Prepaid cards work differently to other types of bank cards and are an excellent tool for budgeting, shopping, making online purchases or withdrawing cash at ATMs. The difference between credit cards and a pre-paid card is that you reload prepaid cards with cash in advance and you can only use the balance that is within the card. It is, therefore, impossible to overdraw or go into debt. Prepaid cards allow consumers to stay on budget by staying aware of how much they have left on their cards. In this post, you will be introduced to three new prepaid debit cards you can use to manage your spending.
LOOT
The Loot card account users use their phones to get access to their funds, view the daily financial plan and redirect money into separate pots to help towards personal saving goals. Loot incorporates a prepaid debit card, and an iPhone app intended to get the most out of your money. It takes roughly five minutes to set up Loot account with the requirements being a photo, ID/passport, and a physical UK address. After approval, the firm prints the MasterCard packs it and sends it off to you ready for use. It is primarily targeted at UK-based students but can also be used by anyone looking to use plastic without having to get a credit card.
Features
- Accepted globally
- Plan your spending and set savings goal
- View how your spending compares with other people anonymously
- Keep track of your daily spending in diverse categories
- Instant notification of every transaction
- Pause and reactivate when lost and found
- Deposit money from your account number and sort code
- Send money to family and friends at good rates
- Set up direct debits and standing orders
- Free debit card with no monthly costs
- Loot uses the interbank exchange rate + 1%. Banks usually charge a rate at 3%.
- Loot charges 75p for ATM withdrawals in the UK.
POCKIT
Pockit offers its users a non-traditional bank account through the use of a prepaid MasterCard. To receive your Pockit card all you need to do is fill out the form, make a one-off payment of 99p and you will receive the card within 48hrs. No credit checks are required, as it’s a prepaid debit card and not a credit card. Pockit will also send you balance notifications to your phone to help you keep your spending in check.
Features
- No monthly charges
- 10% cash back on purchases
- No annual charges
- One off £0.99 fee on sign-up
- Three more cards per account
- No credit background checks
- Free card transactions
- No, contact address
- No cancellation fees
- Bank online or with an App
- Wages or benefits may be paid in
- ATM withdrawals costs £0.99
- Paying in money as cash at a pay point that costs £0.99
- You receive a free £5 when you load up a minimum of £10 and make one transaction within one month of sign-up
REVOLUT
The Revolut card is a prepaid MasterCard made up of two parts, the prepaid Revolut card and the app for either iPhone or Android. It gives interbank rates for most currencies including the US dollar and the Euro (without charging you any currency conversion fees) and allows you to make cheap international money transfers through its app.
Features
- There are neither spending fees, nor ATM fees on withdrawals up to £500 /€650 /$700 each month (with a 2% fee that applies above this limit).
- Revolut offers a bonus of £5 to your balance if you load £500 onto it.
- Load, withdraw and exchange funds using its app.
- Used globally where MasterCard is accepted.
- The card holds Euros, dollars, and pounds and allows for instant conversion between them.
- You can spend in more than 80 currencies where the card automatically exchanges your base currency into the local currency at the interbank exchange rate.
- You order the card from the app once you have signed up as it does not come automatically. It takes up to 10 working days to arrive and its replacement cost £6.
All of the above cards are targeted at UK residents. However, the Revolut card & app can also be used by those living in the European Economic Area.
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