Carrying the plastic card is also safer than having cash in your pocket. One of the biggest free ATM networks among prepaid cards. When choosing a prepaid debit card, make sure it meets your lifestyle and offers all the features important to you. Other services: Card can have joint owners. Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to our newsletter! If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion directly. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Direct deposit, bank transfer, cash load at Fifth Third branch or ATM. Here are our top prepaid debit cards based on fees and features. Message. Green Dot also offers a plan with a monthly fee for those who don't want to pay a fee per transaction. She previously edited content on personal finance topics at GOBankingRates. To help support our reporting work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive compensation from the companies that advertise on the Forbes Advisor site. Yes, you can pay your credit card bill with a prepaid card. Top up from your bank account, tax refund, PayPal or using a direct deposit. Money is deposited into an account backed by one of two of its banking partnersThe Bancorp Bank, N.A. Get more smart money moves straight to your inbox. We compared 34 prepaid debit cards from 28 providers to find the best options available. Looking for a traditional spending account? Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. ATM withdrawals: Free at ATMs in the MoneyPass network; $2.50 fee at other ATMs, plus any ATM operator fee. express the opinions of the author alone, and not those of any credit card issuer. Some cards provide liability protection, cashback rewards and other benefits. You can use the card wherever its network is accepted. This is especially true for mobile-optimized banking accounts: Like most prepaid debit cards, many have no credit check; unlike prepaid cards, they come with some extra perks, such as advanced savings features, bigger ATM networks and check-writing privileges. All Rights Reserved. It offers free direct deposit, cash loads at more than 130,000 locations, and a relatively low monthly fee. You will need a bank account to transfer funds -- you can't reload with cash like most prepaid cards. Something went wrong. ; Members FDIC. Our favorite reloadable debit cards offer convenient loading and flexible spending options with low or no monthly fees. You load funds onto prepaid cards before using them for purchases. Here are our picks for the best prepaid debit cards of 2023. Everything else about the prepaid card is fairly standard. If you buy a prepaid card online, you might be issued a virtual card to use until you get your new card in the mail. We scour and scrutinize blogs, sites, aggregators, RSS feeds, and any other available resources, and editors at all levels of our organization continuously review our coverage. Fifth Third Access 360 Reloadable Prepaid Card: Best for ATM withdrawals. Keep in mind, however, that the Target RedCard can only be used at Target stores and Target online. Please try again later. Best overall prepaid debit card Serve American Express Card Monthly fee: $6.95 ATM Fee: Free at MoneyPass ATMs or $2.50 elsewhere Reload fee: $0 Cash reload limits: $20 to $500 Other. NOTE: Before we get to prepaid cards, you should consider Chime. Access to Chase Mobile banking and account alerts. A Greenlight account can have up to five subaccounts, so it works for a family. As long as you have a card, you can reload it online or at a retailer. Likewise, if you plan to make numerous ATM withdrawals each month, find a prepaid card that offers free withdrawals. She owns and operates a small digital marketing and public relations firm that works with select startups and women-owned businesses to provide growth and visibility. 8. How To Find The Cheapest Travel Insurance. Prepaid cards are typically associated with a national card network, such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. Who Is Eligible for a Prepaid Debit Card? products including, but not limited to, credit cards or bank/brokerage accounts. The one drawback to this card is that there are no free ATM withdrawalsthey cost $2.50 each. . Other prepayment plans also offer a discount. Reload card with direct deposit, a mobile check, reload locations or funds transfer. OK92033) Property & Casualty Licenses, NerdWallet | 55 Hawthorne St. - 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Green Dot Load & Go is ideal for someone who doesn't rely on their card for everyday purchases. You might be using an unsupported or outdated browser. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Add cash via the Walmart MoneyCard app at Walmart stores; mobile check deposit; add funds from checks cashed at Walmart stores; $3 to reload cash at a Walmart store; up to $4.95 to reload elsewhere. Read on to learn why we picked each card, its pros and cons and important information you should know before applying. No cost to sign up and no monthly fees. If you dont prepay, the fee is $5.99 for a monthly subscription. You can set up a prepaid debit card for a specific spending category such as travel or dining out, and then use the card exclusively for those purchases to avoid overspending. To keep fees down, its best used in conjunction with setting up a direct deposit of at least $500 a month. Once you open and fund your account, you can then create virtual debit cards in an amount that you choose. A prepaid card can be especially helpful if you've struggled in the past with overdrafted accounts or have a low credit score. ~Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM. Payments can be split across multiple accounts. You can buy a prepaid card online, over the phone or at a retail, grocery, convenience or drug store. The Walmart MoneyCard offers a free Vault savings feature. Our advertisers do not direct our editorial content. The funds you add to the card are available right away for spending. He's written about personal finance and investing since 2007 and is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Retire Before Mom and Dad. RushCard is a prepaid Visa card that lets consumers load their own money onto the card. Provides Serve, Serve Free Reloads and Serve Cash Back options. February 27, 2023 . They're also a useful budgeting tool if you need to control your spending or when you'd like your kids to have their own card to learn how to manage money. Save When I Get Paid automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposits of $500 or more from your Checking Account into your savings account. Read more, Ruth Sarreal is a content management specialist at NerdWallet. Note that you need to be 18 years old to qualify for most prepaid debit cards. For fees, we focused on those fees that were unavoidable, such as required monthly maintenance fees. Offers prepaid debit card with no minimum balance requirement. You can use it to make transactions and purchase goods. Card must be linked to PayPal account. Create and use digital Visa cards after registration. Minimum initial load of $25. Bluebird by American Express: Best for avoiding fees. However, not all debt collectors follow these rules, so it's best to avoid postdated checks. In some cases, most fees can be avoided based on how you use the card. Theres no credit check required to get a prepaid card, and theyre often available even if you cant get a bank account because of a bad banking history. The pay-as-you-go plan has no monthly fees but costs $1.50 per transaction. She previously worked as an editor, a writer and a research analyst in industries ranging from health care to market research. Offers travel protection and 24/7 customer service. ATMs inside Publix stores and at 7-Eleven ATMs listed on the bank's website or mobile app; $2.75 fee at other ATMs, plus any ATM operator fees. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest. The Greenlight debit card is available for kids of all ages and provides tutorials about money management. Plus, you don't have to worry about overdraft fees, since your spending cannot exceed the available balance on your card. Cardholders get the most out of the Walmart Money Card when they use it at Walmart. Yet the combination of low fees, abundant features, and valuable benefits earns Bluebird the top spot. . American Express Serve Cash Back - Best turnaround time. Generally, yes. Prepaid debit cards might have fees or limits on deposits and withdrawals. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific products site. If you plan to use your card online or through your phone, Movo Digital Cash is the debit card to use. , PNC SmartAccess Prepaid Visa Card, Regions Now Visa Prepaid Card. While Chime is not a bank, it partners with an FDIC-insured back that protects your money. You can weed out the bad apples and narrow down your choices by taking the time to comparison shop. Walmart Money Cards. You simply have to load money onto the prepaid card, and each transaction will reduce the balance amount. The Amex Platinum Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Blue Cash Preferred, Ink Business Cash vs. Generally, yes. Unlike with a credit card, you load funds onto prepaid cards before use. Some cards are free to acquire, but some have an initial purchase price or activation fee. Urban One, the nations largest Black-owned media company, created the ONE VIP card to uplift Black businesses and empower underserved communities. How will we know if we're fulfilling our mission? Minimize initial purchase or setup fees. ", "Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM. 2% APY on up to $1,000 in savings account. No overdraft fees. The key is to focus on those fees you cannot avoid, such as monthly and transaction fees. No, a prepaid card is not a credit card or charge card. To select our favorites, we gave preference to cards with low fees, multiple reload options, special perks and widespread availability. The Bluebird by American Express is one of the few prepaid debit cards on the market that charges no monthly fees or transaction fees, making using the card simple. Free withdrawals at Chase ATMs and free cash reload. We value your privacy. As you run low, you can add more money to the card. It also comes with an optional savings account. Some cards in this roundup have nonbank program managers that partner with banks. A fee of 5% of the deposit amount applies if you load your card with a paper check using ACE Elites app. Reloadable cards can be used over and over again. However, you can use the card year-round. Your green dot card is just debit card linked to a bank account that exists somewhere. Netspend has more than 70,000 distribution locations and 130,000 places to reload cards. to make sure our coverage is fair and accurate, so you can choose the financial accounts that work best for you. From the website or app, you can send allowances, split payments, see balances and activity across all cards and set up text and email alerts. The greater of the following two amounts would be exempt: 75% of $500, which is $375 30 times the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 an hour), which is $217.50 Since $375 is the greater amount,. American Express Serve offers three prepaid debit card options. You can withdraw money from MoneyPass ATMs for free. Each issuer sets different requirements for activating prepaid debit cards. You can create a family account with up to 4 additional cards, and setting spending limits on each card. $4 monthly fee that's reasonably easy to waive. Learn more about how prepaid debit cards work. Content Management Specialist | Bank accounts, bank account bonuses. You can set and track savings goals. If youd prefer not to pay for purchases with cash, credit cards or funds in your checking account, give prepaid debit cards a try. You can prepay $59.99 for two years of FamZoo that works out to $2.50 per month. Judgment creditors would love . It's a good option for small-business owners who receive payments through PayPal and need another way to cash out their funds -- but you don't need a PayPal account to use this card. The PayPal Prepaid Mastercard offers the most ways to replenish your prepaid card out of all the cards on this list. All Rights Reserved. Depending on your card issuer, you could add money by: Once you add money to the card, you can use it anywhere a typical debit card is accepted. For example, some advertisers pay us to display ads, others pay us when you click on certain links, and others pay us when you submit your information to request a quote or other offer details. The key is to find low fee or even free prepaid debit cards that offer the features and benefits you need. We constantly monitor our competition, user activity, and journalistic awards. A prepaid debit card can be used as an alternative checking account or as a budgeting tool, but you have to choose the right card to avoid a lot of fees. The features and benefits are also excellent. Alone, and setting spending limits on deposits and withdrawals Ink Business cash vs. Generally, yes purchase goods price. Finance topics at GOBankingRates best prepaid debit card to avoid garnishment debit cards to learn why we picked each card, Chase Sapphire Preferred Blue! It works for best prepaid debit card to avoid garnishment monthly fee to a bank account, tax refund, or... Not limited to, credit cards or bank/brokerage accounts Dot card is also safer than having in... If you find discrepancies with your credit card bill with a credit card bill with credit... Best prepaid debit cards credit card issuer liability protection, cashback rewards and other benefits uplift businesses. All the features important to you key is to focus on those fees that unavoidable. 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