The best approach when choosing a prepaid card is to carefully consider what you will be using it for and then to check the relevant usage fees of each card. If, for example, you intend to use your card predominantly for online shopping you should check the transaction charges; however, if you only plan to use it on holiday, so that you don’t have to worry about foreign currencies, then you should look at overseas transaction and withdrawal charges.
Most cards fall into two categories: those with no monthly fee but slightly higher transaction/top up charges and those with a monthly fee (or sometimes annual) but lower top-up fees. Some cards allow you to choose between the two by offering a 'pay monthly' and a 'pay as you go' account types, therefore you should consider which would be the most economical option for your likely card expenditure – e.g. if you think you will use the card regularly then the monthly fee type may prove cheaper; while the pay as you go type would probably represent a better choice for infrequent spenders.
Once you have found a card that you think would be suited to your usage, the final step is to check the provider’s terms and conditions carefully – some prepaid cards have further administration costs and other miscellaneous fees like cancellation/cash out charges that can greatly affect the running costs of the card. All of this information will be displayed somewhere on the provider’s website.
