NetSpend® Visa® Prepaid Card

From the CompareCards.com Editor Team:

With the NetSpend Visa Prepaid card you deposit cash into your account in order to provide the funds for future purchases or bill paying, so there is no need for you to ever pay interest or late fees. There is also no credit check, so anyone – even those with no credit history or bad credit – can get this card. A NetSpend Visa Card looks like an ordinary credit card but works more like an ATM card because of the prepayment requirement. But it is accepted in tens of thousands of retail locations that honor the Visa card, and you can also use online features to manage your account and pay bills in an easy, convenient way.

You can select the fee plan that works best for you, based on your spending habits, in order to minimize the transaction fees that the NetSpend Visa (and virtually all other types or brands of prepaid cards) charge customers. Typical fees include, for example, a $2.50 per withdrawal ATM Fee, fifty cents charged for non-monetary ATM transactions like balance inquiries and for non-monetary phone calls to customer service, a one-time $9.95 set up fee to start your card account and get your plastic, and a similar $9.95 monthly service charge.

Cardholders can also track their spending and set budget limits with NetSpend's award-winning budgeting system, and they can do online bill paying to pay bills like cell phone or utility bills that occur each month.

The Bottom-Line
This is a pretty straightforward prepaid card with Visa affiliation, except that it does not have as many miscellaneous and potentially costly transaction fees and other various charges and many other prepaid cards do. You do not need to have good credit or even a credit history to get this card, and it is accepted wherever Visa is honored and comes with some helpful budget management features that are free to use.

The Good
There is no need for a credit check or credit history so virtually anyone can qualify for this card. It also charges less recurring or miscellaneous fees than do many other prepaid cards.

The Not So Good
Because it is a prepaid card you have to deposit money in order to have a line of credit to draw from, and you are subjected to monthly maintenance fees and certain transaction fees that can add to the overall cost of the card.