walmart prepaid debit cards

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If anyone reading this is struggling with not being able to get a bank account, but needing a safe way to have money available, it’s worth considering a prepaid money card. It’s not a long-term solution, in my opinion (I am fortunate to have a bank account again), but it’s better than carrying large amounts of cash and does provide some of the benefits that come with having a bank account.

Unfortunately, there is also still a slight stigma attached to using these cards. I haven’t conducted any formal research, but my suspicion is that the users of these cards are overrepresented among low-income people. Being low-income myself, it’s not hard for me to see how this can occur. Often, when you don’t have much money, it’s hard to learn the skills to manage it. In my own experience, an entire paycheck would be gone in a day due to poor money management. Bank accounts get overdrawn, and suddenly you can’t open a new account.

With prepaid money cards, you can’t write a check, as with a bank account. While I was using money cards, I would have to buy and use money orders in circumstances where a check would have been more appropriate, like when I was paying for my car insurance. Another drawback is the monthly fee, although there is one card I know of, the Bluebird card from American Express, that doesn’t charge one, and in the case of Greendot cards, the fee is waived every month that you load more than $1000 on the card, or have more than 30 transactions.

There are quite a few prepaid money cards. One is the Walmart Money Card. As a Walmart employee, this was the first card I was introduced to. Another that I’ve used is the Greendot card. There is a $20 minimum to get the card, and the fee is $3. That’s another downside of prepaid cards: the initial load fee. But it is less than some other cards. The Walmart Money Card is more, about $4.64 to start using the card.

During the times when I didn’t have a bank account, I used prepaid money cards. These cards are useful for people who are, for whatever reason, unable to get a bank account. Unlike a bank account, there’s no risk of overdrawing the account. Once the money in the account is gone, it’s gone. It’s also much safer than carrying a lot of cash around. It’s a great solution for people who want to keep their money safe, but aren’t able to get a bank account. The cards can be set up with direct deposit so a paycheck gets loaded onto the card every pay period.

After losing a few bank accounts this way, I was unable to get another one. In the U.S., banks use a system called ChexSystems. When a potential customer tries to open an account with any bank, the bank will look up the person’s banking history. A number of closed bank accounts are a red flag, and people get turned away for bank accounts this way more and more, especially in these difficult economic times. Banks will often have the option for a customer to not have their overdrafts paid by the bank. This means that the account can’t get overdrawn. I wish I’d had this option in place. It would have saved me a lot of headache. Customers don’t need to have a credit history to get a bank account. I got my first bank account when I was 19 with no credit history. It’s also possible for those under 18 to get a bank account with the supervision of a parent or legal guardian—I actually didn’t know this when I started writing this post—you learn something new every day!

In the past, I had a lot of issues keeping a bank account. Due to poor cash flow, and not tracking my purchases, I would often find my bank accounts overdrawn. Unfortunately, I had quite a few bank accounts close as a result. I just didn’t have the funds to fix the negative balances.

I’m C, the author of , my personal finance blog, where I discuss being in debt, job hunting, my plans to get my finances in order, and occasionally, small, mortgage-free, sustainable houses. I’m 28, two years out of college and just trying to find my way in the world. There have been a number of bumps in the road in my path to achieving financial success, but I keep going. You can follow my money (mis)adventures at dealwithmoney.blogspot.com.

I was reading the other day and C was talking about prepaid debit cards and maybe losing her bank account. Having never heard of the idea of not having bank account or being denied a bank account, I asked her to write a guest post explain what the hell all of this was about.

By On October 16, 2012 ·

What are prepaid debit cards? Why would you ever need them?

What are prepaid debit cards? Why would you ever need them? - Vanessa's Money