Has anybody had any experience with using reloadable prepaid credit cards?
Two that I have seen around are the Woolworth's Everyday Money Reloadable Prepaid Mastercard
and the Canvas Reloadable Prepaid Visa available at Australia Post.
Just wondering if there is any feedback about using the products. Thanks!
Yes I'm aware of the fees. I'm investigating on behalf of someone who is retired and not comfortable with using credit cards online, not even one with a small credit limit.
How about a debit card linked to a savings account, e.g. Ingdirect? You won't be able to spend more than what's in the account.
Yeah I did suggest that but she didn't want to open another account.
@Moocher
What bank is she with?
Some accounts already come have a debit card, i.e. ANZ Cheque accounts, I just had to request one.
I think it's Westpac. She doesn't want anything linked to her bank account though. So there's lots of restrictions, not necessarily logical ones.
Canvas is terrible, Theres a fee for every month, I got one for Christmas
$120
-$10 for the card
then it was something like $10 month to have the card
Could not use it at WOOLWORTHS or BIG W
Avoid CANVAS
Oh thanks for that, good to know. Sorry that you had a bad experience though.
Thats cool
Maybe They just need a visa debit card
Link it to an online account
Keep it away from his main pool of funds
See my reply to greenpossum above. Thanks.
I've used these (BoPo and Canvas) and they are rubbish.
Much better using a Visa Debit. They are free with most banks.
The additional safety comes from it being a proper bank "Visa" card too… your bank protects you against fraudulant use.
Yep just make sure you press CREDIT on the EFTPOS machine and not SAV or CHEQUE to make sure that transaction is covered.
If they'd rather pay fees then open a separate bank account with a visa debit, then yep, there's not a lot of choice. If they're laundering/hiding money, then casino chips are the way to go.
Personally I'd either have a visa debit - if they use their current financial institution, they should be able to open a second linked account and attach a visa debit to it, making transferring money easy & little paperwork.
Why pay fees? Why open a separate account?
ANZ gave me a Visa Debit for free when my old (standard Advantage Saver) card expired. I didn't even have to ask for it.
The whole idea is not to get a new account - just change the CARD that you use to access it.
I've read some nasty things about canvas, like people being trapped in locations they don't want to be at overseas, with no access to funds because of hassles with the canvas card.
Thanks everyone for all your help. It sounds like Canvas is to be avoided, and yes, these cards are a bit of a rip-off.
fees, glorious fees.
https://www.everydaymoney.com.au/edm/wps/portal/money/prepai…
http://mycanvascard.com/simple-fees
What do you want it for?