The No-Fee $10 purchase cushion is a feature offered by Ace Cash Express and NetSpend on the prepaid debit cards that they issue.

It works exactly as its name suggests. We all know how prepaid debit cards work: you load the card, and then you get all the convenience associated with a debit card, until your balance reaches zero. Typically, a prepaid debit card will not authorize any transaction for an amount greater than what is on your balance, even if it’s a couple dollars. So let’s say you have $52 dollars left on your account but need to pay for a $55 purchase. Most prepaid cards would decline the transaction. With a no-fee $10 purchase protection, your transaction will be approved as long as your shortfall is $10 or less.

Now that doesn’t mean that you were extended $10 worth of credit; on the Ace Cash Express website, they call it a non-contractual courtesy, and you are expected to pay that money back as soon as possible. It doesn’t look like it’s much, but when you consider that you don’t have to pay any overdraft fees for that feature, those debit cards certainly differentiate themselves from the competition.

No Fee $10 Purchase Cushion | Best Prepaid Debit Card Features

The Ace Pink Prepaid Visa® Debit Card is a well-reviewed card in the prepaid market. Not only does it offer plenty of benefits and a competitive fee plan that put it at the head of its class, it also comes with the added benefit that a portion of your purchase goes to breast cancer awareness and detection, so you donate to cancer research every time you use your card, without spending any additional money. People looking to get rid of heavy overdraft charges and penalties should definitely consider applying for the Pink Ace Elite Visa.

Offered through ACE Cash Express, this card is designed to give consumers all of the traditional debit card benefits while also helping a worthy cause. In 2010, ACE and NetSpend donated more than $400,000 through their partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation – all because consumers used their Pink Debit Card instead of cash.

Related: Ace Elite Prepaid Card Review – NetSpend Debit Card Review

The well-respected Visa logo is easily recognized and accepted worldwide. Each deposit is FDIC insured, protected from unauthorized activity, and available 24/7. Finally, Pink Prepaid customers can have their checks directly deposited to the card, without ever stepping foot into a bank or other financial institution.

Features:

Guaranteed approval. Pink Ace does not require any kind of credit check or fees to obtain a Pink Ace Elite Visa Card. Any person who wants a prepaid card can just apply for it. No credit check is required to obtain the Ace Pink Prepaid Visa® Debit Card. The only requirements are that you comply with the regulations of the US PATRIOT Act.

No application fee.

Two ways to participate. The Pink Ace Elite Prepaid Visa Card offers two plans, ‘pay as you go’ and the ‘fee advantage’ plan. The ‘pay as you go’ plan does not require a direct deposit and charges a fee of $1 or $2 when you use the card for transactions. The ‘fee advantage’ plan requires the customer set up certain features in order to receive discounted fees, such as direct deposit; it costs $9.95 with no transaction fees.

Credit builder: The card has a credit builder option, which enables you to build your credit through responsible and regular use of the card. This can include monthly bill payments and deposits.

Online bill payment:  You can now pay your bills online for free using your Pink Ace Elite Visa Card by just choosing the ‘bill pay’ feature.

Online shopping: You can shop as much as you want online or at stores, anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Visa Card Zero Liability: Card funds are FDIC insured, backed by Visa Zero Liability which protects against unauthorized usage of your card. Should your card be lost or stolen, or should your account get hacked, you have the same security that is extended to all Visa® Cards. As long as you notify Net Spend within 2 business days, you will be reimbursed for any and all unauthorized withdrawals and/or debits against your card.

Free Direct deposit: You can access your money faster with direct deposit by depositing your pay check directly into your account. Get paid up to 2 days faster, don’t stand in line or pay check cashing fees. Direct deposit waives the reload fee.

No-Fee Cash Withdrawals at ACE locations. ATM fees typically range from $2.50 to $5.00. With direct deposit onto your card you will be eligible for free ATM withdrawals at all ACE locations. At those locations you can also buy a card, reload your card, or get a replacement.

Free unlimited purchase transactions when you enroll in the Fee Advantage plan.

No overdraft fees. Instead, you get a no-fee $10 purchase cushion. With this if you spend up to $10 over your balance you will not have to pay any fees. You will have to pay back the $10 but this is much better than having to pay a huge overdraft fee on top of it.

Free Anytime Alerts™ – Get your balance and transactions via text or email

Free Savings Account – Receive 5.00% APY

NOTE: Some of the features require enrollment in the Fee Advantage plan

How to reload the card

Deposits can be done through free direct deposit, free account-to-account transfer online or by paying a fee when doing it through a customer service representative, and by visiting one of the many reload centers throughout the United States.

Verdict

Cardholder with Pink Ace appreciate the fact that a portion of every purchase you make with Pink Ace goes to the breast cancer awareness and detection program. Getting approved for this card requires no credit checks, or activation fees. FDIC insurance and Zero Liability protection make it safer to carry than cash.

Since it is impossible to spend more money than you have on the card, you can use it to control your spending and leave behind interest charges and overdraft fees. The Pink Prepaid debit card is an amazing debit card which provides all of the financial services you need, while allowing you to do your part in the fight against cancer!

Pink Prepaid Debit Card Review | NetSpend’s Ace Visa Card

ChexSystems is a reporting bureau that financial institutions such as banks use to screen people who come to apply for new checking accounts. If you find yourself unable to open a checking account, chances are that it’s because you have been reported to Chexsystems.

As a reporting bureau, ChexSystems is the equivalent of Equifax, TransUnion or Experian. Its only clients are the banks that use its services. So only a bank can have your name listed on Chexsystems and in most cases (with the notable exception of identity theft cases) it will be up to a bank to write and ask to have your name removed from the list.

Having your name appear on ChexSystems’ report means that most major banks will deny you a checking account. The major banks such as Chase obviously use ChexSystems. The smaller banks have slowly but surely been using the information too, although it is worth pointing out that ChexSystems itself doesn’t approve or deny your account. It’s solely the bank’s decision; they just use ChexSystems’ information to make that decision.

About PNC Bank

Established in the 1800s, PNC (Pittsburgh National Corporation) Bank has grown to be one of the leading financial service organizations in the country. With more than five million customers, and assets of approximately $264.3 billion as of March 2011, it operates 2,400 branches and 6,500 ATMs in 15 states. PNC Bank uses ChexSystems to screen out prospective customers. If you’ve applied for a checking account at PNC and been rejected, you should definitely look into options offered by banks that do not use ChexSystems.

Prepaid Debit Cards You Can Use Like Checking Accounts

Here’s a (partial) list of prepaid debit cards that can give you most of the options and convenience that you would get with a regular checking account. They’re easy to get, and can be used anywhere a regular debit or credit card is accepted.

• BBVA Compass SafeSpend Prepaid
• Ready Debit Card
• Green Dot Gold Card
• UpSide Prepaid Visa
• Mango Prepaid MasterCard
• American Express Prepaid
• Walmart MoneyCard

Does PNC Bank Use ChexSystems?

One of the side effects of the recent financial legislation is that banks and other financial institutions have been looking for ways to make up for lost revenues. Besides the fact that free checking is now an endangered species, we have witnessed more and more companies offering prepaid debit cards. BBVA Compass is one of the latest to do so, with the SafeSpend Card, a reloadable, prepaid VISA® debit card.

If you can’t open a checking account, or are looking for a debit card for your teenage son or daughter, or are a regular of local check cashing stores, you might want to take a look at the BBVA Compass SafeSpend Card. Like all prepaid debit cards, you only have to be 18 and be able to present a photo ID; there is no credit approval required, and no checking with ChexSystems. So even if you have bad credit or have your name on the ChexSystems database, you can still get the SafeSpend card and make purchases offline, shop online, as well as manage bill payments with a debit card.

Related: Bank accounts for minors

Once you apply for and get the SafeSpend Card, funds can be direct deposited onto the card, transferred from an existing BBVA Compass checking account or reloaded at any Visa ReadyLink location.

About Visa ReadyLink (From the Visa website):

Add money to your card wherever you see the Visa ReadyLink symbol.

It’s fast and easy to load your Visa Prepaid card* with additional funds at places conveniently close to where you live, work or shop. You can quickly add funds to your cards at these stores:

• MoneyGram Agents
• Safeway
• 7-Eleven®
• Circle K (at TIO Kiosk)
• ExxonMobil (at TIO Kiosk)
• Maverik (at TIO Kiosk)
• Carrs
• Dominick’s
• Genuardi’s
• Pak ‘n Save
• Pavilions
• Randalls
• Vons
• Tom Thumb

The SafeSpend Card is available for a flat $4 monthly service charge and carries a host of features such as direct deposit, online banking, bill payments, email/text message alerts, unlimited PIN and signature purchases, and your money is FDIC-insured.

Reloading or performing a balance inquiry at a BBVA Compass ATM is free but there is an initial loading of funds charge of $4 and withdrawals at BBVA Compass ATMs cost $1 each. However, SafeSpend cardholders won’t be able to do much in-branch banking or write checks. The lack of check writing capabilities is disappointing but not a deal-breaker.

Also, prepaid debit cards are ideal for teens and young adults looking to getting their first payment cards as they can help control spending. Then again, those cards are most beneficial once people have learned how to budget and manage their money in a responsible manner. It’s not possible to spend more than the available balance on the account, which obviously means there are no overdraft charges on the SafeSpend card. It also means that for teens, this can represent the first “real” lesson on how money works.

“The SafeSpend Card is a great money management tool for parents who aren’t ready to give their kids credit or debit cards,” said Jon Mulkin, Director of Consumer Segment Group at BBVA Compass, in a press release. “We also expect the card to be popular among people who want to designate their spending money for special purchases like vacations.”

From a cost perspective, a quick review of the terms and conditions suggests that the product isn’t exactly at the low-end of the cost spectrum, but it does establish the beginning of a relationship with the bank, and offers most of the conveniences that come with regular debit cards.

BBVA Compass SafeSpend Debit Card Review | Prepaid Cards For Teens

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 Green Dot Visa is a prepaid debit card and is one of the most popular prepaid cards on the market today, because it is widely used by people that do not have a bank account: there is no credit check or bank account needed for approval. Also, while you can quickly get into too much debt if you use credit cards, prepaid cards like the Green Dot prepaid card are a great way to limit your spending. You must first deposit money on your card before it can be used to make purchases. It is a great alternative for those without a checking account because it will save you money on check cashing fees, approval is guaranteed, and it works just like a checking account.

Features

Green Dot cards are available for both Visa and MasterCard and the terms and conditions with both cards are the same so it’s only a matter of preference whether you want the MasterCard-branded or the Visa-branded card. In any case, they’re accepted worldwide. Here’s an overview of what to expect:

• $0 Activation Online –with no credit check
• Free ATM withdrawals at over 15,000 MoneyPass ® ATMs
• Get a $4.95 credit on your first MoneyPak cash load (see site for restrictions)
• No Monthly fee for any month with at least 30 purchases
• No Transaction fees on US purchases
• No Overdraft or penalty fees
• No Minimum balance required
• Get $10 with Direct Deposit (see site for restrictions)

How to Reload

The best way to add money to your Green Dot Prepaid Visa Card is to set up direct deposit of your paycheck or government check. When you set this up and receive your first deposit you will be given a $10 bonus! You have the option of depositing our whole check or just a portion of it. You can also load money onto your card using the Green Dot MoneyPak Card, which is available at thousands of retailers nationwide. You also have the option of loading your card directly from your bank account, credit union, or other financial institution. Most banks allow for online transfers onto your card as well.

Pros

There is no credit check and no interest to pay. There are no late fees, either, and you can use this card anywhere in the world that Visa or MasterCard is accepted. For a prepaid card the fees are not too steep or too numerous. It is very user friendly to setup and to deposit money on, and doesn’t require a bank account. There is no minimum balance requirement.

Parents have found this card useful to use as a debit card for kids. Additionally it is an easy way to send students money that are away at school.

Cons

This is a prepaid card. As such you have to deposit cash to activate it and you will be charged various transaction and maintenance or activation fees. If you can get accepted for a regular credit card or maybe a secured credit card for people with bad credit, that would probably be a better option, but of course you have to be able to come up with the collateral.

Verdict

The Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard is ideal for those looking for the convenience of a credit card and the financial security of a debit card. It has no overdraft fees or minimum balance requirements, plus there is no credit check at the time of application, and you do not need a bank account to qualify. The GreenDot Visa Prepaid card is one of the safest cards in the industries from a brand with a great reputation and is definitely a very good choice.

Green Dot Gold Card Review | Prepaid Reloadable Debit Cards 

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 Mango MasterCard Prepaid Card, issued by Inter National Bank, is a prepaid debit card that offers a payment option alternative to traditional credit cards and bank checking accounts and is a very attractive option for people with bad credit or no credit. With it, you can enjoy having brand-name plastic in your pocket that is accepted by merchants all across the globe at tens of thousands of locations, even if you have no credit history or poor credit. The Mango Card is a convenient way to manage your money (it offers mobile payments via mobile phone and web) and it’s much safer than using cash. The Mango Card is not a credit card, which means there are no credit checks, just an identity check to comply with financial regulations. Since your balance on the card is determined by your deposits, you control how much money you have on the card and can spend only the money you have. There are no overdrafts, thus no overdraft fees. There are also no interest charges or late fee charges because there’s no credit extended to you.

The card offers a neat feature which allows you the convenience of managing your account from your cell phone. Your card is enabled with YAP to access your money from anywhere at anytime. You can check your Mango Account balance and receive money all for free on your cell phone, and you can send money within the U.S. via text for a small charge.

How To Load The Card

With one exception, there is also no fee for adding money to your card. A Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card can be loaded with cash through direct deposit, from a bank account, with a Green Dot MoneyPak, from a mobile phone, or online from another Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card customer. Only the Green Dot MoneyPak comes with a fee charged by Green Dot ($4.95).

How To Get The Mango Mastercard Prepaid Card

There is no credit check and you are guaranteed to be approved as long as you can provide the information required: the only things you need is to be 18 years or older, have a valid e-mail address, and a social security number to confirm your identity. Your Mango Card will arrive in the mail 7-10 days after you order it. To activate your card, just call the number on the card or go to the web site. Once you activate your Mango Card, you can begin using it immediately. From there you load your card either through the direct deposit or through a cash deposit.

Related: Debit cards for teens

Mango™ MasterCard® Prepaid Card Fees

Summary of the Mango Mastercard Prepaid Debit Card:

• Unlike most prepaid cards there is no charge to sign up for the card and activation is free, as is use of the customer service phone number.
• Free Direct Deposit
• Pay your Bills from your online account
• No Fee to Check Your Balance With a Text Message
• Send and Receive Money Securely With any Mobile Phone
• Free Mango iPhone App (Download from iTunes Store)
• $5 Monthly Fee – Waived when You Load at Least $500 Per Month
• No Credit Check/No Bank Account Required
• Savings Account Feature

For the most part the Mango offers more free features while also charging fewer transaction fees, when compared to most prepaid cards on the market. There is also a saving account feature connected to the card, so if you want to save money you can use it while also earning some interest on your savings.  This card is for anyone who is tired of outrageous banking fees with limited features and for people who can’t open a checking account.

Mango Mastercard Prepaid Card Review | Best Card For People With Bad Credit

According the their official website, the American Express Prepaid Card is a “prepaid, reloadable card that gives you a safe and easy way to manage spending for yourself or the people you choose”. Some people have been pretty surprised to see American Express enter the prepaid debit card arena, but really it’s not that surprising. In spite of their bad reputation among financial analysts, who peg them as a high-fee alternative to debit or credit cards for consumers who can’t get a checking account, they have been growing at a tremendous pace. Now it seems the product is coming of age, because the AMEX prepaid debit card is an option that has fewer fees than the typical prepaid card.

As mentioned earlier, this is a growing field: according to the Mercator Advisory Group, Americans will put an estimated $70.7 billion on reloadable prepaid cards this year, up 153 percent from the $28 billion loaded onto such cards in 2009. Part of it is due to the recession: a lot of people who previously had bank accounts have seen those accounts closed and their information reported to ChexSystems. Another reason is that customers are increasingly fed up with banks’ overdraft fees. Ally Bank’s overdraft policy is one of the major reasons why they’re growing rapidly, even though they have no physical branches.

Pros

The AMEX prepaid debit card is being billed as a great alternative for those fed up with their current debit or credit cards. The card sets itself apart from the rest of the reloadable prepaid debit market by having no activation fees, no transaction fees and no monthly maintenance fees. Every card comes with one monthly free ATM withdrawal, and subsequent withdrawals are $2 each. Consumers with a bank account can load the card for no charge; you can also load the card using an existing American Express credit card. Compare that to competitors’ cards, which usually come with a laundry list of fees, including those for monthly or annual maintenance, reloading, usage, replacement cards, and even calling customer service.

Cons

If you don’t have a bank account nor an Amex credit card, your only loading option is the Green Dot MoneyPak, which retails for $4.95. In comparison, most other prepaid cards allow users to deposit their paychecks for free. This is the biggest, but most significant knock against the card, because prepaid debit cards, as a rule, are created for and marketed to the unbanked population. People with a bank account have no need for this prepaid card; similarly, it makes little sense for people with an American Express credit card to use this card. So basically the target market that would need this card will have to pay to load the card with cash, and would therefore be better off with any number of other prepaid cards.

Verdict

Apparently, American Express hopes to offer direct deposit later this year, but until they do, most consumers should consider alternatives such as

• Ace Elite Prepaid Debit Card
• Vision Prepaid Visa Card
• NetSpend Debit Card
• Western Union Reloadable Debit Card
• Excella Visa Prepaid Debit Card
• Rush Card

American Express (AMEX) Prepaid Debit Card Review