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Everything You Need To Know About International Prepaid Visa Cards
by Alex Pardin Financial ConsultantTraveling abroad is a great experience to have your energy revived but it often ends with going over the budget for many individuals. To avoid the situation, prepaid visa cards are one of the best options one should consider as they don’t let travelers spend more than the limit on it and thereby have gained so much popularity amongst foreign travelers. What are they?
In this article, we will explain everything that you need to know. Let’s start by understanding their meaning and how they work. Keep reading to know:
What Are Prepaid Visa Cards & How Do They Work?
International prepaid visa cards are also known as Currency cards and they work nearly similar to a bank debit card. An individual can make ATM withdrawals, payments in retail stores, and also enjoy online shopping. But the only difference is that you are not allowed to spend more than you have on your card.
To put it simply, while traveling abroad, individuals can top up or load the card with the specific/desired amount of respective foreign currency they are traveling to and use them for different purposes. It will help them avoid overspending as they are aware that they can spend only the limited loaded amount with the card. Since these cards are not linked to your bank account like Credit/Debit cards, you can avoid witnessing online banking transactional fraud.
Important Things That You Should Know About Prepaid Visa Cards
1. Acts As An Alternative To Credit/Debit Cards - For people who don’t have a bank account, prepaid visa cards are a great choice to use in place of credit/debit cards while traveling abroad. Unlike traditional cards, you don’t need a bank account to use a prepaid card. All you need to do is load up your card with a specific amount and then use the balance for purchases. When the balance is low, you can reload the money.
2. It Requires No Credit Evaluation - Unlike any other cards like credit/debit, to get a prepaid visa card, you do not have to maintain a good credit record. Since you don’t have a bank account and are loading the card with your money, instead of taking a loan from the bank, there is no requirement of a credit check by the banks or FIs.
3. Don’t Need To Pay Interests - Since prepaid visa cards don’t fall in the lines of credit, and you are not allowed to spend the amount beyond the limit, you are not required to pay any interest charges on them. In case if you have reached the limit of your funds, your purchases or payments will not be considered unless you have a prepaid card that allows overdraft.
4. Select As Per Your Needs - Today the prepaid industry has expanded and consumers have a plethora of options to choose from. From Wise multi-currency Mastercard to Revolut, Travelex Money Card to N26, and many more. All of them have different features and benefits. Some cards only allow you to pay bills online while some let you withdraw cash from the ATM. So it is important to choose one that best suits your needs.
5. Eliminate Carrying Cash - One of the benefits of prepaid visa cards is that it eliminates the requirement of carrying foreign cash currency with you all the time. But at the same time, it brings risks of losing money like cash. For example, if the card has got stolen or lost, you will end up losing money that your card has been loaded with.
6. Pay Attention To Fees - Though you don’t need to pay interest on prepaid visa cards, they do come with a fee which sometimes can be hidden. It can include monthly fees, transaction fees, inactivity fees, and fees for paying bills. So don’t forget to check with the fee. However, if you are looking to use it for the long term, get a card that doesn’t charge fees to reload or to ATM withdrawals or foreign transactions.
7. Easier Money Management - A prepaid visa card can be a great budgeting & money management tool for individuals, even for people with a bank account. Since it is loaded up with a specific amount, and cannot be used after reaching that limit, it enables you to stick to your budget and use it economically for making payments abroad.
Keep one thing in mind that regardless of the type of prepaid visa debit card you buy, keeping the limit low is a good way to stop yourself from overspending. You can contact your bank or FI if you are looking for prepaid visa card services.
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About Alex Pardin 
Financial Consultant
5 connections, 0 recommendations, 29 honor points.Joined APSense since, June 12th, 2018, From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Created on Jun 14th 2021 05:18. Viewed 275 times.
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