Credit Card Management

What is the Difference Between a Prepaid Credit Card and a Normal Credit Card

A prepaid card looks like a credit or debit card. It can be used in the same way as a credit card in shops, restaurants or online, around the world. The main difference is that there is no risk of getting into debt because you can only spend the amount of money that is pre-loaded on the card.

Many people are rejected by credit card companies because they have poor credit. You will not have that difficulty with a prepaid credit card.<br />

The problem with today’s society is that a credit card is needed to book hotels, airline flights or shopping online. This means that people with bad credit can\’t do any of these things because they don’t qualify for a credit card. It is for this reason prepaid cards are becoming very popular.

In particular, a Prepaid Credit Card is a pay as you go credit card. These can be created by a stand-alone company, not one of the traditional banks. Using one can mean that you\’re not using a bank at all! They won’t be concerned about your credit rating.

It basically works like a normal credit card (or debit card), except that it\’s not associated with a bank account. You have to add credit at a reload center, which are located at retailers, check cashing locations and supermarkets (such as Tesco, Safeway, Wal Mart etc), then you use it as you would a normal credit card.

Unlike traditional credit cards, the Prepaid Credit Card does not extend credit to cardholders. Instead, accounts are prepaid for a specific amount, while still being backed by MasterCard/Visa for near universal acceptance. There is no line of credit and accounts are only good for the balance applied.

We will make no apology for stressing that your credit rating is not a determining factor when issuing the Prepaid Credit Cards. All applicants are accepted, regardless of their credit history subject to verification of their address etc. There is no credit check performed with any credit referencing company and the card is therefore available to all. This opens up an opportunity for those who are normally declined mainstream credit card facilities due to adverse credit, low credit score, or lack of credit history. Even young children can use these cards.

As generally used in the English language, “prepaid” and “credit card” are a contradiction in terms. “Prepaid” means you have paid for something before taking receipt of it and will not be receiving a bill requesting payment later. Whereas, “credit card” means that you will be placing the purchase on credit and the lender (issuing bank) will supply the funds to the merchant. Then later when you receive your billing statement from them, you will be required to pay in full or in installments. Thus the commonly used term “prepaid credit card” could be considered an oxymoron. So, it is more accurate calling these cards a Prepaid Visa or MasterCard.

In other words a prepaid card is like a cross between a store gift card and a bank debit card. It is similar to a store gift card in that a certain amount of money has been loaded on it. It is like a bank debit card because it is accepted any place that a major credit card is honored, even online! Unlike a debit card, however, a prepaid card is not attached to a specific bank account.

Watch the video related to prepaid credit card

Prepaid credit cards allow customization that helps users feel their account is personal. Learn to upload pictures onto prepaid credit cards from acredit counselor in this free personal finance video. Expert: Maria Enomoto Contact: www.gotdebt.org Bio: Maria Enomoto is a credit counselor working for Consumer Credit Counseling Services in San Jose, Calif. Filmmaker: Bing Hu

Help answer the question about prepaid credit card

Using a prepaid credit card to buy things online?
I want to get a mastercard prepaid credit card for online purchases for places like newegg, amazon etc.

Does a prepaid card work like a credit card where sites that accept credit cards also accept prepaid cards?