Prepaid Debit Cards as well as the Olympics

I always talk and talk about the main advantages of prepaid debit cards because I’m convinced they’re the “real deal” in relation to money management tools. My friends often hear me extol the virtues of these reloadable cards for a long time now. They’ve also heard me claim that, inevitably, these little plastic wonders will someday replace cash. Well, that day’s come a small bit closer.

The saying that “there isn’t any free lunch” definitely applies in cases like this. Many consumers are trying to find free prepaid an atm card as they are trying to avoid having to pay the monthly fees. Usually, vanilla mastercard balance the monthly fees covers the use of the charge card facilities. Such facilities resemble what banking account. For example, you can top-up your account with checks. This saves you time and money because you do not have to incur check cashing fees. You also don’t have to spending some time in lines. You can withdraw money from a debit account from nation wide ATM machines. Although some credit card issuers put a restriction towards the use of such facilities, these limits are often sufficient to the average consumer.

This can lower creditworthiness which could have a very bad effect in the end, as if you are trying to apply for another card or go to another bank to get a personal loan you may have an extremely lower credit limit. If you already have a poor credit history using your bank you might run the risk of negativity completely as the bank won’t think there is an resources to settle the credit by the due date. Unlike prepaid Visa cards a card could have far reaching effects or else handled properly.

Controlling your own spending
Many folks have noticed the realisation we have overspent on things due to the option of generous credit limits on our cards etc. Having a prepaid card on you when you trigger means that you can restrain your individual spending to some level you’re more comfortable with.

Bank strategies are driving up fees, practices which are condoned by regulators, explains Kathleen Day, a spokesperson for the Center for Responsible Lending, a non-partisan research center. Regulators deem these overdrafts fees, not small loans, so charges don’t come under the Truth and Lending Act. Banks can charge whatever fees the marketplace will bear. In reality, consumers are in fact getting a smaller loan and fees needs to be constrained and regulated equally as in almost any lending arrangement, Day says. According to The New York Times, US-based banks earned $27 billion from consumers for debit along with other card overdraft fees in 2008. One consumer paid $102 in fees for three incidental debit card purchases because his account was overdrawn, turning his $4 café latte into a beverage costlier than many champagnes.