 | Mark Kolarik is the President of the Kansas Teachers Community Credit Union, located in Pittsburg, KS, since 10-2002 and is a board member of the Kansas Corporate Credit Union located in Wichita, KS . He has been employed in the financial service industry for the last 31 years, having worked in several credit unions for 21years and 10 years in the banking industry. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and is a Certificated Credit Union Executive. |
Financial
2013-03-25 14:46:12
How do prepaid debit cards work?
Q-Can you tell me what a prepaid debit is?
A-A prepaid debit card is like carrying cash in your wallet, but you don’t have to carry all those bills. Most financial institutions offer prepaid debit cards. When you purchase a prepaid card, the card is issued in your name. The difference between a prepaid card and a regular debit card is that you take money from your savings or checking account and place that money electronically on the prepaid card. Where a debit card takes funds directly from your checking account each time a transaction is done. Generally, you can load any amount on to the card. You can only spend the amount on your prepaid card, so you never overdraw a checking account. This eliminates overdraft fees and embarrassing mistakes.
Most cards allow you to manage the prepaid card online. This means you can track your spending so you always know how much you’ve spent, how much money is left on your card, and if your card is running out of funds, just reload the card with funds from your bank account. The prepaid card can be used anywhere debit cards are accepted and used to access cash at an ATM.
The prepaid debit card is also very safe. It’s not tied to your checking or saving account, so if it’s lost or stolen, you won’t have any risk. Most cards come with Zero Liability Protection for your security so it’s much safer than carrying cash. And best of all, you don’t have to qualify for the card, just contact a financial institution and purchase a card.
