Saving Money Tools: Prepaid Cards Alternative to Credit Cards

Credit card has many advantages than using cash such as you want to buy an expensive gadget or appliances, and carrying a large amount is not advisable if you are commuting.  Also, credit card is a necessity in today's internet age.  It is widely used in online shopping, airline ticket and hotel booking, movie ticket and seats reservation, purchasing mobile apps and eBooks, Spotify or Netflix subscription, and even Uber.  One cannot enjoy all the features and benefits of the latest products and services offered in today's generation without having a credit card.


However, avoiding credit card usage is the best thing to do to succeed in saving money and managing finances as well.  With credit card, there are chances of overspending, purchasing beyond your means or buying things you do not need since it is on credit.  It is recommended that you should have not more than one credit card and use prepaid card instead if needed.  Prepaid card is the same with credit card except for one.  In credit card, you buy using the card and pay later while in prepaid card, you "load" cash first before buying.  "Load" means you put money to the card through transfer money via online banking or paying via distributing partners (depend on bank's card). 

Prepaid card has other benefits over the credit card, e.g., easy to apply, 100% guaranteed approval, and can be used as a gift card to your loved ones.  Also, it is more secure than the traditional credit card.  You can limit the amount you load to the card or you just load the approximate amount you need or plan to use at the moment.  Therefore, you will not get anxious that someone might use your card if misplaced or hacked while using the internet for shopping/purchasing.  Another thing is just like credit card, it has Card Verification Code, a 3-digit code printed at the back of the card and found at the upper-right corner of the signature panel.  It is an added security when making online purchases.

Examples of Prepaid cards in the Philippines from two of the top banks in the country are Yazz Reloadable Prepaid VISA Card and My ePrepaid MasterCard from Metrobank and BPI, respectively.  In order to decide what to choose, I made a few comparison between the two. 

Btw, details are subject to change without notice.  You may visit their website for any updates and to know the application process if you're interested.

https://yazzcard.com/cholder/

https://www.bpicards.com/Cards/Prepaid

#SavingMoney #MoneyTips #PersonalFinance

P.S.

This post is neither a paid advertisement nor an endorsement of such financial product.