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First you apply for the credit card using your
Internet browser, prepay credit card application forms are relatively simple and ask
for minimal information on you and your circumstances.
Prepay credit cards do not require a credit
check. So if you have a poor credit record, or have been made bankrupt,
obtaining a prepay credit card will not be a problem.
Prepay credit cards can be used by people from
the age of 13 and above and can be used in exactly the same way as you would
use a normal credit card. They can be used in shops, petrol stations,
post offices, supermarkets etc.
Once you have your prepay credit card, and it
will take 10 to 14 days from when you have completed the application form to arrive, you simply load the
card with money and then able to spend this money usually within the
hour.
The prepaid card can be reloaded with funds at
post offices, banks online by specialist retailers who have arrangements with
card providers, and most interestingly, by your employer. This means
your salary can be paid straight onto your prepay credit card, meaning you
don't even need to have a bank account.
Before deciding on the card, you are going to
apply for. It is a good idea to check the various charges, each card
provider makes, as they are all different. And careful selection will
insure you choose the card most appropriate to your circumstances. I.e.
if you use cash and draw funds from an ATM machine it's a good idea to select
one with a low ATM fee. If you use the card regularly for substantial
amounts of money it may well be worthwhile paying a monthly fee, and not
paying recharge or payment fees. Just make sure you fully understand the
terms and conditions before choosing your card.
You can have more than one card, and can use
each card different purposes for example. You could have one card for
petrol, one card for the supermarket, one card for clothes, and separate out
your expenditure, which makes it easy to budget and plan forward.
You could give a prepaid credit card to your
children and pay their pocket money or allowance, straight onto the card from
your bank.
Once you have loaded funds onto the card, you
can spend the money as you require, and these funds will be deducted from the
card. Once the card has no funds on it you cannot spend any more money
and must reload the card with further money.
The obvious benefit to this is you can never go
overdrawn and will never incur charges for going overdrawn by
mistake. If you do attempt to spend money that is not on the card the
card will simply be rejected. The card will not be banned or gobbled up
you just reload the card with more funds and carry on spending.
The prepay credit card is a great concept for
those people who travel especially those people travelling abroad, and it
takes the hassle out of carrying cash and obviously reduces the risk of
theft. Using the card online will also protect your main bank account
from identity theft.
Overall, the prepay credit card is an exciting
development in the financial services world, and as long as you understand
the fee structure of the card you choose the benefits of this card system can
be substantial.
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