Western Union Reloadable Visa Prepaid Debit Cards

Lately Western Union agents have been promoting one of the company’s latest offerings: reloadable Visa prepaid cards. It’s quite surprising to see them advertise it alongside the Excella Prepaid Debit Card which would (at least in theory) be a competitor, but it looks like they’re comfortable with promoting them both.

Before we get specifically into this brand, let’s clear out one common misconception. These are prepaid DEBIT cards, NOT prepaid credit cards. In the case of a credit card, you’re assigned a credit limit, and you’re allowed to make purchases up to said limit. In contrast, a prepaid debit card where all your purchases are drawn from a prepaid balance that you previously loaded onto the card and once that balance reaches zero, you can’t buy anything anymore until you put more money (reload). The Visa or MasterCard logo is just there to mean that you can make transactions anywhere Visa or MasterCard is accepted, but that’s about it.

Related: BBVA Compass Prepaid Card

Those prepaid debit cards come in two flavors: MoneyWise and GoldCard. They offer the same basic set of features, but the GoldCard offers more than MoneyWise.

Who’s the target market for prepaid debit cards?

Well those cards are basically for people who are unable to have a regular bank account. They might have been reported to Chexsystems or have bad credit and banks refuse to open accounts for them. In order to keep making basic financial transactions that require having a bank account, those people can use these cards. Western Union’s Visa debit cards have the following features:

• No bank account or credit check is required
• No monthly maintenance fees
• No purchase transaction fees
• No overdraft or late payment fees because you can’t spend over your limit

It’s now possible to put yourself in charge of your finances, by managing your money with one of those two reloadable Visa prepaid cards. They offer bank account features, such as check writing privileges (the amount of the check is simply deducted from the card’s balance), payroll direct deposit, and so on. You can also use them as a safe way to shop online: the chances of someone accessing your card information and running up debt under your name are practically nin-existent. They offer four easy way to load money on them. And of course, you can’t spend more money than you have on these accounts, so it’s the end of overdraft fees.

What does the MoneyWise card offer?

• The ability to add money to your card again and again. There only are a few restrictions in 2 cases: if the load transaction 1) exceeds a certain dollar amount, or 2) implicates certain regulatory issues. This is detailed in the Cardholder Agreement
• You can use your prepaid Western Union card anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including online and at ATMs. There’s an ATM withdrawal fee of $1.95, a $0.45 ATM Inquiry/Decline fee, and applicable ATM operator fees apply. ATM withdrawals are also limited to $500 per day.
• As we pointed out earlier, you can’t spend more money than what you have on the account, so there’s no worry about overspending or having to pay outrageous overdraft fees.
• The cards don’t charge excessive fees: There are no monthly maintenance fees or purchase transaction fees.
• You don’t have to have a bank account to be eligible for a prepaid debit card. Bad credit is not a problem either. Think about it: a credit check is necessary only when you’re applying for credit, as they’re assessing how likely you are to pay the debt back. Since you need to use your own money to load the card, and since the balance is not allowed to go negative, you won’t be required to pay anything back, or owe anything more than the balance on the card.
• Finally, a it’s a safe way to carry money without making a long term commitment.

Perks of the GoldCard

The GoldCard offers the same package as the MoneyWise, plus a couple more features, to save you time and reward you for sending money.

• Having the GoldCard saves you time. No need to fill out forms: all you have to do is hand your card to an agent clerk
• Earn rewards, such as service fee reductions on future transactions and more.

How to reload your Western Union Prepaid Visa Debit Card

1. Add money at one of over 46,000 participating U.S. Western Union Agent locations
2. Sign up for payroll direct deposit
3. Load a Western Union Money Transfer transaction directly onto your card
4. Transfer money to your card from your bank account

Western Union Reloadable Visa Prepaid Debit Cards offer one of the most fee-friendly packages out there, plus they offer 3 great ways to track your balance: you can do so online, over the phone, or through SMS text alerts.

Western Union Reloadable Visa Prepaid Debit Cards