Prepaid Cards

Transaction Fee ATM Fees Monthly fee Application fee Free 2.95% UK +2.75% Internationally Free £5.00 Orange Cash No monthly fees or purchase fees in the UK. Manage your money with the free Orange Cash app for Android smartphones, letting you load instantly on the go, check your balance and transactions and set personal balance alerts. Earn 1 reward point for every £1 you spend and redeem for Orange PAYG minutes, texts or credit. Free £1.75 UK £2.25 Internationally Free £6.95 Kalixa No top-up fees when you load money using internet banking 2.5% £0.75 UK £1.50 Internationally Free £4.95 ClearCash Pay As You Go No credit check or bank account required. Get an embossed card with your own account number and sort code and add up to four additional cardholders. 2% £1.50 £1.99 Internationally Free £7.50 BREAD Prepaid Card Top up your card at over 30,000 locations in the UK and check your balance via SMS for free. Use your BREAD card when booking Ryanair flights and avoid the £5 booking fee. 45p £1.50 UK £2.25 Internationally Free £5.00 Pockit Card Earn cashback on purchases with selected retailers. 2.95% 1.5% Free £9.95 Tuxedo Card No credit checks or bank account needed.

Transaction Fee ATM Fees Monthly fee Application fee Free £0.50 UK £1.50 Internationally £9.95 £4.95 ClearCash Pay Monthly No credit check or bank account required. Get an embossed card with your own account number and sort code. Set up direct debits, standing orders and add up to four additional cardholders. Sign up for Creditbuilder to improve your credit rating by up to 40%. Free £0.50 UK £2.25 Internationally £12.50 £12.50 Secure Trust Get both a current account and a prepaid card for the £12.50 monthly fee. Earn cash rewards up to 4% at selected retailers when using the card. Free £1.00 UK £3.00 + 2.75% Internationally £12.50 Free Card One Banking Monthly fee includes use of a prepaid card and a current account

Transaction Fee ATM Fees Monthly fee Application fee Free £2.00 UK £3.00 Internationally £4.95 £4.95 Cash Plus Help improve your credit rating when you pay your monthly fee

What is a prepaid card?

A prepaid card is a payment card that is pre-loaded with money. Once you've loaded money onto your card you can then use it to shop online, abroad or even take cash out of an ATM. Prepaid cards are similar to credit cards in that they look the same, and have the same CHIP and PIN facilities, but are different in one important aspect, there’s no credit, so you don’t need to worry about spending over your budget.

You top up a prepaid card in a similar way to topping up a pay-as-you-go phone, you can usually top them up at Payzones which can be found at over 30,000 locations in the UK, using your mobile, with a debit card or even by having your wages paid directly to the card.

What are the benefits?

There are many benefits to using a prepaid card over using cash or a credit card. Some of the most common are;

• They are a great way to shop online if you are worried about identity theft; they aren’t tied to your bank account and so limit your exposure to fraud
• You are guaranteed acceptance if they can verify your identity using your personal details
• Many cards come with a companion card, meaning you can share money with friends or family anywhere in the world
• You can limit your spending if you’re worried about going over budget on online gaming
• Some cards can be used to re-build your credit rating, they loan you the annual fee which you pay back in instalments each month. At the end of the year your repayments are reported to Experian, helping to improve your credit rating.
• If you’re planning a trip then a prepaid card is safer than carrying cash, and you can avoid foreign exchange rate fees if you buy your card in Euros or Dollars

You can view more information about prepaid cards in our article; Prepaid Cards: the safe way to take money abroad

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