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New prepaid debit card

Posted: September 18th, 2018, 2:02 pm
by charliewolfsen
I'm on the lookout for a way to better track my spending on cards (it's so easy to overspend these days with contactless etc) there is a real 'don't make me think' aspect to the way we are guided into spending every day.

I think the way to go is to get a prepaid card that i can manage easily, does anyone have any recommendations or good/bad experiences with existing prepay cards? :?:


Charlie

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: October 4th, 2018, 9:25 pm
by paradigm
I have had an excellent experience with the Pockit Card which is a pre-paid Mastercard which returns cashback from a range of retailers, e.g. 6% back if used in M&S.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: January 30th, 2019, 9:17 pm
by paradigm
An update on my earlier recommendation:

The Pockit Card was excellent in the early days and gave welcome cashback. However the deal is changing - there is to be a monthly 99p 'membership' charge from March 2019, debited from your balance, even if the card is not used. When a new card (a Mastercard) is due it will now cost £3.00. The end-date on my present card is 01/19 but it was unexpectedly declined twice on 28th January with no new card having been received. I have unfortunately opted to cancel which is a pity.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: January 30th, 2019, 9:22 pm
by Lootman
paradigm wrote:An update on my earlier recommendation:

The Pockit Card was excellent in the early days and gave welcome cashback. However the deal is changing - there is to be a monthly 99p 'membership' charge from March 2019, debited from your balance, even if the card is not used. When a new card (a Mastercard) is due it will now cost £3.00. The end-date on my present card is 01/19 but it was unexpectedly declined twice on 28th January with no new card having been received. I have unfortunately opted to cancel which is a pity.

That's too bad. The other great thing about pre-paid cards is that they are anonymous. If you don't want Big Brother knowing what, where and when you spend, then pre-paid cards are the solution.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: January 30th, 2019, 9:36 pm
by paradigm
Yes agreed, and also good for the occasional small purchase from e.g.China where only a small balance can be held on the card. I must have a look around for a suitable replacement!

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: January 30th, 2019, 9:39 pm
by richfool
Lootman wrote:
paradigm wrote:An update on my earlier recommendation:

The Pockit Card was excellent in the early days and gave welcome cashback. However the deal is changing - there is to be a monthly 99p 'membership' charge from March 2019, debited from your balance, even if the card is not used. When a new card (a Mastercard) is due it will now cost £3.00. The end-date on my present card is 01/19 but it was unexpectedly declined twice on 28th January with no new card having been received. I have unfortunately opted to cancel which is a pity.

That's too bad. The other great thing about pre-paid cards is that they are anonymous. If you don't want Big Brother knowing what, where and when you spend, then pre-paid cards are the solution.

They sound as if they would be very useful for the contestants on the TV programme "Hunted", (Channel 4 Thursday evenings). They all seem to let themselves down and get caught by either using an ATM card, a mobile phone, or meeting friends or family.

You could just use cash and limit what you draw out.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: January 31st, 2019, 1:41 pm
by gryffron
I doubt they are that anonymous. Unless you use cash to top them up they could easily be linked to your bank account.
(Post Office one can do that I see). And if you have ever mail ordered anything with it the authorities could track a delivery address.

"Hunted" contestants are deliberately forbidden from taking a suitcase full of cash/unregistered/friend's CC. It would make it too easy for them. And they do have a cameraman following their every move.

Gryff

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: January 31st, 2019, 1:52 pm
by Lootman
gryffron wrote:I doubt they are that anonymous. Unless you use cash to top them up they could easily be linked to your bank account.
(Post Office one can do that I see). And if you have ever mail ordered anything with it the authorities could track a delivery address.

The key is to buy them for cash in somewhere like a convenience store. And then throw them away rather than top them up. Since the card itself has no inherent value, they can be treated as disposable once the value is zero.

The other thing is to not use them for any purchase that can otherwise be tracked back to you e.g. online purchases, hotel bookings, car hire and so on.

If you want to be anonymous, you can be, with a little care.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: February 1st, 2019, 12:20 pm
by stevensfo
Lootman wrote:
gryffron wrote:I doubt they are that anonymous. Unless you use cash to top them up they could easily be linked to your bank account.
(Post Office one can do that I see). And if you have ever mail ordered anything with it the authorities could track a delivery address.

The key is to buy them for cash in somewhere like a convenience store. And then throw them away rather than top them up. Since the card itself has no inherent value, they can be treated as disposable once the value is zero.

The other thing is to not use them for any purchase that can otherwise be tracked back to you e.g. online purchases, hotel bookings, car hire and so on.

If you want to be anonymous, you can be, with a little care.


They sound quite useful for when I visit London. Presumably they come with a PIN? Are they contactless?

Steve

PS N26 cards have a nice feature called 'Spaces' which allows you to use a phone app to partition the money into sub-accounts that can't be touched. So used properly, moving funds into the main account only when necessary, if someone steals the card, even with the PIN as well, they won't get much.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: February 1st, 2019, 12:29 pm
by paradigm
Can't speak for any others but the Pockit Card is a Mastercard and is used as normal with a PIN or contactless. Great for 6% cashback in M&S.

Re: New prepaid debit card

Posted: June 10th, 2019, 3:01 pm
by gbjbaanb
Same with the Optimum card - mastercard, but this has no monthly fees or topup fees if you use a debit card (but costs you £5 to get one in the first place and £1.50 to topup at a paypoint or post office with your money laundered cash :) ).