Netspend Visa Prepaid Card or Prepaid Debit Mastercard is an excellent alternative to conventional banking, where you can open an account with no credit check or minimum balance.
Since the prepaid card account is not linked to a traditional bank account, it does not affect your credit score, credit, or debit card.
Since you can order and activate a prepaid card with no credit history check, it allows underbanked individuals to manage their money.
Netspend prepaid cards allow for easy reload and secure payments. You can virtually use them anywhere with a Mastercard or Visa debit card. Moreover, the Netspend mobile app will enable you to manage your money from your phone at any time.
Prepaid Cards Like Netspend include:
- Bluebird By American Express
- Famzoo Prepaid Debit Card
- American Express Serve Cash Back
- Brink’s Prepaid Mastercard
- Movo Virtual Prepaid Visa Card
- Fifth Third Access 360° Reloadable Prepaid Card
Let’s discuss each in detail below!
Netspend prepaid cards are not the only prepaid card service in the market. Several companies offer similar financial solutions.
Read on as we discuss our top picks for a great prepaid debit card like Netspend.
RELATED READ: Is Netspend Reliable? 4 Reasons to Use Netspend Prepaid Debit Cards
6 Best Prepaid Debit Cards Similar To Netspend
Research proves that the prepaid debit card market is growing, but there is no dominant company in the prepaid debit card market.
Instead, the market is equally controlled by variables such as splitting the share.
Here are the six of the best-prepaid card offerings from the market if you want to explore options similar to Netspend.
1. Bluebird By American Express
Prepaid debit cards are great for people who cannot have a checking account or a savings account. However, they always come with steep fees for transactions and balance inquiries. Bluebird by American Express charges less than most of its competitors. One of the best features of the Bluebird prepaid card is that you can create sub-accounts that come with cards linked to the main account; this makes them excellent for family use.
Bluebird also does not charge any monthly fees for maintenance. Similarly, no fee is incurred for activation or inactivity and online purchases. Moreover, ATM withdrawals from any MoneyPass network are free.
Downsides: You do not get cashback, and if you transfer money through a Mobile Check deposit can take up to 10 days for approval unless a fee is paid.
2. Famzoo Prepaid Debit Card
Famzoo Prepaid Debit Cards are an excellent choice for the entire family, which give you unique features to manage money for your family, even if the children are under 13 years of age.
You get to add four cards to the monthly plan for free, but you can order more cards for a one-time $3 apiece fee if you have additional family members. The monthly fee is $5.99, but you can get a discount if you choose to prepay. Parents can set allowances and lock sub-account cards to encourage savings and teach kids about personal finance.
You can reload money in various simple ways like direct deposit, bank transfers from a conventional bank account, and reloading from participating retailers, to name a few. Famzoo does not charge a fee for ATM withdrawals, but the operator might.
Downsides: Steep monthly fees compared to several competitors and no Mobile Check Deposit feature.
3. American Express Serve Cash Back
As the name suggests, the Serve Cash Back prepaid card from American Express offers 1% cashback on all purchases, which may be pretty standard for a credit card but is an excellent offering when it comes to prepaid cards.
Moreover, you also have the facility of reloading the card through direct deposit, mobile check load, and bank transfers from a savings or checking account. You also receive purchase protection on eligible purchases.
Downsides: Mobile check deposits can take ten days unless you pay a fee for quicker cash reload.
4. Brink’s Prepaid Mastercard
Another excellent option for a prepaid card is Brink’s Prepaid Mastercard. This is a safe and reliable option with Mastercard’s worldwide payment network. Like most good prepaid cards, it has the option of free reload through direct deposit.
You also have several other options to add money to this brand of prepaid debit cards, like bank transfers from an existing bank account, cash reloads from various locations, and card-to-card fund transfers from other Brink’s prepaid cardholders.
Moreover, since this is not a credit card, you do not have to worry about paying late fees. With Brink’s mobile app, you also have the flexibility of managing your finances on the go.
Downsides: Steep monthly fee at $9.95 for free transactions, whereas other fees for ATM withdrawals and varying cash reload fees still apply.
5. Movo Virtual Prepaid Visa Card
If you are looking for a prepaid card with virtually no fee, then the Movo Virtual Prepaid Visa card is one of a kind, as it charges neither a monthly fee nor a transaction fee. However, you are charged an inactivity fee of $4.95 if you do not use the card account for over three months, and the cost is charged every month unless you start using it again.
Since this card has “virtual” in the name, you may be wondering if you can use it for in-store purchases or only online payments? You can use the virtual card for online purchases and request a physical card for ATM withdrawals and cashback. This card also allows various reload options like prepaid cards, including direct deposit, bank transfers, and card-to-card fund transfers.
Downsides: This card does not have a free ATM network, and Bank transfers for funds can take five days at a time.
6. Fifth Third Access 360° Reloadable Prepaid Card
Suppose you have a Fifth Third Bank branch in your state, then the Fifth Third Access 360° Reloadable Prepaid Card. Unlike many other prepaid cards, this reloadable card gives you free ATM withdrawal at more than 50,000 All Point and Fifth Third ATMs.
The monthly fee is also reasonable in comparison at $4. However, even that is forgone if you have Fifth Bank checking account or monthly deposits of $500 or more. The card also has the option of joint ownership.
Downsides: One massive drawback of these prepaid cards is limited availability, as they are only accessible in 11 states with Fifth Third Bank branches.
Bottom Line
A Prepaid debit card is an excellent alternative to a credit card or a conventional debit card, with many benefits such as no late or overdraft fees. Prepaid debit card issuers give underback individuals a chance to manage their finances securely.
However, the fees incurred are often too steep to use such cards realistically.
In our list, we have mentioned the best cards apart from Netspend which have easy cash reload, various options with rewards, and free find transfer.
