What is Prepaid cards?

A Visa prepaid card is a type of Visa card that is pre-loaded with a set amount of money, offering cardholders convenience, security and control.

A Visa prepaid card is just like a normal credit or debit card. It carries all the normal card features, such as a card number, expiry date and security code, and can be used at most places that accept a conventional Visa card.

However, instead of being linked to a bank account (like a Visa debit card) or providing a line of credit (like a Visa credit card), the amount you can spend is limited by the value that’s been pre-loaded onto the card.

This means that you can enjoy all the convenience, ease of use and security of a Visa card along with the ability to control the amount that you spend. A whole variety of Visa prepaid cards are now being offered by banks, websites and high street retailers. Popular options include:

•     Convenience cards for separating out your card spending
•     Gift cards a safe and convenient way to give money
•     Travel cards for keeping your holiday spending separate
•     Virtual cards specifically for online spending
•     Youth cards to enable controlled and monitored spending

Visa prepaid cards are either disposable or re-loadable, depending on your preference:

    Disposable – rather like an electronic gift voucher, it can be used until all the funds are spent, then thrown away

    Re-loadable – like a prepaid mobile phone account, when the value is running low, it can be topped up and used again.