Optimum Prepaid MasterCard

[Nocton]

I use an Optimum Prepaid MasterCard for contact-less payments in lieu of cash. I top it up each month by standing order. I prefer not to use my credit cards for small payments as I don't want to record so many items for checking my credit card statement each month. The Optimum card has been excellent and free after the initial set-up charge, but now they propose to charge £1.99 a month for them to keep my money. Can anyone recommend another prepaid card that does not charge or charges a more modest fee?

[Breelander]

Can anyone recommend another prepaid card that does not charge or charges a more modest fee?

Don't use one so can't recommend any, but there seem to be plenty to choose from here.....

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credi ... aid-cards/

[AF62]

I prefer not to use my credit cards for small payments as I don't want to record so many items for checking my credit card statement each month.

As you have more than one credit card then why not designate one to be your low value card and do all the non-low value on a different card.

Then when you get the statement for the low value card you can simply scan down the transactions ignoring all the low value ones (after all that is what you effectively do with your prepaid card) and just making sure there isn’t anything above your low value card limit - so 5 seconds work.

Meanwhile your high value card statement remains unsullied by the low value transactions.

[didds]

ot get a starling/mondo etc account and just transfer money to it when it needs topping up?

didds

[Nocton]

Thank you for the replies. I'll look into one of the alternatives suggested by the link Breelander gave. A a quick search for the Mondo card mentioned by Didds, showed that it seems to be a pre-paid card very much like the Optimum card. But a look at the 'About Us' page says it is run by "Atlas Mont Bank, Podgorica, Montenegro" which is a put off.

I don't wish to use a credit card as it does not replace cash. If I have £200 in cash or £200 on my pre-paid card and I lose either, it is equivalent. I've lost £200 - end of story. If I lose a credit card then I potentially lose thousands, with a lot of hassle to sort things out and possible damage to my credit rating.

[dionaeamuscipula]

Thank you for the replies. I'll look into one of the alternatives suggested by the link Breelander gave. A a quick search for the Mondo card mentioned by Didds, showed that it seems to be a pre-paid card very much like the Optimum card. But a look at the 'About Us' page says it is run by "Atlas Mont Bank, Podgorica, Montenegro" which is a put off.

I don't wish to use a credit card as it does not replace cash. If I have £200 in cash or £200 on my pre-paid card and I lose either, it is equivalent. I've lost £200 - end of story. If I lose a credit card then I potentially lose thousands, with a lot of hassle to sort things out and possible damage to my credit rating.

While that is true in theory, in practice every issue I have ever had with credit card fraud has resulted in all fraudulent charges being reversed.

Another alternative might be to set up a separate bank account, fund it from your main account, and use its debit card.

DM

[richfool]

Thank you for the replies. I'll look into one of the alternatives suggested by the link Breelander gave. A a quick search for the Mondo card mentioned by Didds, showed that it seems to be a pre-paid card very much like the Optimum card. But a look at the 'About Us' page says it is run by "Atlas Mont Bank, Podgorica, Montenegro" which is a put off.

I don't wish to use a credit card as it does not replace cash. If I have £200 in cash or £200 on my pre-paid card and I lose either, it is equivalent. I've lost £200 - end of story. If I lose a credit card then I potentially lose thousands, with a lot of hassle to sort things out and possible damage to my credit rating.

While that is true in theory, in practice every issue I have ever had with credit card fraud has resulted in all fraudulent charges being reversed.

Another alternative might be to set up a separate bank account, fund it from your main account, and use its debit card.

DM

Nocton, Dionaeamuscipula's suggestion to open a separate bank account sounds a good one to me. You could then fund that account in the same way, with a set amount each month.

I use a separate bank account to fund all my direct debits and standing orders for similar reasons. I transfer a set amount in each month, sufficient to cover my monthly direct debits and standing orders, and knowing that what is left in my main bank account is mine to play with, without having to frequently check the balances.

[didds]

Thank you for the replies. I'll look into one of the alternatives suggested by the link Breelander gave. A a quick search for the Mondo card mentioned by Didds, showed that it seems to be a pre-paid card very much like the Optimum card. But a look at the 'About Us' page says it is run by "Atlas Mont Bank, Podgorica, Montenegro" which is a put off..

purely out of interest in what way?

If you are using it as effectively a prepaid credit card youd only have a minimal amount loaded on it at any one time, if you are concerned about the bank collapsing and losing your mopney. And you are far more likely to lose that amount in cash than that happening (IMO anyway).

Mondo/Starking operate as no overdraft bank acocunts. As you cant go overdrawn there is no chance of losing any more than is in the account. The card operates as a debit card on that non o/d accopunt. in exactly the same way as a pre-paid credit card does - if you lose the card the most you lsoe is the ammount on it ... whcih via the web interface/app you could withdraw as soon as you know so the acocunt has zero balance to stolen etc - if acted upon quickly enough etc etc etc

cheers

didds

[AF62]

I don't wish to use a credit card as it does not replace cash. If I have £200 in cash or £200 on my pre-paid card and I lose either, it is equivalent. I've lost £200 - end of story. If I lose a credit card then I potentially lose thousands, with a lot of hassle to sort things out and possible damage to my credit rating.

As you say, if you lose £200 cash or a prepaid card with £200 on it you have lost £200.

Lose a credit card and you lose nothing, other than the cost of one phone call.

[Nocton]

Lose a credit card and you lose nothing, other than the cost of one phone call.

That may be so if you are lucky and discover the loss in time, but if a lot of money is taken before the phone call then you can have difficulty in proving it was not your fault. I just like to keep things simple.
Whether it is a debit or credit card makes no difference if it is pre-paid and you can't have an overdraft or credit, so I make look into the debit card option too.

[AF62]

Lose a credit card and you lose nothing, other than the cost of one phone call.

That may be so if you are lucky and discover the loss in time, but if a lot of money is taken before the phone call then you can have difficulty in proving it was not your fault.

I don't know why you would think that was the case.

Obviously you should report the card lost or stolen as soon as you discover it, but being liable for the period of time between loss and reporting it lost - nope.

Aside from the fact the credit card rules say I am not liable, it would be blindingly obvious to the dimmest person in the world if my card was used by a fraudster, as the spending pattern would be utterly different, being different locations, retailers, etc.

[swill453]

Yup, I have personal recent experience of:

- card stolen
- card used for 3 purchases, one being high value
- card reported stolen
- fraudulent transactions suspended off my account
- these transactions later disappeared and never troubled me

In that order.

Scott.

[gryffron]

I don't understand the fascination with prepaid cards. Far less regulated than either CC or bank accounts. No Section 75. No FSCS guarantees.

Open a basic bank account with a VISA card. No credit. No charge. Free ATM withdrawals. Free internet transfers in and out. Problem solved. And it is covered by FSCS banking guarantees, which prepaid cards may not be.

I have one which I use exclusively for internet accounts. Paypal, Applepay etc. But you can have as many as you like, for any diffrent usage you fancy.

Gryff

[AF62]

I don't understand the fascination with prepaid cards. Far less regulated than either CC or bank accounts. No Section 75. No FSCS guarantees.

One use, but it is marginal over cash, is to give to people where you don't want to trust them with full access to your accounts. Most commonly children or employees, but was used by some people who were unable to leave home in the pandemic but needed people to buy things for them. The one advantage over cash is you can usually top up the cards online, so if you can't get out to get cash you can still 'give' people the equivalent of cash.

Another use if for people who have limited funds as a method of budgeting. If there is money on the card you can spend it, if not you go hungry but you don't go into debt.

Or finally, online digital transactions which you want to do anonymously - or

[Nocton]

Thank you for all your replies. I don't agree with all the comments, but no point in further discussion as we all have different viewpoints and experiences.

After looking at the available pre-paid card options, most of which charge (although not as much as Optimum proposes) or have restrictions on the amount that can be added freely and some which have been affected by the Wirecard scandal, I have decided to go for a bank debit card with no overdraft. To avoid the real hassle of setting up a new bank account these days, I have gone for a card with my current bank. That meant I could do it on-line with little verification as they already know who I am. So the new debit card will work more or less like the Optimum card - I'll load it regularly by standing order and use it contact-less like cash in my wallet for all those little items like cups of coffee which I don't wish to record as I do larger payments.