Card Comparison: Pre-paid Cards Getting More Attractive
As its name implies, pre-paid card is associated a pre-paid bank account, usually a checking account, as you swipe the card at the counter, money is withdrawn out of your pre-paid account and transfered to seller. In this sense, pre-paid cards are actually debit cards. However, some banks are blowing more functionalities into these debit cards by attaching credit lines to them, making them “pre-paid credit cards”, or as some industry experts call it, Hybrid cards.
These pre-paid credit cards / hybrid cards could help low income consumers manage their finances and build a credit history. For example, Meta Financial Group Inc. of Storm Lake, Iowa, begain attaching iAdvance lines of credit last year to its prepaid debit cards, among them include AccountNow cards in the list below. The cards can operate on MasterCard or Visa Inc. networks.
| Card Name | Features | More | |
 |
AccountNow® Prepaid VisaCard |
Prepaid Credit Card issued by Meta Financial; Have credit line attached, help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on Visa Inc. network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit;New iAdvanceSM loan option – no credit check;monthly fee:$4.95 |
 |
AccountNow® Prepaid MasterCard |
Prepaid Credit Card issued by Meta Financial; Have credit line attached, help build credit history; Instant Approval; Operate on MasterCard network | $0 Activation Fee – when you load your card by direct deposit;New iAdvanceSM loan option – no credit check;monthly fee:$4.95 |
 |
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Credit Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Applied Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Regular APR: 9.99% fixed;CREDIT Bureau Reporting;Minimum $200 deposit required. |
 |
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Card |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Applied Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Regular APR: 9.99% fixed;CREDIT Bureau Reporting;Minimum $200 deposit required. |
 |
Millennium Advantage Pre-Paid MasterCard® |
Prepaid Debit Card issued by Millennium Bank; no credit line is attached. Operates on Visa Inc. network. | Application Fee: $99 Participation Fee: $71.40 ($5.95 monthly) |
Important Disclaimer: the credit cards information in this post were accurate as of the date of publishing, some or all of the card programs may be discontinued, their terms may be changed after wards.
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[...] my previous post, I explained what are pre-paid cards, how they are structured, and compared 5 pre-paid credit/debit [...]