Guide to Prepaid cards - 3/5
What are the charges?
Arguably the main disadvantage of a prepaid card are the costs and fees associated
with using them. Here is a guide to some of the potential costs to look out for:
- Card application fee - Is there a charge for opening your account? If so is money
loaded onto the card so that you have a balance on the card?
- Monthly service charge - Is there a monthly subscription fee and what do you get
for this charge? For example does the prepaid card company provide free top-ups,
an online service, a helpline or other additional services for you, funded by this
fee?
- Customer call helpline - Are you charged at premium rate, national rate or standard
rate for essential calls to the company's helpline?
- Credit card/cash load - Is there a charge every time you top-up and does this vary
by the manner in which you top-up, for example transferring funds from a credit
card or in cash at the Post Office or at a Payzone or Paypoint terminal?
- Deposit fee - If you deposit funds at a bank, does the bank take a fee for providing
the service? If so is there more cost effective way of reloading which is still
convenient?
- ATM withdrawal fee - Are there costs when you withdraw cash on your card? Is this
higher for foreign transactions?
- Purchase/Internet transaction - Is there a charge when you purchase goods on your
card and do these vary for online transactions? This could also be higher if your
transaction is made overseas.
- Account termination fee - Is there a charge for closing your account?
- Card replacement - If you lose your prepaid card or it is stolen/damaged how much
will the prepaid card company charge for a replacement?
- Card renewal - Like a credit card, a prepaid card will have an expiry date. Are
you charged for renewal?
- Inactivity fee - Some firms charge a small sum if the card is not used for a defined
period of time.
Now that you understand how prepaid cards work you will want to know which companies
are out there and what you will get when you sign up.
If you would like to skip directly to another part of this guide, click on one of
the links below:
What is a prepaid card and how does it work?
Prepaid card uses and benefits
Which card is right for you?
Frequently Asked Questions
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