Green Dot® PrePaid MasterCard®

From the CompareCards.com Editorial Team:

The Green Dot Gold Prepaid MasterCard is a rather straightforward prepaid card product, which means that you can get it despite a lack of credit and you won’t have to worry with late payment penalties or paying interest on balances. There are no balances with this kind of card so none of those fees apply, but there are fees related to transactions and monthly maintenance.

You pay $4.95 to activate the card, for example, although sometimes Green Dot will waive that fee as a sign-up incentive. There is also $5.95 monthly account fee, but if you deposit at least $1,000 into your account each month you can avoid that expense also.

Because this is a MasterCard product it is accepted at more locations around the world than any other kind of plastic, and it looks just like an ordinary credit card although it is actually a prepaid card. Those who have trouble getting approved for a standard credit card will find this Green Dot Gold Prepaid to be a positive alternative, and they can use it to help build a credit history for themselves while using it as a convenient cash management and bill paying tool.

The Bottom-Line
This is a legitimate MasterCard product, but you do not have to have good credit or even a credit history to get it since there is no credit check. But it is a prepaid card, not a conventional credit card, so you have to load the card with your own money before it will work. There are monthly maintenance fees and other charges, but they are not unreasonable and if you use the card enough and deposit enough each month you can get the monthly fee waived.

The Good
There is no credit check and no interest to pay. There are no late fees, either, and you can use this card anywhere in the world that MasterCard is accepted. For a prepaid card the fees are not too steep or too numerous.

The Not So Good
This is a prepaid card. As such you have to deposit cash to activate it and you will be charged various transaction and maintenance or activation fees. If you can get accepted for a regular credit card that would be a better choice, perhaps, since this is primarily for people with credit problems.