WhichWayToPay recently asked:
Top it up and go – it’s as easy as that with a Prepaid card. Much like you’d top up a mobile phone (or Oyster card if you’re a Londoner), what you load on the card is what you spend. Once you’ve run out, you just top it up again. It looks more like a credit card than a travel card though, with magnetic strip, credit card provider and Chip and PIN. But the beauty of the Prepaid card is that you don’t need to have an excellent credit history to qualify. With most issuers, you don’t need any credit history – this is because there is no risk as far as they are concerned, because the user can’t get caught in repayments and bills. That’s because there aren’t any! Any fees or transaction charges are deducted from the card so users need to make sure that they have enough funds loaded on the card to cover these too.
A Prepaid card is a much safer way of carrying money around as it’s all in one place and if you lose or have the card stolen, you can cancel it. It’s also a great way of sharing money as you can get a second card which can be handed to friends or family so that they can access the funds. For this reason, some Prepaid cards are aimed at parents wanting to keep tabs on the spending habits of their teenage offspring – look out for those issuers who allow a lower minimum age of 16. Other cards are aimed at foreign workers in the UK who want loved ones back home to receive their earnings. There are so many types and offers, it’s worth shopping around before making a choice. Just go to a financial comparison site to lay out all the options in one place, and most sites will let you access the provider directly once you have made your choice.
Top it up and go – it’s as easy as that with a Prepaid card. Much like you’d top up a mobile phone (or Oyster card if you’re a Londoner), what you load on the card is what you spend. Once you’ve run out, you just top it up again. It looks more like a credit card than a travel card though, with magnetic strip, credit card provider and Chip and PIN. But the beauty of the Prepaid card is that you don’t need to have an excellent credit history to qualify. With most issuers, you don’t need any credit history – this is because there is no risk as far as they are concerned, because the user can’t get caught in repayments and bills. That’s because there aren’t any! Any fees or transaction charges are deducted from the card so users need to make sure that they have enough funds loaded on the card to cover these too.
A Prepaid card is a much safer way of carrying money around as it’s all in one place and if you lose or have the card stolen, you can cancel it. It’s also a great way of sharing money as you can get a second card which can be handed to friends or family so that they can access the funds. For this reason, some Prepaid cards are aimed at parents wanting to keep tabs on the spending habits of their teenage offspring – look out for those issuers who allow a lower minimum age of 16. Other cards are aimed at foreign workers in the UK who want loved ones back home to receive their earnings. There are so many types and offers, it’s worth shopping around before making a choice. Just go to a financial comparison site to lay out all the options in one place, and most sites will let you access the provider directly once you have made your choice.