Pre Paid Credit Cards - Fantastic Plastic Without the Bills
by: Margaret Winfrey



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Pre paid credit cards have been around for a few years now, but it's just
recently that they have seen a significant rise in popularity. With the
economic world feeling the pinch, and spiralling credit problems facing
almost everyone, pre pay credit cards have become one of the most useful
ways of receiving and making payments, without the risk of running up
credit card bills for the future.

There is no doubt at all that paying by plastic is quick and convenient.
Unlike carrying money with you, a credit or debit card presents great
convenience and security. You might lose your wallet, and then your money
will certainly be lost. However, your card is generally only of any use
if someone knows your PIN.

Increasingly retailers are preferring credit card payments, with some now
no longer accepting checks as payment. Cash is obviously still accepted,
but there are some people who have expressed a certain degree of
scepticism as far as how long even this might remain, at least as a main
form of payment rather than a mere novelty!

Paying by plastic helps to increase security and speed up payments. There
is also the online advantage to consider. These days very few people
would trust sending cash by post in order to pay for something online,
and in any case, one of the benefits of buying online is the ability to
pay for, and complete, the entire transaction at the same time.

But the only way in which you can pay for items and services online
securely is to use a card of some kind. This can prove very difficult for
those people who are unable to obtain a credit card.

There are many reasons why someone may not be able to open a standard
credit card account. Some people may be too young, with those just having
left school and with no job being refused, especially during the current
financial situation. Of course, those with poor credit will always have
found it difficult to obtain credit, and credit cards may well have been
entirely beyond their reach.

Today, with credit companies increasingly feeling the strain and
pressure, it has become even harder to obtain credit, and those with even
moderate issues on their credit file are finding it harder, or even
impossible, to obtain such a facility.

It may even be that someone may not have a credit file at all, or at
least one with no data on it. If somebody with no previous credit record
applies for a credit card they will normally be declined the card. It
must also be accepted that there are plenty of people who, for personal
reasons, have no desire to have a regular credit card and offer
themselves the potential access to thousands of dollars that they neither
have nor need.

Pre paid credit cards get round all of these solutions, because there is
usually no need for any kind of credit check to be carried out. There is
therefore virtually no age limit, no problem with people having poor or
disastrous credit records, and even those who have judgements or previous
bankruptcy might be able to be given such a card.

This means that, within a certain degree of reason, almost anyone can
successfully apply for a pre paid credit card, providing them with
immediate access to the same facilities granted to those who have a
standard credit card facility. Pre paid cards offer those who do not
qualify for a regular credit card to use plastic to pay for goods and
services when needed.

Since there is no actual credit facility, there is no danger in running
up a bill. You simply credit the card in the same way as you would put
credit onto a pr-paid cell phone. Once the funds have cleared they are
then immediately available, and the card will work in exactly the same
way as any standard credit card. The store owner will never know whether
the card is pre paid or not, as they work in exactly the same way as a
standard card.

You may well find that there are certain charges associated with using
pre paid credit cards, and this might include an initial fee to open the
account, fees for topping up the card, and fees for using the card. These
fees can vary widely, and so it might be worth shopping around to compare
rates and charges. This is fair enough, because there is no interest rate
on such cards, and that is how regular cards are financed - from the
interest rate.

For instance, you may find that some pre paid credit cards have lower
rates, but charge quite high fees for withdrawing cash from an ATM. If
this isn't a facility you're likely to want to use, then you will need to
decide how you intend to use the pre pay card, and which combination of
charges and costs represents the best deal for you personally.




About The Author
For more information on pre paid credit cards and more, go to
MyCreditCard.com where you can compare pre paid credit cards and other
credit card offers and applications from major banks and issuers.


Visit the author's web site at: http://www.mycreditcard.com