NetSpend® Visa® Prepaid Card (Classic)

The NetSpend Visa Prepaid Card is an excellent solution for people who don’t want to provide credit scores and looking for checking account alternatives with reasonable fees.

Who Is This NetSpend Card For?

• For those with bad credit. There are many different cards one can get, but most of them require credit scores from all three bureaus, which can be a problem for people with bad credit. Well, the NetSpend® Visa® Prepaid Card from MetaBank® offers an easy solution for those people, since it doesn’t require any credit checks.
• For those who don’t have a bank account. Also, the Netspend card is an excellent solution for people who do not own or don’t want to own a bank account. It allows the same features as a bank account, including money transactions, tax refunds, and paying for services, but without a bank account. It’s important to know that the card is useless until you load it with money.

NetSpend Visa Prepaid Card Benefits

• Overspending cushion. First, it’s a great card for making sure that you stay within your budget. It’s got a $10 overspending cushion, so you won’t be able to spend more than you can.
• Easy notifications. The second benefit is that you can use the SMS text mobile notification service that will give you an overview of the situation every time you use the card. You can customize the notifications to send you reports on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis as well. You can also download the Netspend budgeting app on your smartphone to keep track of your spending and payments. It’s a good way of understanding how credit cards work and what their limits are.
• Customizable. You can customize your card to look it the way you want – add a family photo, or any image of your choice.
• Free Direct Deposits. The card allows direct deposits including work paychecks, tax refunds, pensions, social security benefits, veteran benefits, and a few other options as well. It will help you save time because you won’t have to go to the bank to pick your cash up.
• High daily withdrawal limit. Another area where the Netspend card shines is the daily withdrawal limit, which is almost twice higher than the average limit. That allows you to pull cash from PayPal directly to your card, from where you can either withdraw the cash in over 130,000 locations or spend it directly on products and services.
• Works like a bank account. The card also allows you to transfer and receive money the same way you could with a bank account. The only downsides you have to consider are the numerous fees that could add up to a hefty sum if you’re not careful during the setup process.

Are There Any Disadvantages?

• Many different fees. As we just mentioned, this card comes with all kinds of fees you have to consider. You’ll have to pick your plan during the application process. The standard plan has a monthly fee, but you can also get a Pay-As-You-Go plan that has a fixed fee every time you use the card. Then, you’ll have other fees including a 90-day inactivity fee, a closing fee, ATM withdrawal fees, ATM card declined fees, over-the-counter withdrawal fees, cash reload fees, online bill pay fees, and a few other fees you can’t work around.

You can get the card without any issues in a matter of minutes, but you’ll have to pay for that with ongoing fees for as long as you use the card.

Should You Use This Visa Card?

The Netspend prepaid card is an excellent solution if you want to receive direct deposits but don’t own a bank account. Since you don’t need to provide any credit scores, you can get the card even if they are really bad. It won’t affect your credit scores in any way, but you’ll be able to make transactions and receive money just like you would through a bank account. It’s also a good solution for parents who want to limit their children’s spending. However, the card comes with all kinds of fees, so you must consider that before getting one. (Read: Chime vs Netspend)

Best NetSpend Visa Alternatives

• Novo Business Mastercard – For business use
• Axos Bank Checking Visa – As a checking account alternative
• Greenlight Debit Card for Kids – For teens and parents
• CCU Visa Debit Card – Simple Debit Card with the bank account

Other Netspend Card Design Offers

• Pink Netspend
• Blue Netspend
• Black Netspend
• Netspend Mastercard