The 5 Best Prepaid and Debit Cards of 2023

Unbanked people do not have access to traditional banking services — like checking accounts, savings accounts, debit cards or credit cards — of any kind. If you’re a person who has struggled to gain access to traditional banking services because of upfront costs (such as deposit minimums or initiation fees), or has had issues with your bank accounts in the past (such as involuntary bank account closures), a prepaid card might be the answer. Prepaid card issuers typically don’t check your credit when you apply (though this isn’t always the case), and they won’t check your banking history.

There are many reasons someone may be underbanked. If access to your banking services is inconvenient or too expensive, you may find yourself underbanked. If you have a bank account but routinely rely on alternative financial services — like money orders, check cashing services and payday loans — to pay your bills and complete other financial transactions, you may benefit from a prepaid card. 

To start, all cards on this list charge either a variable monthly fee, fixed monthly fee or a one-time account fee. As many prepaid cards have monthly fees, we identified those with limited additional costs and hidden fees.

More important to these cards’ scores and their inclusion in our list is how their fees influence their overall value. We consider card fees in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall value. 

Cards with high fees will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since fees inherently cut into any rewards value the card may offer. However, if a card offers terrific value in other ways, such as perks or convenience it can earn a spot in our list even if it carries high fees.

Along with cost and rewards value, we consider other factors that could give cards great long-term usefulness. 

We considered how widely a card is accepted, and we sought options that are likely to be accepted anywhere you spend. Our team considered the size of each card’s network, the trustworthiness of each financial institution and the accessibility of reload options.

Due to the nature of prepaid and debit cards, additional perks such credit-building tools can be difficult to come by. If a card offers a path to improving your credit score, we’ve factored that into our scoring.

For rewards-earning cards, we consider any restrictions they impose on earning and redeeming rewards when deciding on a card’s inclusion in our list. 

These restrictions could include only allowing users to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requiring users to meet a certain earning threshold before they can redeem rewards. We also examine whether points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also evaluate each card’s perks based on their value and uniqueness. For prepaid cards, flexibility and convenience can play a significant role in a card’s overall usefulness. 

Since many cardholders looking for a prepaid card are eager to earn rewards, a key criteria for a card’s inclusion in our list is its rewards value. Rewards value factors in a card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories, as well as how closely those categories match the average person’s spending habits. In other words: Does the card earn rewards at a high rate in the most popular spending categories?

We use consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to get a reliable third-party measure of people’s spending habits. The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2021 was $66,928 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

This includes the following spending by category:

• Groceries: $5,200
• Dining out: $3,000
• Entertainment: $2,500
• Gas: $2,100
• Apparel and services: $1,700

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other cards in its primary category.

The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.

PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and Netspend all have prepaid debit cards available. Regions Bank, Fifth Third Bank, U.S. Bank and others also offer prepaid debit cards.

You can get a prepaid card in a number of ways, including: 

1. Online: You can go online and purchase a prepaid card using your credit or debit card information, which will be charged at the time of purchase.
2. In-store: You can go to any store and purchase a prepaid card with cash.
3. At a bank branch: You can go to a bank branch, provide your personal information, and purchase a prepaid card with cash or by using your checking account number and routing number (which is typically on checks).

You can reload a prepaid card much like you would receive money in a checking account linked to a debit card. Here are some ways you could reload a prepaid debit card, depending on the issuer:

• In person at the financial institution that issued the card
• In person at participating retail locations
• Online transfer from a checking or savings account
• Mobile deposit, if available
• Direct deposit, if available

If you'd rather not use a prepaid card, there are other options that may suit your needs better:

• Fintech banking apps: These apps, like SoFi, work like any other bank app, but they don't require a traditional bank account. Some of these apps are free, but some charge monthly fees for certain features.
• Alternative spending accounts: An alternative spending account, like Chime, is typically a checking account without overdraft fees, monthly fees or service fees. They're designed for people who want a simple place to keep their money but don't want all of the features of a traditional checking account.
• Second-chance checking accounts: These second-chance accounts allow people who have been denied access to traditional checking accounts due to low credit scores or unpaid debts access to basic banking services. 
• Secured credit cards: These allow people who have bad or no credit histories to make a deposit for access to a limited credit line. If you can afford to make a security deposit upfront, you can use a secured credit card for minor expenses and build your credit score at the same time.

While they are not technically banks, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and Netspend have prepaid debit cards available to sign up for.

Regions Bank, Fifth Third Bank, U.S. Bank and others also offer prepaid debit cards.