Compare Prepaid Credit Cards

How does a prepaid credit card work?

A prepaid credit card works much like a gift card. Money is loaded onto the card in advance by the customer and then any money spent is deducted from the balance. There’s no ability to spend beyond your means or to get into debt.

Unlike gift cards, prepaid credit cards can be used in millions of locations worldwide just like a normal credit card.

What’s the difference between a prepaid card and a credit card?

When you use a prepaid card, you’re spending money that you’ve already loaded onto the card and in most cases you can’’t spend any more than this. This can be confusing because prepaid cards may still have a credit card logo like Visa or MasterCard on them.

When you use a credit card, you’re essentially borrowing money. You don’t need to top up the card in advance and you can get into debt and get charged high rates of interest. So in this way prepaid cards are very different to credit cards.

What fees apply to a prepaid credit card?

Although you can’t go into debt with a prepaid card and get charged interest, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any fees. Prepaid credit cards may have some, or all, of the following fees:

1. Upfront charge. There may be a one-off upfront cost for purchasing the card.
2. Top-up charge. There may be a charge every time you load money onto your card.
3. Purchase fee. You may be charged a percentage fee every time you use your card to buy something.
4. Stamp duty. Government stamp duty of €5 will apply to the card.
5. ATM charge. If you use the card to withdraw money you may be charged a fee.
6. Non-use fee. If you don’t use your card for a certain period of time, a non-use fee (often based on a percentage of the balance on your card) may apply.

Is there a credit check to apply for a prepaid credit card?

In general no credit checks apply to prepaid credit cards as you're not getting access to any credit - you're only spending money that's already been loaded onto your card.

However there may be limits to the amount of money you can load onto your card and for anti-money laundering reasons, you may have to provide proof of address and identity once you go above a certain amount.