1.Bluebird by American Express
Bluebird, issued by American Express and in partnership with Walmart, offers more than the average prepaid debit card, and you can load and spend money without paying fees.
But Bluebird does have limits when it comes to merchant acceptance, and it doesn’t allow cash back at retailers.
- General fees and features: No monthly fees and no costs for online activation or inactivity.
- Purchases: No fees.
- ATM withdrawals: Free at ATMs in the MoneyPass network; $2.50 fee at other ATMs, plus any ATM operator fee.
- Reload methods: Direct deposit, debit card transfer, card-to-card transfer, mobile check deposit (with a third-party fee for instant processing), cash load at Walmart or other stores. (Retailers other than Walmart may charge up to $3.95.)
- Other features: Check writing, separate “set-aside” accounts for savings, and up to four sub-accounts for family members.
- Downsides: No cash back at retailers. The card is issued by American Express, which isn’t accepted everywhere that Visa and Mastercard are.
2.PayPal Prepaid Mastercard
- Move money from your PayPal account to fund your prepaid card account.
- Earn cashback and personalized offers, just for using your card.
- With Direct Deposit, you can get paid faster than a paper check.
- A card issued by The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC. The card may be used everywhere Debit Mastercard is accepted.
- Click PayPal Prepaid Mastercard® for additional features & program details, and to request a Card.
The PayPal Prepaid Mastercard is one of the our top-rated prepaid credit card. It’s a reloadable prepaid card that you can fund using your PayPal account, direct deposit, or at any of more than 130,000 Netspend Reload Network locations nationwide.
3.Netspend Prepaid
The Netspend Prepaid card allows you to get paid up to two days faster with direct deposit. You can load money onto your account using mobile check deposit, reload at over 130,000 locations, or receive money from friends and family who have Netspend cards.
Download the free Mobile App to easily manage your Netspend account, earn cash back from eligible purchases, and get a bonus added to your balance when a friend signs up.
You can choose between two plans that have varying fee structures depending on your deposit habits. Pay-As-You-Go is the default plan, which charges no monthly fee, but $2.00 for each signature or PIN transaction. The Premier Fee Advantage Plan is the best value if you have a direct deposit of $500 or more. You’ll pay $9.95 per month and transactions are included in the plan.
Fees can add up quickly. There’s no way to avoid some kind of fee—you’ll either pay the monthly fee or transaction fees. And keeping your card active is key to avoiding the inactivity fee of $5.95, which applies if the card isn’t used for 90 days.
- Monthly Fee: $0 for PAY-Go or $9.95
- Reload Fee: Up to $3.95 for cash reloads
- ATM Withdrawal Fee: $2.50
4.Movo Virtual Prepaid Visa Card
Most prepaid debit cards either charge you each month or each time you make a purchase, but the Movo Virtual Prepaid Card does neither. The exception is if you go more than three months without activity; then a $4.95 inactivity fee is charged per month until there’s activity. A “virtual” element lets you buy things online, and you can request a physical card for in-person purchases, ATM withdrawals and cash back at retailers.
- General fees and features: No monthly fees and no costs for activation; $4.95 inactivity fee.
- Purchases: No fees.
- ATM withdrawals: $2 at ATMs in the Visa Plus Alliance network; additional operator fees may apply at out-of-network ATMs.
- Reload methods: Direct deposit; bank account transfer; instant card-to-card transfer; mobile check deposit (with a third-party fee for instant processing); cash load at retailers with Visa ReadyLink, MoneyPak, and Reload @ Register locations, such as Walgreens or Safeway (for a fee set by the retailer).
- Downsides: Free ways to reload the card, such as bank transfers, can take up to five business days; no free ATM network.
5.Akimbo Prepaid MasterCard
kimbo lets you create a separate prepaid card for each of your budget goals, and you can manage each card from within the Akimbo app. The first sub-account can be added at no cost and each one after that is $4.95 (one-time only). You can schedule weekly autoloads for recurring expenses. You can also disable and enable cards at any time from within the app, as well as receive text updates after each transaction.
There is no enrollment or monthly fee. Moreover, there’s no transaction fee for signature purchases, but you’ll pay $.99 for each PIN purchase transaction. ATM cash withdrawals are charged $1.98 for each transaction and ATM balance inquiries are charged $.33 each.
If your account is dormant for 12 months, you’ll pay a $5.95 dormancy fee beginning in the 13th month.
- Card Purchase Fee: First 2 cards are free; $4.95 for each card thereafter
- Monthly Fee: None
- Reload Fee: Cash reload is $5.95
- ATM Fee: $1.98
6.Brinks Prepaid Mastercard
- Brink’s gives you the peace of mind you deserve. Securing cash and valuables since 1859.
- With Brink’s Direct Deposit, you can get paid faster* than a paper check.
- No late fees or interest charges because this is not a credit card.
- Use the Brink’s Money Prepaid Mobile App to manage your account on the go and get text message or email alerts (Message & data rates may apply.)
- *Card issued by Republic Bank & Trust Company, Member FDIC. Card may be used everywhere Mastercard Debit cards are accepted. “Apply Now” for full details.
Unless you let your account go inactive, you won’t see a monthly fee with this card when you choose the pay-as-you-go-plan. A flat $1.00 fee is charged for each signature transaction, though you’ll pay $2.00 per PIN transaction.
7.Greenlight Prepaid Mastercard
Greenlight stands out for a feature that other prepaid cards lack: store-specific spending controls. Parents can preapprove where their kids spend money, so $300 earmarked for school supplies can only be spent at a campus bookstore, for example. The prepaid card also offers real-time activity alerts, free card-to-card transfers for allowances and the ability to remotely lock lost cards.
A Greenlight account can have up to five subaccounts, so it works for a family. Given low purchase and withdrawal limits, it’s best as a family budgeting tool instead of a bank account replacement.
- General fees and features: $4.99 to $9.98 per month, depending on the selected plan (more expensive plans include features like investing education and identity theft protection); no costs for activation, inactivity, or account closure.
- Purchases: No fees.
- ATM withdrawals: No fees from Greenlight, but ATM operator fees may apply.
- Reload methods: Direct deposit, debit card transfer, bank transfer.
- Other services: Up to 5 subaccounts, no international ATM withdrawal fee.
- Downsides: No checks or cash can be deposited; the daily purchase maximum per family account is $1,000 and daily ATM withdrawal limit is $100, which is much lower than average for prepaid cards.
8.FamZoo Prepaid Debit Card
Teaching kids to manage money can be tough in the age of debit and credit cards.
With the FamZoo prepaid card, you can create parent and child roles with cards that limit access and functionality. You can transfer money between cards and create automatic recurring transfers from one card to another, say for a weekly or monthly allowance. There’s a feature to tie chores and jobs to rewards or penalties and parents can lock and unlock cards for fraud protection or to control card access.
A paid FamZoo subscription allows you to order and use up to four FamZoo prepaid cards as long as your subscription is active. You can order additional cards for a one-time fee of $3 each.
There are no reload fees for direct deposit. FamZoo doesn’t charge reload fees for cash reloads, but they may incur a fee of $4.95 due to providers. Transfers between cards are free and instant. Pay no fees on purchases or with in-network ATM withdrawals.
You must have a paid FamZoo subscription, which is $5.99 per month (although it’s less if you pay your subscription in advance).
- Card Purchase Fee: The first 4 cards are free; $2 for each card beyond the 4th
- Monthly Fee: $5.99
- Reload Fee: Up to $4.95 depending on the reload method
- ATM Fee: Free for in-network. Varies when out-of-network
