Guide on What Makes Prepaid Card Different from Credit Card & Its Many Usage
PREPAID CARD – Nowadays, more and more people are having prepaid cards and here are its benefits and difference from credit cards.
Undeniably, the current situation both in the Philippines and across the globe gave the online payment scheme a boost. More and more people are into online shopping amid the COVID-19 pandemic and use their bank accounts and other finance cards in paying for their purchases.
Some individuals got credit cards they can use in several merchants while others rely to their bank debit cards. There are also those who turn to prepaid cards.
Truths be told that obtaining a credit card is not easy. You need to have a good credit standing, high salary, and comply with all the requirements – which might take a long way to go. It is aside from the fact that you may be approved or disapproved in your credit card application.
That is the reason why some people instead turn to prepaid cards. What is a prepaid card? It is a reloadable card which does not require much upon procuring one. There are several known prepared cards in the Philippines including:
- PayMaya Visa EMV
- GCash Mastercard
- Amore Visa Prepaid Card by BPI
- BDO Cash Card
- Smart Money Card
- Bayad Center Card
- Landbank Cash Card
Most of these prepaid cards got minimum requirements upon getting it – valid IDs and the processing and card fees which usually range between Php 100.00 to Php 300.00.
How is prepaid card different from credit card and debit card?
The major differences between credit cards and prepaid cards is that the former has a wider limit in most cases. A lot of credit cards have huge credit limit and users will not be limited to how much he or she currently has. You can make big purchases even if you cannot pay for it in cash as of the moment.
With regards to the difference between prepaid cards and debit cards, the major thing is that the former sets your savings safe from your purchases. Usually, when you use debit cards wherein your savings or whole salary is stored, you cannot keep track of your expenses.
Major Benefits of Prepaid Card:
- It is easy to procure as it comes with minimum requirements.
- It keeps your savings safe as you can only put a little amount in your prepaid card for your expenses and store your savings in a different debit card.
- It is reloadable and doing it is convenient as there are already a lot of loading stations nationwide.
- You can manage your expenses as you can set the limit based on how much you will load on your card.
- There is no maintaining balance thus you won’t be charged of extra fees in case you ran out of fund.
- It is widely accepted not with its BancNet, Visa, or Mastercard logos.
Uses of Prepaid Cards:
- Cashless Shopping – You can go for shopping even without cold cash in your wallet. Have your purchases paid by a swipe in your card as long as the balance fits the price.
- Online Payment – You can use your prepaid cards in paying for your online purchases and even utility bills that are open for online payment transactions.
- Make Convenient Subscriptions – Do you want to subscribe to Netflix? Or is there another platform that you need to make payments for access? You can use your prepaid card in making the payments.
- Convenient Money Transfer – You can use your card in transferring money to-or-from your bank account to your card or to a loved one’s account. The cost in transferring may also be lesser compared to getting it done through those establishments that offer money transfer services.
- Easy Cellphone Reload – Specific prepaid cards like GCash can be used in reloading the mobile phone with internet data or a call and text promo. You don’t anymore have to worry about running out of load in the middle of the night.
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