Ever since the recession triggered by the real estate and banking sector set in, there has been a growing number of consumers that have been disillusioned with their bank and that has let to a constant search for alternatives to traditional bank accounts.
Alternatives to Bank Accounts
There seems to be a desire to reinvent personal banking to a degree by switching to recently created new banks, credit union accounts and banking prepaid credit cards all emerging as viable alternatives. Prepaid cards are undoubtedly the most popular alternative amongst these as they are all inclusive and everyone is guaranteed a prepaid card irrespective of their poor credit history, bad credit record or the lack of a credit record altogether. However, there is some criticism of new banks and credit unions too.
- New Banks: Whilst these have emerged as alternatives, many argue that the people running them are more or less from the traditional banking industry and sooner or later, these are likely to suffer from the same problems.
- Credit Unions: Credit unions are seen as a growing alternative to the big banks as these are financial institutions owned and controlled by their members. If you join a credit union, it is working to benefit you unlike a bank, which works to make money for shareholders. The problem here is that to be part of a credit union, you need to have a common factor with its members such as living or working in the same area, working for the same company or basically have some common association.
Prepaid Cards: The Perfect Alternative to a Bank Account
Prepaid credit cards on the other hand, represent the ultimate in cashless convenience and applying for these Mastercard prepaid credit cards is also fairly easy and convenient. There are no credit checks required when you apply for your prepaid credit card. Unlike applying for traditional credit cards, you do not need to have a clean credit record or any credit history for that matter and these are the perfect credit cards for people with bad credit. This is largely because your prepaid Mastercard is not a loan facility and there is no credit being actually taken. What you spend on your traditional credit cards is actually borrowed from your credit card company. When you use your prepaid credit cards, you are spending your own money. This comes from the money that you load into your account before you use it. There are account set-up requirements that you might want to look at before you apply for your prepaid credit card. Most of the time, these credit cards would charge you an application fee and then charge you service fees only when you use your card for your purchases or withdraw from it using an ATM.
These Mastercard prepaid debit cards are very much like normal debit cards. You also spend your own money when you use your debit cards for your purchases. The difference is that your debit card has to be linked with a bank account. You do not have to have a bank account to link with your prepaid credit card. You can also load directly into your prepaid debit cards wherever you are. You can even send money abroad through your prepaid credit card. If you check out the fee schedules of most of these prepaid credit card facilities, you will find that it is more cost-efficient to do money transfers using your prepaid credit cards. You also receive your money faster than you would through wire transfer facilities.
Unlike with your bank and bank credit facilities, there is no interest to be paid or redeemed and there are certainly no hidden charges and a number or prepaid cards even come with direct debit facilities making them perfect alternatives to traditional bank accounts.
Read the First Premier prepaid card review and find out more about why you should get a First Premier prepaid card at Prepaid365.
