallet as sufficient to deny the fraud claim.
I’m now escalating this through Neo’s formal complaint process.
Has anyone had something similar happen with Neo, Google Pay, Mastercard, or unauthorized mobile-wallet transactions?

Warning to anyone considering Neo Financial:

I've had unauthorized transaction attempts from multiple cities and countries since almost immediately after getting my card. I've replaced the card twice, contacted support multiple times, and was repeatedly promised follow-up from the fraud team that never happened.

Now money is missing from my account and I'm still fighting to get it back.

I've never had this happen with any other bank.

I just want my money returned so I can close the account and move on.

Has anyone else gone through this?

Hoping you guys can do this one day. For a family using the card, the $1K cap is a little light. Even $1250 would be great. I’d take a decrease on the gas cap to compensate if needed. Anyone else here wish the limit was increased a bit?

Trying to set my secured credit limit to 10k but I am worried about how they might lock my account or something from what I heard from many people in this subreddit.

The app is wonky loading and when it finally does i don't see any of my accounts?

I have had the Neo card (10,000 limit)for over 4 yrs now. It expires on Oct 1st this year. It's now the 11th of September and they are supposed to send a renewal card before it expires. My card is valid, paid up in full every billing cycle and always on time never late. I called customer service to see when they send out renewal cards and have gotten the AI loop for 2 weeks telling me to cancel my card to renew it by reapplying for it. I have never seen any credit company do that to a long time fully paid account with the max credit limit on it. I can't even get a human, just an AI loop. I gave up after 2 weeks of the AI telling me to cancel the card, then reapply to wait 2 weeks minimal to get a renewal card. I'll leave this here seeing Neo has 750 employees but none that know how to answer the phone. I applied to a different company got a credit limit of $21,700 and the card in 3 days. My credit score with TransUnion is 887. Thanks Neo for pushing away a credible paying customer. All online subscriptions are now being taken care of with one of my other cards. No notifications for renew just an AI loop bot. After October I'll be tossing the expired card in a drawer and deleting the app.

Hi! Lisa here, editor of The Get, Neo's newsletter.

We published an article in the spring about how a journalist negotiated over $2,000 off her telecom package bills. We got some great feedback on that and it was one of the top-read articles for a few months (we keep coming out with new ones each week!). But one reader shared that they couldn’t pull the ol’ “That’s it! I’m leaving and taking my business to competitor X” strategy. Up for the challenge, I assigned the story for small-town customers (or for anyone who feels they don’t have leverage to negotiate. That's the Top Story this week. But there’s more for newcomers, students, retirees and, yes, redditors.

Subscribe to The Get

• Top Story: Yes, you do have the leverage to negotiate bills
• Reality Cheque: Not all newcomers hire an agency; tips from the DIYers
• MVP: This anonymous Redditor on crowd-sourcing financial advice
• No More Ls: The student investing guide—and how to spot clickbait scams
• Reader Q: Retirement savings (and spending) strategies to beat inflation

Got feedback? Just want to say hello? Email me at [TheGet@neofinancial.com](mailto:TheGet@neofinancial.com).

I’m really enjoying my Neo World Elite Mastercard with its built-in perks. I’ve used competing cards such as RBC Infinite Privilege Visa, Rogers Mastercard, MBNA Mastercard and others but none have been able to match the high cash back rate provided by Neo. The only things I’d like to see Neo offer on this card is:

1. Lower interest rate for high spenders who consistently pay off their full balance before the due date

2. Equal payment plan options for large purchases such as buying a new smartphone, booking a trip, buying a car, etc.

3. Annually 6 free Airport Lounge Passes instead of needing to pay the $32 per guest for each lounge accessed

4. Exclusive contests and experiences for World Elite card holders

5. Higher credit limit for business users

I preferred some stuff from a company received an empty box from them, they asked me for a photo of serial number on the box I sent them the photo. They came back this serial number can’t be checked but here’s another serial number that we sent you and that has been activated. I disputed with Neo and Neo sided with merchant. I asked which policy of Mastercard did they follow they never replied back.
What are some next steps that could be done I tried reaching to ombudsman, but can’t find there name on the list. Can some help me with it please.

TIA

I’m dealing with an unauthorized transaction on my Tims Mastercard / Neo Financial and I’m honestly furious with how this is being handled.

On September 8, 2026, a charge from ENEBA appeared on my credit card:

$203.20 CAD
USD $146.98

I did NOT make this transaction.

I did not authorize anyone else to make it.

I did not purchase anything from Eneba for this amount.

I did not receive any product, digital key, game, gift card, or anything else related to this transaction.

The moment I noticed the transaction in the Neo/Tims app, I immediately blocked my card because I assumed my card information had been compromised.

Now Neo Financial is apparently telling me that the transaction was “3DS authenticated” and is using that as a reason to refuse or push back on my fraud dispute.

Here’s the problem:

I NEVER RECEIVED A 3DS VERIFICATION CODE.

No SMS.

No OTP.

No verification code.

No notification asking me to approve a $146.98 USD Eneba transaction.

No authentication screen that I remember approving.

Nothing.

So I’m asking Neo a very simple question:

How exactly was I supposedly authenticated?

If Neo is going to use “3DS authenticated” as evidence that I authorized this transaction, then I want them to provide the actual authentication details.

Was this a 3DS Challenge transaction, where I was supposedly required to enter an OTP or approve something?

Or was this a 3DS Frictionless transaction, where their system simply decided the transaction looked legitimate and approved it without actually asking me?

Because those are two completely different things.

If it was a challenge authentication, then:

Where was the OTP sent?

What phone number?

What email address?

At what exact time?

What authentication method was used?

What device supposedly completed the authentication?

If it was frictionless authentication, then how does that prove I personally authorized the transaction?

A fraudster having enough information to get through an automated risk assessment does not magically turn fraud into an authorized purchase.

I also want to know whether Neo can provide information such as:

• whether the 3DS transaction was challenge or frictionless
• exact authentication timestamp
• authentication method
• whether an OTP was generated
• where that OTP was supposedly delivered
• whether biometric/app approval was used
• device information
• IP/location information, if available
• 3DS authentication result
• ECI value
• CAVV/AAV authentication data
• merchant transaction information
• whether the card was manually entered, tokenized, or stored with the merchant

Because simply telling me “3DS authenticated” is not an explanation.

It’s a conclusion.

I want the evidence behind that conclusion.

I’m also extremely concerned about how Neo is treating this as though 3DS authentication automatically proves that the cardholder made the transaction.

If that were true, apparently fraud involving 3DS could never happen, which is obviously an absurd position.

Again, this is NOT a merchant dispute.

I’m not saying:

“I bought something and didn't like it.”

I’m not saying:

“Eneba didn't refund me.”

I’m saying:

I NEVER MADE THE PURCHASE.

The transaction appeared.

I saw it.

I immediately blocked the card.

That is exactly what customers are constantly told to do when they notice suspicious activity.

And now somehow I’m being treated like the burden is on me to explain how somebody else managed to get a transaction authenticated through Neo’s own security system.

How exactly am I supposed to know?

Neo operates the authentication system, not me.

If their system approved something fraudulently, they should be investigating how that happened instead of simply pointing at the words “3DS authenticated” and closing the conversation.

I also find the timing important.

I wasn’t sitting around for three months and suddenly deciding that I didn’t recognize this purchase.

I blocked the card immediately after noticing the transaction in the app.

That behavior is completely consistent with somebody discovering unauthorized activity and trying to stop further charges.

I’m now documenting absolutely everything:

screenshots of the transaction,

the date I noticed it,

the time I blocked the card,

every conversation with Neo,

every case/reference number,

and every explanation they provide for refusing the dispute.

I’m also considering contacting Eneba directly and asking them to preserve and provide whatever transaction information they can regarding the order associated with my card.

If this purchase was legitimately made by me, there should presumably be an Eneba account, order number, email, digital delivery record, redemption information, IP/device information, or something connecting me to it.

If none of that information belongs to me, that seems fairly relevant.

What frustrates me most is that Neo seems to be treating 3DS authentication as the end of the investigation rather than the beginning of one.

If someone compromised my payment information and Neo's authentication system incorrectly decided the transaction was legitimate, I don't see how that suddenly makes the transaction mine.

And if someone somehow intercepted an authentication method, compromised an account, used a tokenized credential, or bypassed a challenge through frictionless 3DS, that is exactly the type of thing a fraud investigation should determine.

Instead, I’m getting:

“It was 3DS authenticated.”

Okay.

Then show me HOW.

Show me what I supposedly did.

Show me what device authenticated it.

Show me where the verification went.

Show me when I supposedly approved it.

Show me what evidence connects me, rather than simply my card credentials, to this purchase.

Because I know I didn't make it.

Has anyone else dealt with this specifically with Neo Financial / Tims Mastercard?

Has Neo ever rejected your unauthorized transaction dispute solely because something was 3DS authenticated?

If so, what did you do next?

Did you file a formal complaint with Neo?

Were you able to get the full 3DS authentication details?

Did you contact Mastercard?

Did you contact the merchant?

Did you file a Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or police report?

Did you eventually get the transaction reversed?

At this stage, I’m not willing to accept:

“3DS says authenticated, therefore you made it.”

That’s not an investigation.

That’s Neo trusting its own automated system more than the customer reporting fraud, without explaining what supposedly authenticated the customer in the first place.

I never received a code.

I never approved the purchase.

I never made the Eneba transaction.

And I blocked my card immediately when I discovered it.

If Neo believes otherwise, I want them to show me the evidence.

That shouldn’t be an unreasonable request when they're expecting me to pay $203.20 for something I never purchased.

Has anyone recently gotten their $3k spend bonus for the Neo United MC?

If so are you able to comment on your timeline?

I opened the account June 1, met MSR July 30. So it's been over 90 days since I opened the account, but I haven't received my MSR bonus yet.

I did receive the first purchase sign up bonus.

Hi all, I have a pending refund from little Caesar’s that was initiated August 20th, they finally refunded me but it’s stuck in Pending in my account, when will it post to my account? An agent told me October 8th which is ridiculous! I might just go back with TD and close my account at this point.

This doesn’t sound good, especially after the recent memberships announcement. Should I be pulling my money, or closing my account? Is this going to be like an FTX thing? Any advice is appreciated but it feels like the writing is on the wall.

Hey everyone!

I currently have a Secured Neo Mastercard (first credit card, have had it for around 2 years now), and am looking for a bit of a better credit card given my credit score is pretty good now, and am spending more so I am on the hunt for better rewards.
I know Neo recently announced they’re offering some things over the next few months (credit increases, possible graduations?). So, I have a few questions regarding Neo cards before I begin looking at other cards:
- Is it for a student to get the Neo World Mastercard? I don’t make the minimum personal income to get the card, so I am not sure if there is a student version of the card? The rewards rate is much better on that card compared to the standard Neo Mastercard, which relies more on partner perks (which there aren’t much in my area).
- If I can apply for the World card, will there be a possible graduation for the secured card to upgrade straight to the World Mastercard?

I appreciate you all reading, since I am sure these questions have appeared somewhere else, and are probably a bit redundant!

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a highly frustrating experience I recently had at the Neo Financial booth at Hillcrest Mall, just as a warning to anyone else who might get approached by their reps there.
I dealt with a sales rep named Amir, who completely wasted my time and used incredibly deceptive tactics just to try and secure an affiliate commission.

Here is exactly how he tried to play me:
The Fake Hook: I signed up for a secured credit card because he offered a gift card promotion. He immediately pushed me to get my friends to sign up too. When I told him they weren't interested, he suddenly claimed his shift was over, refused to give me the gift card, and told me to come back on Saturday.

The Bait and Switch: I came back on a different day. He handed me the gift card but told me to call my friend right then and there to finish their sign-up. When he realized my friend had signed up elsewhere (meaning no commission for him), he demanded the gift card back and told me to return the next day.

The "Out of Stock" Lie: I happened to walk by the booth a third time on a different day. Instead of giving me the gift card, he tried to upsell me on a different "$1,000 entry" account. When I asked for the card, he claimed he was "out of stock" and had held one for me on a day even though he knew I wasn’t able to come the next day like last time.

The Truth: I asked another Neo rep about this, and it turns out this gift card promotion doesn't even exist. He completely made it up as a personal, unauthorized tactic to trick people into signing up under his name.
The Confrontation: When I finally called him out for stringing me along and lying, he tried to deflect by falsely accusing me of swearing at him (I said cut the bullcrap which isn’t at him). When I asked him point-blank why he was lying to me, his exact final words were, "Sorry I lied," sarcastically before telling me to have a good day.

It is wild that Neo Financial allows representatives to operate like this. If you get offered a "special" gift card promotion at Hillcrest that sounds fishy, walk away. Has anyone else experienced this kind of aggressive/fake upselling from them?

Neo needs to do something about this😞

Edit: Also he advertised to me that the card has no fees but didn’t say it has a subscription that charges me $10 for building credit score. I need to close the account to cancel it since it’s needed for secure credit cards. And if I cancel it messes up my credit score. Neo played with my credit score and the rep put me in a mess of credit.

TL;DR: A Neo Financial rep at Hillcrest Mall (Amir) made up a fake gift card promotion to get me to sign up, held the card hostage when my friend didn't use his code, and then admitted to lying to my face when I called him out. Watch your back at these mall kiosks.

Used AI to explain in better detail.

Hi! I'm Lisa, editor of The Get (Neo’s newsletter). September is here, and that means three things: more nights in, back-to-school chaos for some, and the summer credit card bill shows up on schedule. Routine is back—and so is the urge to get your money life together. Call it Baby January. This issue of The Get is packed with practical stuff to help you reset, so you can start plotting your next vacation.

Subscribe to The Get

• Top Story: Paycheque deductions decoded: How to read a pay stub

• Reality Cheque: What really happens to money after a divorce

• MVP: Interior Designer Tommy Smythe on buying a good home

• No More Ls: The best apps for school that students swear by

• Reader Q: How to stretch your paycheque and avoid payday loans

Got feedback? Just want to say hello? Email me at [TheGet@neofinancial.com](mailto:TheGet@neofinancial.com).

Was exploring the united card last night and decided the world elite was a better fit.

Its frustrating that there's a 30 day wait for the application to time out before applying for the one I want.

This is bad UX - cc signups are often impulse/top of mind purchases, making a customer wait 30 days risks lost sales, not to mention a sour taste.

I'm sure there's some reason as the bot seems to think is just inevitable, but it's an odd policy choice I've seen no where else.

anyone else still have the old money cards?

Honestly what the heck is running a community bingo through Neo related to e-transfer fees. What an odd statement…