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Netspend® Visa® Prepaid Card review: A last resort prepaid card

A convenient payment method weighed down with fees.

 /  11 min
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Snapshot

3.0

Bankrate rating
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Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Bottom line

The Netspend Prepaid Visa card may be an excellent choice if you have poor credit, don't want a bank account or don't have access to one — but its high rates and fees could make other prepaid or secured credit cards more appealing.

BEST FOR NO ACTIVATION FEE

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Annual fee

Up-to $9.95 monthly*

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Netspend® Visa® Prepaid Card Overview

The Netspend® Visa® Prepaid Card is a prepaid card that lets you conveniently manage your finances and load money without a checking or savings account. Although this card is weighed down by several fees, it can provide convenience and payment security if you can’t access other cards because you have no credit history or bank account.

  • Credit Card With Dollar Sign Icon

    Rewards

    • This card does not offer rewards.

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

  • Credit Card Search Icon

    Rates and fees

    • Activation fee: None if purchased online or through the mobile app; up to $9.95 if purchased through a retailer
    • Plan fee options: 
      • Monthly: $9.95 per month
      • Pay-as-you-go: $1.95 per purchase
      • Reduced monthly plan: $5.00 (available for accounts that receive at least $500 in direct deposits monthly)
    • Foreign transaction fee: 4 percent on all purchase transactions and cash withdrawals conducted outside of the U.S. or in a currency other than U.S. dollars
    • Inactivity fee: $5.95 per month (after 90 days with no transactions)
    • APR: N/A

    Expert Appraisal: Weak
    See our expert analysis

  • Congrats Icon

    Other cardholder perks

    • Up to 6 percent annual percentage yield (APY) on the first $2,000 in a Netspend savings account 

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

Netspend Visa Prepaid pros and cons

Pros

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    You can manage your money with flexible monthly or pay-as-you-go plans.

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    If you apply online, you won’t need to pay an application fee, mitigating some of the card’s costs.

  • Checkmark Icon

    You can access a high-yield savings account to help your savings grow passively.

Cons

  • Most card activities are subject to high fees, making this a less convenient and potentially costly option.

  • Recent customer reviews have highlighted poor customer service and experiences.

How the Netspend Visa Prepaid card works

You’ll fund your card with a Netspend Debit account that you fund with direct deposit, mobile deposits or reload locations. You can only spend as much as in that account, minus fees.

The Netspend Visa offers a pay-as-you-go plan that has no monthly fees and a monthly plan that charges $9.95 per month. Although it might seem more affordable, the pay-as-you-go plan charges a $1.95 fee for each PIN and signature transaction.

You can reduce your monthly plan to $5 if you receive at least $500 each month in payroll checks or government benefits. If you make more than five transactions per month (and receive less than $500 in direct deposits), the regular monthly plan will be more affordable than the pay-as-you-go plan. 

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card also charges fees for several other common card activities. Familiarize yourself with the card’s rates and fees before applying because this card’s fees could add up quickly over the course of one year. If you project you’ll spend nearly $100 in combined fees, you may want to consider other card options.

Why you might want the Netspend Visa Prepaid card

While this card is heavy on fees, it does offer access to a high-yield savings account, a great way to leverage your savings to build passive income

Savings: Earn a leading APY

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card uses funds in your linked debit card account, but you can also open an optional savings account with Netspend that is linked to your card account. You'll need to transfer money from your card account to the linked savings account in order to fund it, but it functions as a high-yield savings account offering a 6 percent APY on the first $2,000 and 0.5 percent APY on any portion of funds exceeding $2,000.

Many of the best high-yield savings accounts only offer APYs of around 5.15 percent, so a 6 percent rate is an impressive start to your savings goals if you’re looking for ways to increase your income.

Although the high-yield interest limit of $2,000 is low, the maximum amount of interest you can expect this balance to yield each month is a little over $9, which could help offset some of this card’s monthly or transaction fees. And you can still earn a 0.5 percent APY over the $2,000 ceiling.

For instance, if you have $15,000 in savings in your Netspend account, you’ll earn about $5.41 monthly for interest accrued from the $13,000 in addition to the interest you’ll earn from the first $2,000. This isn’t the best high-yield savings account out there, but it beats the fractional interest rates available on common savings accounts.

Why you might want a different card

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card is not a credit card, so it doesn’t report your payment activity to the credit scoring bureaus. You'll also miss out on some of the best financial perks available on credit cards, so choosing this prepaid card isn’t nearly as flexible or rewarding as other options. 

Credit-building: You’ll delay your credit journey

The most important factor on a card like this is how it handles credit reporting. If you’re considering this card, it’s likely you may need to build up your credit or are underbanked. This means you stand to gain the most from having positive payment activity on your credit report.

Unfortunately, the Netspend Visa does not report your payment activity to the credit bureaus, so you won’t be able to establish a credit history or build your credit score using this card. If you have bad credit, no credit or fair credit and you want to break into good credit, you need to find a card that reports your activity to the credit bureaus, like a secured card or a card that doesn’t require you to have a credit history. If you don’t, you’ll be delaying your credit journey and stalling your eligibility for the best credit cards available.

Excessive fees: Maintenance and activity fees will cost you

This card’s ongoing maintenance and activity fees can add up to make it a weighty addition to your wallet that could harm your finances. Even if you qualify for the $5 lower monthly fee, you'll be spending $60 annually just to hold and use the card. Although it doesn’t sound substantial, this is more costly than other options — particularly secured credit cards with refundable deposits.

At $60 per year, you’re edging closer to the mid-tier card annual fees, which are usually $95 to $100. However, cards with those fees carry more benefits and report your card activity to all three credit bureaus, making them much more attractive options that justify their cost. You’ll need to consider if what you’re getting with the Netspend prepaid card is worth what you’ll need to pay to hold the card.

No rewards: You cannot offset fees 

Rewards are one of the most popular features of a credit card, as they can offer value over time and help offset credit card fees with responsible spending. The Netspend Visa Prepaid card does not offer rewards, which is a disappointing reality on a card that includes so many fees.

How the Netspend Visa Prepaid compares to other cards

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card serves its niche well, but if you want to make yourself a candidate for better cards and loan terms, find a card that helps you build credit while managing your current finances. Here are a couple worth considering.

Image of Netspend® Visa® Prepaid Card

Annual fee

Up-to $9.95 monthly*

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

N/A

Recommended Credit Score

See Terms
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Image of The Card with No Credit Check - The Secured Self Visa® Credit Card*
Bankrate Score
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on Self's secure site

Annual fee

$25

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

N/A

Recommended Credit Score

No Credit History
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Image of Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Cashback Match™
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Rewards rate

1% - 2%
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Recommended Credit Score

No Credit History
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Who is the Netspend Visa right for?

A few people could make this card a decent step to a better financial profile, but it should remain a short-term option.

Bankrate’s Take — Is the Netspend Visa Prepaid card worth it?

While the card has its advantages, better prepaid and secured cards are available that perform similar functions at a more affordable cost and with greater benefit. If you decide to apply for the card, keep in mind that Netspend doesn’t share activity with any credit bureaus, so using the card will not help you establish credit.

How we rated this card

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50+
cards rated
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500+
data points analyzed
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250+
fees tracked
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40+
perks evaluated

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring credit cards for students and people building credit, including each card’s cost, APR, credit-building tools and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular cards designed for students and people with no credit history, bad credit or a fair credit score and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category. 

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score: 

Frequently asked questions

Written by
Brendan Dyer
Associate editor, Credit cards
Brendan Dyer is a Bankrate editor who writes and edits content for rewards, travel, cash back and business credit cards. He’s passionate about informing readers about the most innovative ways to use their credit cards and how synergistic multiple cards can be in the right hands.
Edited by Editor II, Credit cards

* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.