ReadyDebit Card Review | Prepaid Visa Debit Cards
ReadyDebit Card Review | Prepaid Visa Debit Cards
The ReadyDebit card is a prepaid debit card. When you apply for your Ready Debit card you can enjoy most of the same features of having a regular checking account. We don’t think there’s really a need to go in depth about how prepaid debit cards work: you use various methods to load money on to them; once that is done, you can use the card until you run out of money. Since the card is designed so that you can’t spend more money than is on the card you have to reload it if you want to keep using it. That’s it, in a nutshell.
So why pick this prepaid debit card over another one? Well it’s going to hinge on three factors: convenience (how easy is it to get the card and put money on it), features (what does the card actually allow you to do) and fees (how much do you get charged). You want to find the easiest to get prepaid debit card that offers the most convenience and features at the lowest fees. In most cases, you’re going to have to compromise. So how does the ReadyDebit prepaid card fare in each of those categories?
Related post: BBVA Compass SafeSpend Debit Card Review
Convenience
- The READYdebit™ Card is a debit card that is designed for people who have very poor credit and/or can’t open a bank account. There is automatic acceptance for everyone who applies and can verify the information they provide because it is a prepaid card and no credit lines are extended. Ready Debit does not require any kind of credit check.
- The READY Debit card offers much of the convenience that credit cards offer: the card is honored anywhere that Visa cards are accepted.
- It allows you the freedom to shop and pay bills online, as long as you have the money available on your card. You can shop as much as you want within your account balance with no limit online or at stores, anywhere debit Visa is accepted.
- You have access to your cash at millions of ATMs worldwide
- You’re covered by the Visa Card Zero Liability protection plan: carrying your card is safer than carrying cash and even in case of theft or loss, the Visa Card zero liability coverage protects unauthorized usage of your card.
Features
- You have the ability to load the card at more than 50,000 retail locations using Greendot MoneyPak or Visa ReadyLink. Be advised that there may be a service charge attached to loading your card via these methods.
- Free Direct Deposit. You can get your paycheck directly deposited and those funds will be available to you faster than most banks or check cashing locations. You can access your money up to two days faster with direct deposit by depositing your pay check directly into your account.
- Other Free reload options: Retail Cash Load and Bank ACH Transfer are free.
- The funds in the account are fully FDIC-insured
- FREE online bill paying feature, mobile banking, and online bill paying. You can now pay your bills online for free instead of paying to get money orders or going to the location to pay in cash. This is a much better way to take care of the utility bills.
- FREE online check writing. If the company does not accept electronic check, you can print your own check and mail it to them.
- FREE credit score tracker to help you monitor your credit profile. The card has a credit builder option: when you sign up for online bill pay, you can work on rebuilding your credit score. On-time payments are reported to PRBC to help re-establish and re-build your credit through responsible and regular use of the card. PBRC has yet to gain mainstream acceptance, though.
- No overdraft fees
Fees
The Ready Debit Card comes in three versions – the “Control”, the “Select”, and the “Platinum” versions. Here’s the fee schedule (as of Aug 4th, 2011)
Fees |
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Control |
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Select |
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Platinum |
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| Card issuance | $9.95 | $9.95 | $9.95 | This is a one-time fee, and is not charged until you make your first deposit. | ||||||
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| Monthly service | |
Free with at least $1500 in monthly Direct Deposit, otherwise $3.95 | |
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$9.95 | |
$14.95 | A great deal—and a whole lot better than check-cashing fees, wire-transfer fees, interest payments, late fees, …Your first monthly fee is charged one month from the day you order your card. | ||
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| Secondary Card | |
Not Available | |
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$10 | |
Free | Two cards can access the same account by adding a secondary card. Call 866.465.1645 to set this up. | ||
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| Signature transactions | $0.95 | Free | Free | Other companies charge $1 or more per transaction | ||||||
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| PIN transactions | $0.95 | Free | Free | Other companies charge $1 or more per transaction | ||||||
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| Negative Balance Fee | Free | Free | Free | Really! | ||||||
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| Direct deposit | |
Free | |
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Free | |
Free | Save time and money-sign up for free direct deposit to your READYdebit card account. | ||
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| Loading cash & deposits via bank ACH transfer | |
Free | |
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Free | |
Free | You can load cash to your card with Visa ReadyLink and Green Dot MoneyPaks. Each store charges a fee to complete the transaction. | ||
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| ATM withdrawal | |
$2.25 | |
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$2.25 | |
$2 | Remember that the ATM owner may charge a fee, as well. Be careful with these—they can add up. Many stores will offer cash back when you make a purchase-buy a pack of gum and skip the ATM fees. | ||
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| ATM withdrawal decline | |
$1.95 | |
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None | |
None | Check your balance online before making the request. | ||
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| U.S. ATM Balance Inquiry | $0.50 | Free | Free | Check your balance often-it’s an important part of good money management. | ||||||
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| Online customer service | Free | Free | Free | |||||||
| Automated phone support | Free | Free | Free | Check out our FAQ for answers to many questions. | ||||||
| Live customer service | |
$2 per call | |
1 free call per month, then $2 each |
Free | |||||
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| Online bill pay | |
Free | |
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Free | |
Free | A great way to pay your utility bills, rent or even your babysitter. | ||
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| Bank teller cash advance | |
$5 | |
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$5 | |
$5 | Save a few bucks and use an ATM instead. | ||
Summary
The ReadyDebit Visa reloadable prepaid card is ideal if you have been turned down for a traditional checking account (usually by getting reported to Chexsystems) and wish to take advantage of features afforded to checking account customers. It offers an affordable checking-account alternative for people with bad credit who either are non-banked or have a checking account with frequent overdraft fees that are costing them hundreds dollars in fees each year.
Ready Debit allows benefits you with free online payment, free online cheque writing, and access to over a million ATMs. The card offers flexibility in terms of maximum deposits and fees charged. When cardholders use prepaid Visa to pay their bills online they automatically earn positive credit to their account. When bills are paid on time online, it gets automatically reported to PRBC which allows you get a lower rate of interest if you applying for loans later in life.
However, bear in mind that having a prepaid card does not help you rebuild your credit. As previously mentioned, PBRC (while not a scam) has yet to get known to the point where it can be a major player. So the credit-building benefit of the card is rather limited. If you need to rebuild your credit, then a better and more efficient path is to get a secured credit card, also known as a second chance credit card.