This prepaid card will likely cost you more than $150 a year in fees. A regular bank checking account or a secured credit card is a much better alternative.
Who the Account Now Prepaid Gold Visa Card Is For
- People who want a Visa card without a credit check.
- People who want an alternative to a secured credit card.
- People who don't like banks.
Credit Rating Required
- No credit check required
About the Account Now Prepaid Gold Visa Card
Pros
- No credit check required.
- Free direct deposit.
- $25 bonus on first two direct deposits of $100 or more.
- Free online bill pay.
- May help build your credit history.
Cons
- High fees.
Reload Limit
- Direct deposit: $6,000 daily limit
- Cash loads: $950 daily, $9,500 monthly.
- Maximum balance at any time: $10,000.
Rewards
- None.
Fees
- Monthly fee: $9.95, waived if you load at least $3,000 per month.
- $9.95 one-time fee on first card load.
- Reload fee at retail location: $3.95 to $4.95, depending on retailer.
- ATM fee: $2.50 to withdraw funds, $1.00 to obtain balance
Account Now Prepaid Gold Visa Card Review
The Account Now Prepaid Gold Visa prepaid card is quite expensive. Unlike the Green Dot prepaid card, the Account Now Prepaid Card isn't competitive with bank checking accounts or a secured credit card because of all the fees.
The monthly fee is nearly double that on the Green Dot card ($9.95 vs. $5.95) and you need to load three times as much money ($3,000 vs. $1,000) each month to get that fee waived. Most people will have to have their entire paycheck direct deposited to the card to avoid that fee.
On the plus side, both direct deposit and online bill pay are free. You can earn a $25 bonus if wyou set up direct deposit within 60 days of opening the account and make a minimum of two deposits of at least $100 within 35 days of each other.
There is a one-time, first-load charge of $9.95 - twice what Green Dot charges. ATM fees are also much higher: $2.50 to withdraw money, and $1.00 to check your balance. Reload fees at retail locations cost between $3.95 and $4.95.
The Account Now card claims to build your credit history, but I'm not sure how good that claim really is. When you enroll in the free Credit Builder program, all your payments from using online bill pay are sent to PRBC (Payment Reporting Builds Credit), a credit reporting agency. While that might "build your payment history," as AccountNow says, that's not the same thing as a credit history. Also, PBRC is not one of the big three credit bureaus that most consumer lenders report to. Some lenders might look at a PBRC report if you apply for a loan, but they might not.
Recommendation
This card is hardly a good (meaning cheaper) alternative to a regular checking/debit account at a bank or a secured credit card. You're much better off getting a no-frills checking account at a bank or a credit union or an online bank - many institutions offer free accounts.