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		Control			Select		Platinum
Card issuance		$9.95			$9.95		$9.95		This is a one-time fee, and is not charged until you make your first deposit.
Monthly service		Free with at least $1500 in monthly Direct Deposit, otherwise $3.95			$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.
Secondary Card		Not Available			$10		Free		Two cards can access the same account by adding a secondary card. Call 866.465.1645 to set this up.
Signature transactions		$0.95			Free		Free		Other companies charge $1 or more per transaction
PIN transactions		$0.95			Free		Free		Other companies charge $1 or more per transaction
Negative Balance Fee		Free			Free		Free		Really!
Direct deposit		Free			Free		Free		Save time and money-sign up for free direct deposit to your READYdebit card account.
Loading cash & deposits via bank ACH transfer		Free			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.
ATM withdrawal		$2.25			$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.
ATM withdrawal decline		$1.95			None		None		Check your balance online before making the request.
U.S. ATM Balance Inquiry		$0.50			Free		Free		Check your balance often-it’s an important part of good money management.
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
Online bill pay		Free			Free		Free		A great way to pay your utility bills, rent or even your babysitter.
Bank teller cash advance		$5			$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.

ReadyDebit Card Review | Prepaid Visa Debit Cards

Just a few short years ago, prepaid debit cards were only offered by a handful of financial institutions besides local check cashing centers. Nowadays, because of the recent financial legislation, most banks have had to find a way to make up for the revenue they stand to lose from other financial products. That is why even American Express has a prepaid debit card. But it looks like it’s a lucrative product, because even Walmart got into the act with its very own prepaid debit card, which is the subject of this review.

The card is issued through GE Money Bank and Walmart has partnered with the Green Dot Corporation to provide additional services. Like most prepaid debit cards, this card is designed for (and marketed to) people who, because of past financial mistakes, can’t open a traditional bank account. This includes people who may have filed for bankruptcy, have been reported to Chexsystems, or who have bad credit. Those people will be happy to know that there is no credit check to qualify, and you don’t need a bank account either. All that is required is for you to be 18 or older, and to be able to give ID so they can comply with financial regulations. Minors between 16 and 18 need parental authorization. Once that is taken care of, you will be eligible for a reloadable Visa debit card. There is a $3.00 issuance fee.

Since the card carries the Visa logo, you can use it anywhere Visa is accepted, which means tens of millions of locations worldwide. So you can use your card for everything: pay bills, buy groceries, shop online, you name it. Once you receive you Walmart MoneyCard, you can log on to their website with your information and be able to access your prepaid card information, including balance, transaction history, etc. You can also access your account via phone and keep track of your balance via text alerts. Your money is FDIC insured and it is protected under Visa’s zero liability policy. This means if your card is lost or stolen, your money is still protected.

Whenever you use your Walmart MoneyCard to pump gas you will get 1% back in cash! This is a great option not offered by any other prepaid debit cards.

Ways to reload

1. With cash at Walmart (any amount from $20 to $1,100; $3.00 reload fee)
2. By check at Walmart (any amount from $20 to $1,500; no reload fee, $3.00 check cashing fee) – not available in NJ, NY, and RI
3. Direct Deposit (no fee)
4. With a MoneyPak ($4.95)
5. With an online bank transfer (no fee)
6. With Walmart Moneycenter Express ($3.00 reload fee)

Besides that, here are the other fees associated with the card: a $2.00 fee for cash transactions at an ATM, a $1.00 ATM balance inquiry fee, a $3.00 monthly maintenance fee (waived if you load at least $1,000 during the month onto your card), a $3.00 lost/stolen card fee, a $20.00 fee for rush delivery, and a 2% fee on foreign transactions. If you would like a monthly statement, they will charge you $3 per month.

Although there are many different cards available on the market, Walmart MoneyCard Visa offers some of the best values due to how simple it is to use and the unique features it offers. It is a pretty basic Visa prepaid card, and although it does have some fees associated with it they are not outlandish or too numerous: they offer ways to use the card for free depending on how much you load on the card each month. There is no credit check so it is a good card for those with poor or no credit, and it is accepted worldwide.

Walmart MoneyCard Prepaid Debit Card Review

The UPside Visa® prepaid card is a reloadable Visa® debit card. It’s not only one of the best prepaid debit card for kids (primarily intended for the 13-25 year old age group), it’s also a great checking account alternative for people who can’t get a bank account. In 2011, the winner of the best consumer-friendly prepaid card went to the UPside Prepaid Visa card.

You can basically enjoy the convenience of a paying with plastic without incurring the debt and interest charges that comes with it. It functions like a debit checking account; you can even have secure checks issued from the account itself. This prepaid card has 100% approval with no credit checks and no activation fees. With zero activation fee, a unique personal check writing feature and companion card availability, this card is a great all-around value.

Because the cardholder can’t spend more than the available balance, and charges made to the card occur in real time, you can closely and securely monitor spending. It becomes a great tool to teach money management skills and basic financial literacy.

Parents can transfer from checking accounts free of charge and have online and real time access to the card holder’s purchases. The UPside Prepaid Visa works like a checking account, and you can use it anywhere Visa is accepted. This card offers you the features of a checking account with the flexibility of online account services, and has some of the lowest maintenance fees of any prepaid card program on the market.

With separate online access for both parents and teens as well as premium services for cardholders over 18 years of age, the UPside Visa® prepaid card represents freedom for cardholders (whether they are teens or college students) and peace of mind for parents.

As a parent or guardian, you are the legal owner and signatory of the card contract. There is no credit check to obtain this card, so applying for the UPside Visa® prepaid card will not affect your credit as a parent. Your student or teen is the designated cardholder.

Features

• Save up to $220 compared with other cards, the first year alone

• 100% approval with no credit check and no activation fee.

• $0.99 monthly fee if $500 is loaded each month. (Only $2.99 otherwise). There is also a $2.00 fee for phone contacts to customer service.

• Free Direct Deposit from employers or deposit cash at 50,000 retailers.

• Write personal checks online and get them mailed: easy to pay bills (electricity, cable, rent, car payment). You get to write the first one free and then $2.00 for each additional check. To use this simply log in online and fill in the necessary info – the person to be paid, the amount, and the date of the payment.

• Earn 1,500 cash back reward points for you first direct deposit load.

• Optional companion card available, as if you had a joint checking.

How to load the card

• Direct Deposit: You can have your paycheck or benefits check deposited directly on to the UPside card for free. This is the easiest and cheapest way to load the card, and it avoids expensive checking cashing fees you may be paying now.

• Load Cash: You can load cash onto the card by using a Green Dot MoneyPak. MoneyPaks can be purchased at CVS, Walgreens, Cumberland farms, Rite Aid, Hess, or about 50,000 additional retailers, but there is a fee that is typically about $4.95.

• Bank Transfer: The UPside Visa can be loaded through a transfer from a bank checking or savings account.

• Load from Another UPside Card: If a friend or family member also has an UPside card, you can easily transfer funds between the two cards.

• From a Credit Card: You can also load the card with a credit card. This option, however, is only available to cardholders who have used the card for at least three months and receive direct deposit of $ 1,000 or more each month.

The maximum balance you can have on the card at any one time is $10,000.

You can apply for this card online. Reloads can also be managed online or offline. Moreover, there is no debt or annual percentage rate.

The Upside Visa debit card can save you a lot of money on check cashing fees, as well as the time it would take waiting in line at your local check cashing store.

Upside Prepaid Visa Debit Card Review (Access Plan)

The ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Debit Card is offered in a partnership with NetSpend and is easy to get. Since it’s a prepaid card, where you have to load it with money before you can use it, there are no credit checks and no ChexSystems check. The funds on the cards are insured by the FDIC pretty much like a bank account would, and the fees are in line with the competition.

The ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Debit Card can be used as an online checking account for anyone who can’t open a checking account because of bad credit or is looking for a second chance checking account because they’ve been reported to Chexsystems. Prepaid debit cards such as this one, the NetSpend Prepaid Debit Card, the Rush Card or the Excella Card (just to name a few) are considered to be safer to use than cash. The card is accepted anywhere where Visa is accepted, including international merchants. However, an international ATM fee may be applied when the card is used at an international ATM.

The ACE Prepaid Visa card comes in two basic plans, the “Pay as You Go” and the “Fee Advantage” plan. If you’re going to use the card as your primary payment method, the Fee Advantage plan is what you want. On the other hand, if you’re planning on using it primarily as a backup, then the “Pay as You Go” is the right choice for you.

Reloading Your Card

Where a lot of prepaid cards like to try and differentiate themselves is in their reloading options. Money can be deposited on the Ace Visa Prepaid Card in several ways. The best one is obviously direct deposit; free account-to-account transfer online comes second (there’s a charge if done by a customer service rep on the phone), and visiting one of the many reload centers in the United States comes third (ACE Cash Express locations don’t charge for this service, but other places do and the charge depends on the distributor).

Fees

As with all prepaid debit cards, you have to pay attention to the fees. There is a  fee for both signature ($1.00 each) and PIN ($2.00 each) purchases for the pay-as-you-go customer. As we pointed out previously, this plan is for people who do not use the card often enough to justify paying a monthly maintenance fee. For those who will use the card more often, there is a monthly maintenance fee of $9.95 if you don’t have direct deposit and $5.00 if you do. In the latter cae, there is no fee for signature or PIN purchases. If the account is dormant for 90 days, a small account maintenance fee will be charged. A fee is also charged to replace the card if it is lost or stolen. The account balance is transferred to the new card once the old one is reported missing and the replacement card is ordered.

Due to the fact the card is insured by the FDIC, it is safer than cash in that the money is insured up to a specified amount. The card is also safer than cash in that cash that is lost is gone forever. A card that is lost can be replaced. The card also works better than a checking account in that only what is in the account can be used and nothing more, resulting in no overdraft fees.

Summary

• A card with benefits that matter to you
• No credit check, No application fee, No obligation
• No-Fee Cash Withdrawals at 1,600 + ACE Cash Express locations with direct deposit (daily limit applies)*
• Free unlimited purchase transactions with paid enrollment in FeeAdvantage Plan
• Free Direct Deposit – Get paid up to 3 days faster than with a paper check with free direct deposit of your paycheck or government check: don’t stand in line or pay check cashing fees*
• Free Anytime AlertsTM – Get your balance and transactions via text or email*
• Free Savings Account – Receive 5.00% APY*
• No overdraft fees or minimum balances
• Secure: Card funds are FDIC insured and protected from identity theft and unauthorized transactions if card is reported lost or stolen (backed by Visa Zero Liability*)

Ace Elite Visa Prepaid Card Review | Best 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

In our previous post, we talked about People’s Cash Solutions second chance checking accounts and what they offer. Today’s post is going to cover another product in that same line, the Excella Visa Prepaid Debit Card. Of course, the target market is the same, as its target market is specifically those people who want a viable solution when looking for a non-chexsystems checking account to go about their daily financial activities. Because of the severity of this recession, many people who thought they would never be in such a situation now have to turn to financial products such as a prepaid debit card.

Not too long ago, because of easily available credit, people were routinely living above their means. That has come to an abrupt end, with a financial cost that has yet to be fully calculated. In the meantime, lots of people have seen their financial situation go into a nosedive, and their credit has considerably deteriorated. To cover living expenses, families have gone even further into debt, and credit scores have tanked. So of course the result of that is that many families have seen their traditional checking accounts get closed because of too many overdrafts. And that’s where solutions like the Excella Prepaid Debit Card can come in handy.

One of the things that you won’t find on this website is false claims that prepaid debit cards are the absolute best thing for you. What you have to realize is that those are products that are tailored for people with less than stellar credit ratings and who are being routinely turned down by large banks who refuse to open bank accounts for them. So if you’re in this situation, there’s going to be a cost in order to get a second chance checking account. The best way to see it is that it’s somewhat like paying a price so that in due time you can get back to having regular checking accounts. Prepaid debits cards like the Excella Visa card allow you to make secured, safe financial transactions.

Just to avoid any confusion, the Excella Prepaid Visa Debit Card is not a credit card. This means that there’s no credit extended to you, and you will never end up owing money using such a card. If you don’t have the balance in your account, the transaction simply gets denied, that’s it. As we said previously, there are fees associated with using this card, but at the end of the day it’s one of the best ways to get a non-chexsystems checking account.

So many of the transactions that we make all the time are now tied to giving a credit or debit card information. For example, stuff like ordering something online, booking a flight, and renting a car require that you give such information. This card fits the bill nad will be accepted anywhere a Visa card is accepted as a form of payment. There are additional perks;

• protection against fraudulent activities
• not having to carry cash all the time
• being able to do online banking and bill paying
• having access to ATMs
• direct deposit of your paycheck and/or social security benefits
• add money to the card to “recharge” it whenever you like

How To Use Your Excella Visa Prepaid Debit Card

Making Purchases

Like we said earlier, anywhere Visa cards are accepted (over 11 million locations worldwide), you can use your Excella card.

Getting Cash Back When Making A Purchase

You can get some extra cash when making a purchase. For example, let’s say you’re going to buy something for $30 but want to have an extra $20 in cash on hand. You can ask the cashier to charge the card for $50 and give you the extra $20 in cash. It’s pretty much like doing an ATM withdrawal without incurring a fee.

Getting Cash From An ATM

This one is pretty much self explanatory. Just keep an eye on the carges to avoid paying exorbitant ATM withdrawal charges. On a related note, you can also add cash to your card at any participating Excella Retail Reload location.

Non-Chexsystems Checking Accounts: A Little Background Information

ChexSystems is a service that is used by about 80% of the banks in the U.S. to determine who they want to open checking accounts for and who they don’t. Created by a company called eFunds, ChexSystems (often incorrectly referred to as Chex Systems or Check Systems) maintains a database of people that have in one way or another abused the banking system. In that regard, it’s similar to the FICO scoring system but the similarity ends there. There’s no Chexsystems score, and whereas you can have a good credit score or a bad one, you can’t have a good chexsystems record. You either don’t have one, or you do. And if you do, well that’s grounds for banks to flat out reject your checking account application.

You’re not going to get rejected by just one bank, though. Most likely every big bank out there will refuse to open a checking account for you if your name shows up in Chexsystems’s database.  Nobody wants to put themselves through this type of shame and discomfort, which is why a lot of people look for banks that do not use Chexsystems.

How can you get into this system in the first place? Your name can show up in Chex Systems for a number of reasons, including for having abused your debit card, having committed a fraud against a bank, or if you still you owe your bank money for an overdraft that they covered for you in the past.

Trying to get removed from Chex Systems is not easy, either. Unless there has been some sort of error whereby something you never actually did was mistakenly attributed to your name in the system, often only time itself can get you safely removed. But, that could take years, and you need a new checking account now.

The good news is that there is an alternative to getting rejected by more banks or to waiting years to get removed from Chex Systems: finding a bank or other financial institution that offers a no ChexSystems checking account. And this is what the Excella Visa Prepaid Debit Card offers.

The Excella Visa Prepaid Debit Card, A Perfect Non-Chexsystems Checking Account

People looking for a list of banks that do not use ChexSystems come from all walks of life. In most cases they have been in bad situations and they’ve had checks bounce. The banks that they held their accounts with decided to close those accounts and report the incidents to Chexsystems. So those financial problems that you’ve had in the past can potentially follow you for years. This is because ChexSystems is a company that maintains a database of all the “bad” banking clients. Since most banks do a ChexSystems check on all new bank applicants, if your name is in the system, you won’t be able to qualify for a new account.

This is what prompts most people to get online and start looking for “banks without Chexsystems“. They look because it’s common knowledge that only about 80% of the banks out there do business with ChexSystems. That leaves a big 20% of banks out there that are open to the possibility of opening a checking account for you even if you have a negative record. Depending on the bank, those accounts are called “fresh start checking accounts” or “second chance checking accounts” but they basically offer the same thing: you get to open a bank account even if you’ve had financial problems, or you have bad credit, or something similar.

You’ll find that there are lots and lots of places that promise to get you a list of banks that don’t use ChexSystems. The problem is that a lot of them are really not about to give you the exact information that you’re really looking for. But at first, let’s give this a little more thought.

ChexSystems makes its money by charging financial institutions to use its service. That means that the more banks use them, the more money they’ll make. So they’re pretty aggressive in terms of marketing their service to banks that don’t currently use them to verify new checking accounts. Conversely, some banks have realized that they lose business by simply turning down everyone with a negative ChexSystems record, and they don’t necessarily want to keep doing that. What that boils down to is that there’s a constant movement of banks signing up for ChexSystems’ service and others that are leaving it.

When you think of the number of banks that there are in the United States (close to 8,500), getting a list of banks that don’t use Chexsystems would be a colossal amount of work in the first place. And that’s only the beginning, because such a list would have to be maintained continuously in order to be accurate. That would necessitate a sizable staff and that list would probably be just too expensive to be attractive to anyone looking for a non ChexSystems bank.

So what’s left for you to do? Well there are companies that are well known for offering “second chance checking” products and services. Three of them come to mind, but there are many more.

People’s Cash Solutions: “Second Chance Checking Accounts”

People’s Cash Solutions refers to their product as a “fresh start at banking”. Here’s what their website has to say:

Have you ever been denied a checking or savings account due to past problems with ChexSystems and TeleCheck? The Peoples Cash Solutions program is the answer for you! Peoples Cash Solutions and Peoples Bank will open a real FDIC-insured checking account for you even if you have been reported to ChexSystems or TeleCheck in the past (except where fraudulent activity has been reported). We want to give you a chance to establish a banking relationship as the first step toward improving your credit record and to allow you to begin building and accumulating assets. Our Second Chance Checking program erases the inconvenience of not having a checking account and/or being forced to use fee-intensive alternatives.

Money Now Usa: “100% Approval, No Credit Checks Prepaid Debit Cards”

Money Now Usa flaunts their wide selection of prepaid debit cards with 100% guaranteed approval. You get to choose from a list of well-known companies that offer their debit cards with no credit checks and no Chexsystems verifications. There’s a small list of features and benefits next to each offering to help you decide which is best for you.

Ready Debit: “100% Approval Guaranteed Reloadable Prepaid Debit Cards”

Once again, I’ll let the company’s website do the talking:

100% Approval Guaranteed — Even if you’ve been turned away or rejected by banks you can still get a READYdebit card. We have no credit or Chexsystems checks to worry about. Our only requirement is that we can validate the information you provide to us when you open your account. We do this instantly online while your application is being completed to make the sign-up process fast and easy!

“Can I Get A List Of Banks That Don’t Use ChexSystems?”

Fresh Start Checking Accounts

If we’re talking about Fresh Start Checking Accounts, then there has to be a negative record at one of the companies that track people’s checking activities. Maybe you’re been reported to Chexsystems, or maybe you have a record with Telecheck, it doesn’t even matter. What matters is that you’re going to have to find banks that don’t use Chexsystems in order for you to get what is also known in the industry as a second chance checking account. Chexsystems is kind of the banking system’s watchdog, in that it keeps tabs on your bank related history and will keep on putting notes against your name you have amounts overdue against your name or if you have the fraud against your name.

What that means is that a negative ChexSystem record will prevent from qualifying for a checking account at roughly 80% of the banks in the country. Until people are victims of it, they have no idea how bad it is to not be able to have a checking account: to make a long story short, no access to checking services like ATM transactions, no telephone banking, no online banking, no direct deposit, and you have to carry cash to conduct all your transactions: without a bank account cash is your only option. Not only is it impractical to carry huge amounts of cash in your pocket, it’s also very risky.

The fresh start checking account helps solve this predicament. Of course, it comes at a cost (most banks charge a monthly fee of $5 to $10 to open a fresh start checking account under your name), but consider it as a small price to pay for your convenience

Upgrading from Fresh Start Checking Account to Regular Checking Account

Plus, it’s good to keep in mind that many of those banks also make it a policy to upgrade your fresh start checking account to regular checking account status within 6 to 12 months, provided that you’ve kept your account in good standing and incident free over the specified period. By incident free, they mostly mean that you’ve had no NSF fees.

Banks That Do Not Use ChexSystems & Offer Fresh Start Checking Accounts

There are a number of banks that are now offering those second chance checking accounts, because they either don’t really worry about it, or they realize that a lot of people end up with a negative Chexsystems record or a Telecheck report unintentionally or because of something they didn’t know. Those people deserve a second chance and they get to have a checking account and a debit card with either the Visa or Mastercard logo.

Of course, it’s best if you don’t end up getting in trouble with either Chexsystems or Telecheck, because it can really be a nightmare. But in case you do end up being reported to one of them, it’s always good to know that you can still open a checking account. It’s not going to be free, and you’ll have a lot more restrictions compared to regular checking accounts, but at least you’ll be able to access basic banking services.

Fresh Start Checking Account: Banking For People With A Negative Chexsystems or Telecheck Record