Prepaid Visa Walmart Card Review

If you have bad credit and you're finding it difficult to obtain a credit card from the major credit card companies then, prepaid cards or an option you may wish to consider. In this article I will be reviewing the prepaid visa Walmart card.

First up, lets explain how a prepaid card works.

How A Prepaid Card Works

If you are not sure what a prepaid card is then, let me explain. The concept is quite simple. They work along the lines of a gift card where you deposit money to create a balance your can spend. As you use your card to purchase items your prepaid deposit will be deducted from the balance. When your balance reaches zero you will have to reload the balance with more money in order to spend on the card.

Although, you use it like debit or credit card when buying consumer items, you actually manage the balance as if it was a bank account or checking account. As the balance on the card is your money you do not have to pay interest charges or worry about late payment or overdraft fees because the balance you have remaining is what you can spend.

Another advantage of the prepaid card is that a credit check is not required by the provider because you depositing your own funds to create the spending balance. Therefore, prepaid cards are a convenient option for people with a bad credit rating.

The major downside of prepaid cards is the amount of fees that providers charge. These can include the following:

• Activation fees
• monthly transaction charges
• ATM withdrawal fees
• Balance check fees
• Check cashing fees
• Reload fees
• Customer service fees

Not all providers will apply these charges but it is worth bearing these in mind. The charges will be deducted from your own balance which will reduce it by leaving you less money to spend on your card.

Prepaid Visa Walmart Card Review

Walmart is a well known brand and one of the biggest retailers in the world however, they also provide financial products which includes the Walmart prepaid visa debit card. This card can be used in their wide network of retail outlets making this card a convenient one to use if you shop at Walmart regularly.

Walmart prepaid visa card fees

As pointed out earlier, there are a lot of fees when it comes to prepaid cards so, does the Walmart visa debit card work out any cheaper than the other prepaid cards on the market? This one does have several fees which is to be expected however, this version is one of the cheaper alternatives on the prepaid card market when it comes to fees.

Here's a breakdown of the fees:

• Activation fee: $3 (free if you apply online)
• Monthly service fee: $3
• Reload fees: $3 reloading balance at Walmart - Reloading fees at other retailers will differ -
• Reloading using and electronic balance transfer (EBT): No fee
• ATM fees: cash transactions: $2 / balance enquiries:$1
• Check cashing service fee: $3

The activation fee of $3.00 is low compared to the average which is $7.00 however, you can activate the card for free by applying on line.

Reloading basically means depositing more money onto the card to increase your spending balance. Basically prepaid card providers charge you to deposit your own money onto the card. This is one of the major downsides of these type of cards but all providers charge it because they cannot make any money by charging you interest.

The reload charges on the prepaid visa Walmart moneycard are about average. The maximum limit is pretty good at $3000. When reloading your balance it is best to deposit as much as you can to avoid having to pay too many reload fees. However, if you deposit your paycheck at a Walmart outlet they will waive the reload fee.

Try and avoid using the ATM to withdraw cash unless you really have to. Withdrawing larger amounts of money means you won't have to visit the ATM too often. However, this will not work if you tend to spend all the money you have available in your wallet.

There are many prepaid visa debit cards that charge a monthly service fee of $9 or more however, the Walmart visa card charges a less extortionate fee of $3 per month.

The Walmart reloadable prepaid visa card is one of few that offer a cash back incentive scheme. On certain purchases such as gasoline the cardholder can earn 1% on the amount that is spent on the card.

The Verdict

The Walmart money card is one of cheapest prepaid versions on the market. Although, they charge a number of fees some of these can be waived. For example, when you register online the issuance fee is free which is a key bonus as most other providers make this charge compulsory. It is also useful if you shop in Walmart stores on a regular basis, in this way you take advantage of minimizing the costs of using it.

The prepaid visa Walmart card is a good option if you have a bad credit rating or no credit history and you are unable to be accepted by the major banks and credit card providers. Transactions on prepaid cards are not recorded on your credit report therefore, they will not help to rebuild your bad credit score. A secured credit card is a better option for credit repair  because the transactions are recorded by the credit bureaus.

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