How Much Money Can You Put on a Prepaid Card

If you don't take a bank account or you lot demand a new way to upkeep, prepaid debit cards might be the adjacent plastic for your wallet. Here's how they piece of work.

What is a prepaid debit carte du jour and how do I become one?

A prepaid debit card is an culling banking product that only lets y'all spend the money you load onto the card. Like debit cards, prepaid cards piece of work at any merchant that accepts its payment network, such as Visa or Mastercard. They're safer and more convenient than using cash. They're also known as stored-value cards, pay-as-you-go cards or, more formally, general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards.

You can buy a prepaid debit card from a retailer, bank, credit card company or other financial services provider. When you buy 1, your card funds are usually function of an business relationship held by a banking company or credit matrimony. Because many prepaid debit cards don't crave credit checks, they're piece of cake to get. However, they won't assist build credit.

Prepaid card companies usually offer several ways to load funds onto a bill of fare. Some cards also allow you link to a checking business relationship to make online transfers.

Citi Priority Checking

Deposits are FDIC Insured

Chime Spending Account

Federally insured by the NCUA

Alliant Credit Union High-Rate Checking

Axos Bank® Rewards Checking

Deposits are FDIC Insured

One Spend

How prepaid debit cards work

Prepaid cards vary widely, but they tend to have these features in common:

Reload options: You tin commonly add money to a card in multiple ways, such as setting up direct deposits, loading cash at participating retailers and depositing checks at ATMs. Some cards also let you brand online transfers or mobile check deposits from a smartphone.

ATM access: Some prepaid cards have access to gratuitous nationwide ATM networks, such as MoneyPass and Allpoint, or to branded bank networks for cards issued by banks.

Fees: You might have to pay for activating a card, making deposits and using out-of-network ATMs. There'due south unremarkably a monthly fee, which sometimes tin can be waived — past having direct deposits, for example. Some cards charge a fee for every purchase and ATM transaction.

Amount limits: Some cards restrict how much you tin can withdraw, reload or spend during a certain flow, such as a day or month.

Protections: Reloadable prepaid cards have the liability and fraud protections required of debit cards by federal police force. Some cards offer purchase protections, but information technology can exist hard to dispute unauthorized transactions or correct errors. I safeguard many cards take is federal eolith insurance, significant your money is covered if an issuer becomes bankrupt.

Expiration dates: Prepaid cards have expiration dates. You lot'll need to be reissued a card earlier information technology expires. Funds on the cards shouldn't expire, though. In a 2022 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some consumers complained that they had money on their cards when they expired, but the issuer didn't reissue cards that included those balances. If that happens to you, reach out to the prepaid company to see if it can be resolved. If non, yous can submit a complaint on the CFPB website.

Other features: Some prepaid cards offering bank check writing, online bill pay and multiple copies of a card for family members. A rare few even offering rewards such as cash back on purchases, similar to rewards credit cards.

Limitations of prepaid debit cards

No event on credit: Because prepaid debit cards aren't credit cards, you can't build credit with them. For that, you'd want to consider a secured credit bill of fare .

Lack of bank services: Prepaid cards besides don't automatically accept all the features you'd await with a checking business relationship, including admission to an ATM or branch network, online or mobile banking, or bank services such equally wire transfers and the ability to stop payments.

If y'all want a checking business relationship without monthly fees, consider our list of best free checking accounts . There are also second adventure checking accounts for people with bad credit or banking histories.

Whether used equally a budgeting tool or as an alternative way to depository financial institution, prepaid debit cards can help you shop and spend money productively.

Prepaid debit cards vs. credit and debit cards

Here's a quick breakup:

• Prepaid debit cards — pay before: You load coin onto the card via cash, checks, direct eolith or a transfer from another account before paying for transactions.

• Debit cards — pay now: You employ coin straight from a checking account when paying for purchases or withdrawing money from an ATM.

• Credit cards — pay later: You borrow money from a banking concern when y'all use the card and pay the coin back later.

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Source: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/prepaid-debit-cards-what-you-should-know

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