What Chime adds is an excellent app to help you manage your money. All Rights Reserved. Spencer Tierney is a consumer banking writer at NerdWallet. You can set and track savings goals. How To Find The Cheapest Travel Insurance. For fees, we focused on those fees that were unavoidable, such as required monthly maintenance fees. Unlimited cash back account earns 3% cash back plus 3% APY for savings. How to pick the best prepaid debit card for you? But it's pretty cool to get notifications that your child wants to buy Starbucks shares instead of a latte. No monthly fees; no fee for cash reloads at Walmart. Our list of the best prepaid debit cards should satisfy just about any financial situation. This low-fee prepaid card is ideal for those who frequent Walmart. She owns and operates a small digital marketing and public relations firm that works with select startups and women-owned businesses to provide growth and visibility. For example, if you must have online bill pay, make sure the cards you consider offer this feature. Bank-issued Prepaid Cards. The card is issued by American Express, which isnt accepted everywhere that Visa and Mastercard are. Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. We value your privacy. Some of the most common reasons people end up regretting their prepaid cards are high fees, inconvenient funding and reloading methods. After that, the fee is just $4.99 per month for a family with up to five children. Finally, get paid up to 2 days faster with direct deposit. . As long as you have a card, you can reload it online or at a retailer. Some cards are free to acquire, but some have an initial purchase price or activation fee. Are you sure you want to rest your choices? It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. Our advertisers do not direct our editorial content. We ask that you inform us whenever you find an error, spot a gap in our coverage, or have any other suggestions for improvement. Prepaid debit cards might have fees or limits on deposits and withdrawals. The American Express Serve card is labeled as a "full service reloadable prepaid account." She previously edited content on personal finance topics at GOBankingRates. Prepaid debit cards vs. regular debit cards. Chime has two automatic savings programs: one where a percentage of every paycheck automatically goes into the savings account and the other where your purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the rounded-up change goes to savings (see below for more information from Chime). Cardholders can load cash onto a prepaid card at retail stores for a fee. Instead, Extra pulls the money you spent from your bank account the next business day. No, a prepaid card is not a credit card or charge card. Most prepaid cards offer many of the features you'd expect from a checking account -- you can pay bills, receive direct deposits, transfer money, withdraw funds at ATMs and deposit cash. We dont charge you for our services. General fees and features: No monthly fees and no costs for online activation or inactivity. 10 day wait to avoid fees . Check out NerdWallets best free checking accounts. The fees for adding and withdrawing cash are the same or slightly higher than those for the Netspend twins. $7.95 monthly fee is waived if you spend more than $1,000 per month. While many companies allow you to order a free card online, you can also purchase a card at a local retailer for anywhere between $1 and $6. Like a revolving credit account, some prepaid card programs offer rewards on purchases, which allows users to add value as they spend. Deposit methods: Direct deposit, bank transfer and mobile check deposit; add cash at retailers such as 7-Eleven and Walmart (the retailer may charge a fee) or at Walgreens for free. We promise to do whatever is necessary to get you the information you need when you need it, to make our opinions fair and useful, and to make sure our facts are accurate. Once your rewards reach $25, you can redeem them for cash-back credits. Can you get money from an ATM with a prepaid card? A prepaid card works like a debit card, but a prepaid card isnt connected to a checking or savings account. Best Prepaid Debit Cards. He is a former litigation attorney in the securities field and the Founding Editor of Forbes Advisor. Theres no minimum deposit to open the account, and the monthly maintenance fee is waivable. Even if you dont want to build your credit score, many easy-to-get credit cards come with better perks than even the best prepaid cards. Downsides: No cash back at retailers. Our insurance content may include references to or advertisements by our corporate affiliate HomeInsurance.com LLC, a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 8781838). You can try the card for free for the first month. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. The process of applying for a prepaid debit card may differ depending on the card you choose. CNET is not an insurance agency or broker. The Greenlight debit card is available for kids of all ages and provides tutorials about money management. Banking services and debit card provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. 2022 A.R. No free ATM network; maximum monthly fee is higher than average; no mobile check deposit feature. Minimum initial load of $25. Its not a prepaid card, its better. NOTE: Before we get to prepaid cards, you should consider Chime. ATM withdrawals: $2.50 fee, plus any operator fees. This compensation may impact how or where links appear on this site. Make purchases anywhere Visa Debit cards are accepted. We are compensated when users click links to or apply for sponsored financial Bluebird by American Express - Editor's Choice. The account also enables you to track your spending by category for better money management. You load funds onto prepaid cards before using them for purchases. Other fees include reload charges, which can cost as much as $6 per transaction and ATM withdrawals of $2.50 on average. Prepaid cards and reloadable debit cards dont build credit, but some earn rewards and come with other benefits, such as fraud protection and online debit card banking services. Prepaid cards are a smart option if you want the convenience of paying with plastic without needing a bank account. However, you typically cant pay for a reloadable debit card with a credit card. Unsubscribe easily. February 27, 2023 . If a popular product is on store shelves, you can count on CNET for immediate commentary and benchmark analysis as soon as possible. Ink Business Unlimited, Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Clients have told me from time to time about very creative strategies to hold and spend cash off the books. The prepaid card also offers real-time activity alerts, free card-to-card transfers for allowances and the ability to remotely lock lost cards. Even though they look the same, a prepaid card does not give you access to a line of credit. All rights reserved. Separate set aside accounts for savings and up to four subaccounts for family members. Because its not part of an ATM network, youll pay $2.50 for ATM withdrawals in addition to any operator fees. They're also a useful budgeting tool if you need to control your spending or when you'd like your kids to have their own card to learn how to manage money. Free at ATMs in the MoneyPass network; $2.50 fee at other ATMs, plus any ATM operator fee. Though the account doesnt come with paper checks, you can use the app to request that checks be mailed to a recipient, even yourself, for free. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. You can reload the card at more than 130,000 Netspend reload network locations. Ink Business Premier, Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Quicksilver, Chase Freedom Unlimited vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred, Western Union Netspend Mastercard Prepaid Card. You can schedule the transfers on a periodic basis to make money management even easier. Movo Virtual Prepaid Visa Card . The disclosed APY is effective as of October 25, 2022. Likewise, if you plan to make numerous ATM withdrawals each month, find a prepaid card that offers free withdrawals. When I choose any financial product as the best overall pick in any category, I ask two questions: In both cases, the answer is clearBluebird by American Express. Scroll down for more detail on each account. No cash back at retailers. Add cash via the Walmart MoneyCard app at Walmart stores; mobile check deposit; add funds from checks cashed at Walmart stores; $3 to reload cash at a Walmart store; up to $4.95 to reload elsewhere. ", Chime says: "Round Ups automatically round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the round up from your Chime Checking Account to your savings account. Charges a $1.95 domestic ATM cash withdrawal fee. Here's a list of the best prepaid debit cards on the market today: Learn More Best Overall: BlueBird by American Express Pros No monthly fee or in-network ATM fees Free to load at Walmart Free online bill pay Cons $2.50 ATM fee for out-of-network ATMs $2,500 daily money transfer limit Fees are between $4 and $16 for money transfers Charges a $9.95 monthly fee and $3 ATM fee. Cash withdrawal and third-party fees may apply. Walmart Money Cards. They can pay interest to their young ones to encourage savings. And for good reason. Most prepaid debit card issuers allow funds to be loaded and reloaded by direct deposit, cash or bank transfer. Entrustingyour kidswith their own debit cards can help teach them about budgeting and financial responsibility. ; Members FDIC. Best for no monthly fees: Bluebird American Express Prepaid Debit Account. Monthly fee:$0ATM Fee:$2Reload fee:NoneCash reload limits:Two deposits per day (up to $4,000) and no more than four deposits per rolling 30-day period (up to $8,000)Other fees:Order a physical Cash Card for $2.95Reload locations:3.5 million in-network ATMs; participating retailers. The Bluebird by American Express prepaid debit card has the lowest fees of all the cards on this list. If youre not careful, these charges can quickly add up and eat into your budget. Cash deposit fees may apply if using a retailer other than Walgreens. There is no monthly maintenance fee. $4 monthly fee that's reasonably easy to waive. Access to Chase Mobile banking and account alerts. We are an independent publisher. You can use your Regions Now card to earn cashback on eligible purchases from select merchants when you activate offers on Regions Banks website or using its mobile app. Offers a convenient way to receive federal benefit funds. You can use it to make transactions and purchase goods. 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