Lydia: We tested for you

That does not necessarily mean that there is a risk or fraud, but simply that the situation (and sometimes the law) oblige us to carry out, at least, a routine control. We therefore only act to maintain the confidence you grant to us and ensure the levels of alertness and security required by the banking regulatory authorities. And this last reason is, by far, the one that annoys you the most when it falls on you.

The 5 negative opinions on Lydia that we hope to read in the future

In eight years of existence, we have heard comments on our application. Positive and at least glorious, constructive opinions and others that have left us thinkers … And if we take into account all the suggestions to improve our service, certain recurring returns (especially on social networks) tend to make us cringe teeth. Today, we wanted to make things clear on five angry subjects … and take advantage of it to twist the necks a few legends. Selected pieces.

• 1 – “Lydia, you use customer accounts ! »»
• 2 – “Lydia, you blocked my account for no reason, it’s a scandal ! »»
• 3 – “Your customer service is nonexistent ! You never answer emails ! »»
• 4 – “Lydia, you took me inactive fees, it’s illegal and you did not warn me ! »»
• 5 – “Your video selfie system is a joke ?! »»

1 – “Lydia, you use customer accounts ! »»

No, Lydia does not use customer accounts. For the simple reason that as an agent of payment service providers – an intermediary, to summarize – we simply do not have access to it. And even if it would be the case, we would not have the right, unlike the banks which they use money from their customers, especially in the context of their loans.

Lydia may be a mobile application as simple and pleasant to use as a game, there is still a question of financial services. An activity governed by the strictest banking rules (especially in France) with, in the role of the supervisor, the ACPR which checks that these rules, which are done above all to protect you, are applied to the letter. We must thus meet them very regularly and they are also used to coming to control us in our premises as if we were a bank. Result: since the creation of Lydia in 2013, there has never been the slightest serious anomaly detected in the management of our activity and therefore, your money.

But errors can happen. Like this user who, last spring, was taken twice from the same sum, following a bug on our side, trying to make a transfer to a loved one. We asked him for a few supporting documents, we did our investigation and, in the space of 72 hours, he was reimbursed for 70 € wrongly debited with our most sincere apologies. Since then, this kind of incident has no longer happened: we are still making here and there a few errors of youth but we are doing its best so that they do not arrive.

2 – “Lydia, you blocked my account for no reason, it’s a scandal ! »»

Seeing her Lydia Blocked account is never pleasant. But let’s make things clear: it’s rare, it really doesn’t make us happy to get there and, when it happens, it’s never a coincidence. It’s just that an unusual element has been detected and we are required to intervene.

That does not necessarily mean that there is a risk or fraud, but simply that the situation (and sometimes the law) oblige us to carry out, at least, a routine control. We therefore only act to maintain the confidence you grant to us and ensure the levels of alertness and security required by the banking regulatory authorities. And this last reason is, by far, the one that annoys you the most when it falls on you.

We explain to you: Unlike banks that require many documents when opening an account, we have chosen to simplify your registration as much as possible and ask you only the strict necessary to start. You benefit from your current account and all our services in two minutes.

On the other hand, when an abnormally important payment (or flow) compared to the usual activity occurs, we must verify the origin or destination of these funds in order to ensure that we are not faced with a case of fraud ( Or, more rarely, money laundering or terrorism financing, two extremely serious problems on which we are particularly intractable).

Often, after verification, everything is actually perfectly in order. But it also happens to meet cases where people are victims of abuse without even knowing it. Like this lady who did not understand why we had blocked her account – despite our three requests for justification to which she never wanted to answer – and who reproached us on social networks for not letting her send big sums to money His new friend at the end of the world, met recently on the internet, and that the latter was going to have to sleep in the street because of us … In any case, if the user has all the documents proving his good faith and that ‘He transmits them on time, and this is the case 9 times out of 10, the release of an account is always very quickly.

3 – “Your customer service is nonexistent ! You never answer emails ! »»

A mobile application prized by more than 5 million users and tens of thousands of transactions per day: it would be impossible without customer service worthy of the name. And we have a team that works hard, on a daily basis, to answer your questions and support you (moreover, if you want to redefine with us the concept of customer service and offer our users the best experience of their life, know that we are recruiting !)).

Every day, they absolutely process all the requests without exception which are sent to them, which still represents around 1500 emails per day. Since the beginning of 2021, the average response period noted has been around 15 hours. It may seem long to you, but by counting the hours when customer service is closed it places us very largely in the averages of the market. So do we have a customer service ? Yes. He responds to all emails and within a reasonable time ? Absolutely.

But we can (and we have to) do better. This is our priority and we continue to improve on the subject, in particular by automating our procedures as much as possible to give our teams more time to serve you.

Because it happens to us to be overwhelmed ! When we offer a new service or a special offer – and users cannot benefit from it – or that a bug disturbs their daily use of the app, requests for assistance logically flock. And we are therefore never immune to a peak of activity, in short but important, which will come to weigh on a volume of emails to be treated already substantial.

If we add to this more complex cases which require particular expertise, research, information from external stakeholders who themselves cannot respond in the minute, we may happen to exceed the deadlines that we Sums fixed. And we are sorry.

It is for this reason that our customer service continues to expand, going from 15 people, in its infancy, to a hundred people today and that we regularly improve our IT tools. All for one purpose: finding solutions to your problems always faster.

4 – “Lydia, you took me inactive fees, it’s illegal and you did not warn me ! »»

From a legal point of view, we are totally in the nails: the Eckert law forces us to identify the inactive accounts and to contact their owners. And given that this obligation represents a significant management cost, the law allows us exceptionally to take costs for inactivity from an account, capped at € 30 per year. So we have nothing to blame ourselves.

Within the framework of this law, there are thus inactive the accounts which have known no transaction or movement and of which we were without news from their owner after 12 consecutive months. And news, it is not for lack of having asked for no less than three emails and an SMS addressed to the users concerned. We did not ask for much: an operation, even a derisory amount, or a simple very brief answer to our email is enough !

In short, as always, we have done the maximum so that the procedure is as binding as possible. But it is true: we only take these costs since last year and we are aware that this change was able to surprise some of our oldest users.

With these costs, we do not try to earn money but simply to cover the costs that represent the management of these inactive accounts and those linked to our legal obligation to identify their owners. They symbolize that many users no longer use our services and it is therefore not good news for us. We would have done well.

5 – “Your video selfie system is a joke ?! »»

For what ? Because instead of sending you an email to verify that you know the surname of the family’s Labrador well (or the name of your mother’s young girl) and thus authenticate, you are asked to film yourself for five seconds and say a simple sentence ? However, in the mind, it is very “lydia” as a process: certainly original but ultra-secure, thought to simplify your life and managed by real humans. If you are lovers of our services, you should please you !

But of which act: we explain ourselves on the subject. First of all, it is good to remember that this request for verification remains rare. You are asked for this video selfie only in two cases: to obtain the status of “verified profile” (which allows you to take advantage of Lydia in the best conditions, and in this case, this process is recommended by the ANSSI) or when you need to reset your password. In other words: it does not happen every day, far from it.

Then why did we put the video in place ? Simply because it is the most effective way to thwart hackers who would like to usurp your identity (so much so that even the Vital Card application will adopt this system). An email, we can divert it. A letter takes time to get to happen and it sometimes gets lost on the way. Administrative documents, it falsifies.

A video selfie, it is fast, easy to do, very difficult to falsify (the sentence that the user must pronounce during the catch is generated randomly) and to top it all, each selfie is verified on a case -by -case team by a dedicated team Who makes sure that it is your face on the video and not a coarse “Deep Fake”. Human, always humans.

Ah ! And for our most flirtatious users, know that you do not need to put yourself on your 31 to do the selfie: the team in charge of these checks is the only one to have access to these videos within Lydia and she Do not dwell on this kind of detail. All that matters to him is to advance your request as soon as possible. In addition, our policy on the protection of personal data respects all the standards in force: the voyeuristic and “Big Brother” delirium, very little for us !

If despite all these precautions you are still not convinced by the process, we have of course planned alternatives. But they are less simple and practical than the video selfie which in our view remains the best solution.

Some users have difficulty making this famous selfie ? It’s true. Either because they do not know what to do during the catch, or because they do not repeat the right sentence.

In any case, it may be we who are not clear enough on the procedure to follow and the opportunity to question ourselves, as we do every day. As long as it allows us to offer you the best mobile application to manage your daily money, it suits us ! And while waiting for us to become perfect, we count on your indulgence and your confidence.

Lydia: We tested for you !

With more than 7 million users, Lydia continues to gain popularity ! The initial idea ? Facilitate payments with friends. Since then, the application has evolved well: in addition to offers for individuals, the French company has launched a 100 % dedicated account to professionals: Lydia p ro ! We explain to you how the Lydia app works, but also how to create and use your Lydia P Ro account. Here is our full opinion !

The Lydia application: what is ?

Launched in 2011 by a French team, Lydia is a mobile application which allows you to transfer money from one user to another thanks to a simple phone number ! The application is now available in France, but also in other European countries: in Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Germany or even in the United Kingdom and Luxembourg.

Although the online payment service is above all intended for reimbursements between relatives, Lydia aims to become a Full neobank ! It is now possible to open your own bank account and use a visa card (virtual or physical). In addition to that, the French company also wishes to address professionals: with Lydia Pro, you access a collection service as well as cashier software.

Lydia comes from the name of an ancient Kingdom of Türkiye called Lydie. The first coins used were struck there in the 8th century BC. J-C-.

Lydia’s offers

Lydia offers today 5 different offers ::

• Lydia : the basic offer
• Blue Lydia : the intermediate offer, to use the app as a bank account
• Green Lydia : Offer to have an ethical current account using sleeping money on your accounts to finance responsible projects
• Black lydia : the premium offer, to unlock all functionality and increase payment limits
• Lydia Pro : the offer for professionals

Although these offers are different, they present Free common features ::

• You can pay Or do you Refund thanks to a phone number
• You can pay without contact (Compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay)
• You can generate Internet cards : these are temporary payment numbers usable for secure online payments
• If you opt for a Lydia payment card, you will not have No additional costs For payments abroad
• You can fire money in snapshots from Lydia to your bank account !
• Functionality ” Share the addition »Allows you to easily distribute a payment between several accounts
• You can create a jackpot To collect without commissions !

Need a loan? You have the possibility to borrow in a few minutes a Credit between € 100 and € 3,000. You can choose to spread this loan up to 36 months if you wish.

Since the 2019 pact law and contrary to popular belief, the opening of a professional bank account is no longer compulsory for auto-entrepreneurs. You must open a bank account dedicated to your activity (pro or not) only if your turnover exceeds € 10,000 and this, two years in a row.

1 – Lydia, the basic offer

This is the free version, which has all the basic features ! However, the use of the app is limited by many ceilings and certain options are not included. This offer is therefore intended for people who have occasional use of it.

Regarding monthly payments, you have the right to your bank account at:

• 15 operations per month
• € 750 transaction

To use a Lydia bank card , It will be necessary to buy it in addition for 5 €. With the free account, you then have the right to 1 withdrawal per month to the distributor, in total amount of € 300, as well as 3 “Internet cards” (for secure payments on the Internet).

2 – Lydia Bleu, the intermediate offer

The Lydia Bleu version is chargeable: the first 2 months are offered then the subscription goes to € 4.90 per month or € 49 per year. The offer is suitable for people who wish to use the app for Manage and make their daily expenses .

There too, your monthly operations are limited . Certainly , You pay or transfer money as many times as you want, but up to € 5,000 per month.

With Lydia Bleu, the visa payment card is offered and its design is customizable. The offer includes up to 3 withdrawals to the distributor per month for a maximum of € 250. For your Internet payments, you have access to 20 Internet cards !

For those under 25, the Blue Lydia is only € 2 per month and the first month is free !

3 – Green Lydia

With the Lydia Green card, you benefit from all the advantages of Lydia. You therefore have a French account and IBAN, instant banking transfers and other advantages. The subscription is at the cost of € 7.90 per month or 79 € per year. This offer is similar to the blue version of Lydia.

The difference with other subscriptions is the use of money on your accounts. The Lydia Vert card provides the customer with an ethical offer by allowing sleeping money on your account to finance ecological projects.

Lydia therefore undertakes to use your money only for the financing of cultural, ecological or social projects.

4 – Lydia Noir

It is the most complete, but also the most expensive of the designed offers for individuals: the Lydia Noir subscription is € 9.90

The monthly operations are unlimited and you have the right to perform up to € 100,000 in transaction !

Regarding the payment card, the black offer is very similar to Lydia Bleu and Vert with one exception: you can do up to 5 withdrawals to the distributor per month With your black bank card, for a maximum of € 1000.

The added value of this offer ? The many Options concerning the current account ! You are covered by travel insurance, winter sports and medical assistance abroad. You also benefit from Internet Purchasing Protection.

The most of the black offer ? You can also call an advisor, by appointment.

You can reach the Lydia team from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day of the week.

Lydia Pro for micro-entrepreneurs

In parallel with these 4 offer s, Lydia a lanc é lydia pro, an e special mobile application Designed for professional S : Ell e t is easy to recognize to s a green color e . We want to explain its functional t and we give you not a avi s .

Lydia Pro content

With Lydia Pro you can:

• Make quickly thanks to a QR code : the customer returns the amount on the application and pressing the option “generate a QR code” . You will only have to scan it to take it. Small downside, customers must have downloaded the mobile application. Do not panic ! They do not need to take out a paid offer to pay you.
• Create online payment links : sending these links to your customers will allow you to collect easily from their accounts, even from a distance
• Refund your customers : thanks to the email or phone number of your customers, you can easily refund them in a few clicks. The customer will then receive an SMS or email notification informing him of the reimbursement. If he does not use Lydia, he can still be reimbursed but will have to inform his IBAN
• Pilot collection from a management console : it is the tool of the LYDIA PRO application which allows to manage the daily transactions carried out. It looks like classic cash register software like that of VSEs Sumup. You have an option ” Collection »Which allows you to create a payment page. This is a secure web page that you send to your customers (by email, SMS for example) so that they pay you. For a more professional appearance, know that you can customize this page with your logo and the name of your business. You also have access to a tab ” Transactions “To consult the history of regulations. It is also from this menu that you can refund a customer.
• Program loyalty campaigns for your customers ! For example, you can program to offer 5 € to your customers every 200 € purchase ! Be careful however, these programs are only available for your customers who use blue or black Lydia.

Lydia Pro

Regarding her prices, Lydia Pro take a fixed percentage each operation according to the nature of the transaction:

• For a face -to -face payment with the customer, therefore using a QR code, the commission rate is set to 1.9 % excl by transaction.
• For a distance payment , Thanks to sending a link, the commission is to 1.9 % + € 0.10 excl by transaction. For more information, Lydia Pro also provides you with a sheet with the various prices adapted to your activity.

How to open a Lydia Pro account ?

You want to take the payments received with your self-enterprise thanks to the Lydia Pro application ? Nothing could be simpler: just just Install the Lydia Pro application. It is easily recognizable, since the Lydia Pro logo is green ! You can download the application to your smartphone or tablet, from Apple Store or Google Play.

You now know how the Lydia application works and in particular the Lydia Pro account ! It will be of great use to you for be paid by your customers , but also for Manage your cash register and by extension your turnover .

If you need a 100 % digital tool to manage your entire self-business, even more complete solutions exist. Accounting, declarations assistance, creation of invoices, product catalogs, customer lists, etc. The auto-entrepreneur portal has developed its own management software And he supports all these needs ! Do not hesitate, it is free when you start.

The article “Lydia: We tested for you !”” was noted 4.3 on 5 on 230 Opinion of Internet users.