Online Financial Tips

Archive for January 7th, 2012

It’s very convenient to use a prepaid card to make purchases, pay bills, cash out checks, etc. But do you know which are the best prepaid cards that are available in the market? Here is what our research shows.

1) Low fees. – Get over the fact that there is no such thing as a one hundred percent free debit card. Every card you apply for will have some form of charges somewhere. If the advertisement says that there is no monthly charges, that usually means that you pay to use the facilities. In fact, you may end up paying more than a fixed monthly fee. So the best prepaid cards have fixed monthly fees that are really low (can be as low as $5 a month, depending on the type of card you apply for).

2) Thousands of withdrawal outlets. – If you are using a debit account to cash checks, you want to apply with a card provider that offers thousands of withdrawal outlets. Ideally, the locations should be near your area of residence or where you work. Most card providers offer ATM machines at convenience stores like Walmart or 7-11. So there is bound to be one near you. The best debit card provider has over 100,000 withdrawal outlets.

3) Guaranteed approval. – It should be easy to get an application approved for the card you want because a debit card works differently from a credit card. You don’t owe the bank money when you use the card. So usually, no credit checks are required.