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Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Allcards. Commissions do not affect our authors’ or editors’ opinions or evaluations. From our partners: See our advertiser disclosure here. Prepaid reloadable debit cards, sometimes called prepaid credit cards, offer an alternative to both credit cards and bank accounts. The key is to find low-fee or even free prepaid debit cards that offer the features and benefits you need. We examined nearly 70 options to help you find the best no fee prepaid debit cards. I’ve covered the prepaid card market since 2008. Over the years there have been major changes to the features and fees offered to consumers. For the most part, these changes have been positive. Still, there are many prepaid debit cards that charge outrageous fees, offer limited benefits, or both. To help you sift through the options, we’ve compiled our top picks of the best reloadable low fee or no fee prepaid debit cards.
NOTE: Before we get to prepaid cards, you should consider Chime. It’s not a prepaid card, it’s better. For no monthly fee, you get both a spending and savings account. While Chime is not a bank, it partners with an FDIC-insured bank that protects your money. It offers a free debit card and a free secured credit card. And with direct deposit, you can get paid up to two days early.*
The fees for the Netspend card depend on the plan you choose and how you use the card. The Netspend Premier Reduced Monthly Plan with a monthly direct deposit of at least $500 is the best deal in our opinion. This keeps the monthly fee to just $5, with no fees for purchase transactions.
Our pick for Walmart shoppers
This low-fee prepaid card is ideal for those who frequent Walmart. The Walmart MoneyCard® pays 3% cash back on purchases from walmart.com, 2% cash back at Walmart fuel stations, and 1% cash back at Walmart stores, up to $75 a year in rewards. A new feature is up to $200 in overdraft protection with opt-in and eligible direct deposit, which is great if you run a little short from time to time.
There is a $5.94 monthly fee.* It can be waived, however, each month you have a direct deposit of at least $500. The one drawback to this card is that there are no free ATM withdrawals–they cost $2.50 each. However, you can withdraw cash with no fee from Walmart MoneyCenters or the Customer Service desk.
*Please see site for full terms and conditions.
Best for teens and families
Greenlight was built for parents and children. For example, parents can set up weekly or one-time chores in the app and allowances once a child completes the chores. Parents can automate payment of allowance through the app. The card offers real-time notification of transactions. Parents can even implement controls over which stores a child or teen can use the card.
Parents can turn a card off or on from the app. They can pay interest to their young ones to encourage savings. Parents can also control whether their child can use the card at an ATM. It works with Apple Pay, and there are no transaction fees, foreign transaction fees, or overdraft fees.
You can try the card for free for the first month. After that, the fee is just $5.99 per month for a family with up to five children.
Best for teens and families
I’ve met the founder of FamZoo, Bill Dwight, at conferences over the years. He has a heart for teaching children about managing their money. His team has created an excellent tool to help any family better manage their money. And FamZoo is much more than a prepaid debit card for teens.
Parents have total control over the child’s account if they want it. Children see just their accounts while parents see all transactions from all family members. Parents can transfer funds instantly to a child’s account, ideal when paying for chores or allowance. You can schedule the transfers periodically to make money management even easier. Parents and teens can receive text alerts when certain transactions occur.
Parents can lock and unlock accounts. You can set and track savings goals. Parents can pay interest to their child’s account as a way to incentivize savings. Payments can be split across multiple accounts.
There is a monthly fee, but it’s as low as $2.50 a month, and it’s for the entire family. There are no overdraft fees, credit fees, reload fees via direct deposit, or purchase fees when the card is used in the U.S. FamZoo also doesn’t charge for in-network ATM withdrawals.
Our pick for Paypal transfers
For those who use PayPal frequently and want an easy way to transfer money, the PayPal Prepaid Mastercard is the answer. You can link your PayPal account to the prepaid card and then transfer money from your PayPal account for free.
Everything else about the prepaid card is fairly standard. It offers free direct deposit, cash loads at more than 130,000 locations, and a relatively low monthly fee.
You can also take advantage of PayPal Payback Rewards and earn on qualifying purchases from select merchants.
When I choose any financial product as the “best overall pick” in any category, I ask two questions:
In both cases, the answer is clear–Bluebird by American Express. That’s not to say the card is perfect. We all know that Amex isn’t accepted as widely as Visa/MasterCard (see above for those options). Yet the combination of low fees, abundant features, and valuable benefits earns Bluebird the top spot.
Simply put, the card comes with virtually no fees. There is no monthly maintenance fee. No transaction fees. You can withdraw money from MoneyPass ATMs for free. You can even add cash for free at most Family Dollar stores. It’s one of the best free prepaid debit cards available today.
The features and benefits are also excellent. The card offers online bill pay, mobile check deposit, free direct deposit, and a mobile app. You can create a family account with up to 4 additional cards and set spending limits on each one. The account also enables you to track your spending by category for better money management.
Our pick for the best Amex prepaid cards
We’ve already mentioned Bluebird, which has as low a fee as you’ll find. Another Amex option is Serve. Serve comes with a long list of features:
It comes in three flavors:
American Express Serve FREE Reloads: Reload cash to the card for free at over 45,000 retail locations. The downside is that the $9.95 monthly fee can’t be waived, even with direct deposit.
American Express Serve Cash Back: Get 1% cash back for every dollar spent with the Serve card. The monthly fee is $9.95, which can’t be waived. Therefore, you’ll need to spend $795 on the card per month just to break even. If you spend more than that, this prepaid card pays you for using it.
American Express Serve Pay As You Go: There is no fee for this card. But you will have to pay $1.00 for each transaction, $2.25 for ATM withdrawals, and $3.95 for cash reloads.
Our pick for Target shoppers
Without question, the Target Circle RedCard is the best cash-back debit card available today–if you shop at Target. The RedCard pays 5% cash back on all purchases at Target–in-store or online. The 5% cash back applies to in-store Starbucks purchases and specialty gift cards.
You get free 2-day shipping on thousands of items from Target. And you get an additional 30 days for returns and exchanges. Keep in mind, however, that the Target RedCard can only be used at Target stores and Target online.
Our pick for digital prepaid debit card
If you plan to use your card online or through your phone, Movo Digital Cash is the debit card to use. Once you open and fund your account, you can then create virtual debit cards in the amount that you choose. Each debit card you create has a unique account number. You can use it once online, for example, and then dispose of it. That way, if someone steals the account number, it’s of no value since that digital debit card has no balance.
The card can also be used with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. You can also easily transfer funds to friends and family members who have a Movo account.
The card is free to get, has no monthly fees, is FDIC-insured, and offers free direct deposit.
Chime is an award-winning financial app and Visa ® debit card. But if it’s not a bank, where does your money go when you deposit it into a Chime account? It goes to an FDIC-insured Checking account connected to the Chime app. Money is deposited into an account backed by one of two of it’s banking partners–The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.
What Chime adds is an excellent app to help you manage your money. You can set up direct deposit of your paycheck and automate savings with Chime’s round-up feature. 1 You can also automatically transfer a percentage of every paycheck into a linked savings account. 1 A Chime Checking Account is required to be eligible for a Savings Account.
Chime comes with no monthly fees, no deposit required, no minimum balance, no foreign transaction fees, and 60,000+ fee-free ~ MoneyPass, Allpoint, or Visa Plus Alliance ATMs. Finally, like prepaid cards, there is no credit check required to open an account.
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.
~ Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.
1 Round Ups automatically round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfers the round up from your Chime Checking Account to into your savings account. Save When I Get Paid automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposits of $500 or more from your Checking Account into your savings account.
Extra Card is a debit card, not a prepaid card. To get the card you must link a bank account to the card. So why does it make our list of prepaid card alternatives? Because it can help build your credit. Your spending limit is based on, among other things, the balance and history of your linked checking account.
When you use your card for purchases (which you’ll earn 1% cash back on), Extra Card spots you the money. In other words, the money is not immediately taken out of your bank account. Instead, Extra Card pulls the money you spent from your bank account the next business day.
At the end of the month, Extra Card adds up all your purchases and reports that amount to the credit bureaus as credit-worthy payments. Currently, they report to Experian and Equifax. There are two plans to choose from starting at $20 a month or $149 a year.
Determine what features you need and how you’ll use the card. For example, if you must have online bill pay, ensure the cards you consider offer this feature. Likewise, if you plan to make numerous ATM withdrawals monthly, find a prepaid card offering free withdrawals. Once you have your required features and know how to use the card, find the lowest-cost option that meets these requirements.
No. You can only spend the money you add to the card. As a result, there is credit or borrowing involved with prepaid cards. As such, they do not help you improve your credit score.
The best will depend on the features you need and how you’ll use the card. Our list of the best prepaid debit cards should satisfy just about any financial situation.
All prepaid debit cards have some type of fee. In some cases, most fees can be avoided based on how you use the card. In addition, some prepaid cards will waive some or all of the monthly fee if you load a certain amount of money on the card via direct deposit.
Generally, yes. Based on recent rules enacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, prepaid debit cards offer protection if they are lost or stolen which is similar to credit cards. Your potential liability is capped at $50 if you give timely notice that your card has been lost or stolen. You can find more details of this new rule here.
Reloadable cards can be used over and over again. Load money on the card that you can then spend. As you run low, you can add more money to the card. In contrast, prepaid gift cards cannot be reloaded.
Some prepaid debit cards charge a host of fees. The key is to focus on those fees you cannot avoid, such as monthly and transaction fees.
Generally, yes. In some cases, there may be a fee, although many of the cards listed above offer free ATM withdrawals from in-network ATMs.
We evaluated 70 reloadable prepaid debit cards (see list below). To determine which cards made our list, we considered each card’s fees and features. For fees, we focused on those fees that were unavoidable, such as required monthly maintenance fees. Some fees, like ATM withdrawal fees, can be avoided by getting cash back at retailers. For features, we looked at each card’s money management tools, mobile apps, and customer service.
Rob Berger is the founder of allCards.com. He's written about personal finance and investing since 2007 and is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Retire Before Mom and Dad. He is a former litigation attorney in the securities field and the Founding Editor of Forbes Advisor.
