No Credit Check Articles

Prepaid Visa Debit Cards

The prepaid Visa debit card is a good buying option for those who don't either don't want to use credit cards or who can't use credit cards. The Visa debit card gives you the name recognition of one of the world's largest credit institutions, which lets you spend your money with an electronic swipe at retail outlets around the globe.

Why Use Debit Cards?

A debit card offers several advantages for a card user. Students, immigrants, and children often use prepaid debit cards, which can be bought at participating retail chains like Walmart, Walgreens, and Paypal. The reason the prepaid debit card is so useful is that you don't have to undergo a background check or credit check to get the card. All you have to do is pay cash up-front.

Prepaid Visa Debit Cards This means that an underage child, who normally would never be issued a credit card from Visa, actually has a Visa card at their fingertips. This means they have one piece of plastic to keep a hand on, instead of a billfold or a pocketful of dollar bills and change. Or you can hand a Visa debit card to your child going on a trip or vacation, in case of emergency. If the child loses their cash or has some other situation come up, they suddenly have an extra $50 or $100 to call home or get home with.

The prepaid debit card from Visa works just as well for students, foreign workers, and those with low credit scores. Students might not be able to get a Visa card normally, because they haven't built up their credit score. Immigrants of a certain nature might not have the documentation to secure a credit card, while those with a bad credit history might prefer to use plastic to cash or check, so they buy into a "pay as you go" plan from Visa.

Visa Debit Cards

So there are a number of compelling reasons and compelling scenarios where the Visa prepaid debit card makes a lot of sense. But even if you've already decided you want to buy a prepaid Visa debit card, you might not have decided where the best place to make your purchase is, or how to make a purchase. So let me discuss some of the most common options for debit card users.

Walmart Visa Debit Card

Walmart is one of the likeliest places you'll buy a Visa prepaid card. The particular name you're looking for is "Walmart Moneycard Visa Prepaid Card", which currently has a sky blue face on it. Like other debit cards, the Walmart Moneycard has no overdraft fees, no minimum balance requires, no credit check, and no bank account required.

Other advantages to the Walmart Moneycard include free direct deposit and no issuance fees online. Customers using the Moneycard for gas purchases nationwide receive a 1% cash back rebate, something everyone need right now. There's also a $10 bonus at qualifying Direct Deposit locations. The Moneycard can be used anywhere Visa debit is accepted, which includes ATMs (getting cash), shopping online at many of the top retailers, and even paying your bills electronically.

Paypal Prepaid Visa Debit Card

Prepaid Visa debit cards via Paypal are also available. These cards are issued from Visa or Mastercard, and carry the logo of whichever company issues the card. A Paypal debit card issued from Visa is going to be accepted anywhere Visa cards are accepted. These cards often have generous limits, and take somewhere between two to four weeks to arrive by mail. When getting a Paypal debit card, there are no background checks.

Another option is to tie in an existing Visa debit card to your Paypal account. My local bank issues a Visa debit card, which is also networked with my Paypal account. If I want to buy something online, the vendor sends me to Paypal, where I log-in and okay the transaction. My Visa debit card's number code (partially) shows on the transaction.

Walgreens Prepaid Visa Debit Card

The Walgreens prepaid Visa debit card is better-known as the "Green Dot Prepaid Visa Card" or "Green Dot Gold Prepaid Visa Card". The Green Dot card is issued in your name via Mastercard or Visa. Like other prepaid debit cards, you don't have to have a bank account and no credit check is required. You'll never have overdraft fees, long term commitments, or penalty charges. Instead, you can shop online, pay bills electronically, or get cash from ATMs around the country (or world) using your Green Dot Gold Prepaid Visa Card.

These cards are safer than carrying cash, because if you lose the card, your money is still safe. These are available at your local Walgreens. The purchase price is $4.95 plus the amount you want to load into the prepaid debit card. Loading options range between $10 and $500.

More Prepaid Visa Debit Cards

The cards from Walmart, Paypal, and Walgreens are not the only Visa prepaid cards you'll find on the market. Below are a list of other cards you'll find issued in stores and online, often through the Visa official website. There may be other cards yet to be launched or already in existence, but these are the ones I know about at present.

Wired Plastic Prepaid Visa Card
READYdebit Control Visa Prepaid Card
Prepaid Visa Purple Diamond RushCard
Account Now Gold Visa Prepaid Card
Prepaid Visa RushCard
Vision Premier Visa Prepaid Card
Prepaid Visa Black Diamond Rushcard
READY Debit Platinum Visa Prepaid Card
AccountNow Prepaid Visa Card\
Student UPSide Visa Prepaid Card
Pink ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Card
Baby Phat Prepaid visa RushCard
Netspend Visa Prepaid Debit Card
Upside Visa Prepaid Card
ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Card

Notice how there are cards marketed for students, children, women, online shoppers, and premium card holders. There is debit card from Visa for just about any buyer on the market.

Prepaid Visa Debit Card Fees

Before you make your purchase of a prepaid Visa debit card, let me give you a warning about certain fees charged. One of the main reason for shopping around is to find the cards with lower fees or no fees on the types of transactions you use a lot. Keep an eye out, or your hard-earned money can be frittered away by excessive fees.

I've seen activation fees on debit cards all the way up to $20, which is an outrageous price to start buying. Monthly maintenance fees are another hidden price of using certain prepaid cards. There is also a loading fee oftentimes (up to $5 per transaction), which is charged when you add money to your account.

Card replacement fees on prepaid cards might be as much as $15, though that's a little more understandable. Buying the prepaid debit card sometimes comes with an additional $1 charge, though you'll usually find this is free. Finally, there is sometimes a charge of up to $20 for a "minimum load amount", which is nothing short of outrageous.

I should mention that the maximum fee amounts I've mentioned have not always been on Visa prepaid debit cards, but sometimes among their competitors. The point being, learn exactly what the details are when purchasing a Visa prepaid debit card.