New - Lycamoney Prepaid MasterCard Review

Product Snapshot
The Lycamoney Prepaid MasterCard provided by Lycamoney Limited offers consumers two amazing new prepaid card choices; the Green Lycamoney Instant Issue product with guaranteed acceptance for all as well as a FREE upgrade to the fully personalised Silver Lycamoney Prepaid Card. The Silver prepaid Card comes with the added feature to allow cardholders to send money for FREE using Lycamoney's card to card transfer functionality.

Lycamoney offers cardholders the option of adding up to three companion cards linked to the main prepaid card and these cards can be sent by the main cardholder to the secondary cardholder almost anywhere in the world. What makes this offer even better is that if the customer is a Lycamobile customer or they become a Lycamobile customer after they purchase their card they will receive £5.00 FREE Lycamobile credit upon activation and first load, thereby making their prepaid card purchase FREE.

For cardholders that top up their Lycamobile via their Lycamoney Card, there is an additional 10% bonus credit every time they top-up their Lycamobile. Both the Green and Silver Lycamoney Prepaid Cards have no monthly fee, no transaction fee and very low ATM fees.

The Silver upgraded prepaid cards can also be loaded via bank transfers free of charge and these funds will normally arrive the next working day. Available in GBP, with a foreign exchange fee of just 1.5% above the MasterCard mid rate, the Lycamoney Cards offer a cost effective way to carry travel money.

The Good
Available as an Instant Issue Card and a full KYC silver prepaid card, the Lycamoney prepaid Cards come with an attractive design and more importantly, an attractive fee structure. With Free transactions in the UK an abroad and a truly low ATM fee, the Lycamoney Prepaid cards are definitely consumer usage friendly. Contacting customer services is also not a painful premium number but a much healthier lo-cal number. The Interactive SMS features and balance alerts are a sure winner.

The Not so Good
The Lycamoney Prepaid Cards are available in GBP currency only which means that you do incur a 1.5% FX fee (one of the lowest in the UK) for usage abroad but an excellent option for daily use in the UK and for sharing money with friends and family.

Application Process

• Buy Instore - You can buy the green Instant Issue Lycamoney Prepaid Card in-store at selected Payzone locations across the UK. Just use the Lycamoney Partner Location finder on the Lycamoney Website and find your nearest purchase location. In and out with your Green Lycamoney prepaid card in under 5 minutes.
  
  These cards can be purchased, activated and loaded immediately using the online portal or by calling our 24/7 call centre which is a free call from a Lycamobile and just a standard 020 call charge from other networks and landlines.
  
  
• Apply online - You can apply for both the Green and the Silver Lycamoney Prepaid cards by simply visiting the Lycamoney Prepaid Card website. Select which card you would like to get and complete the online application form in minutes. That's it - your card is on its way and should be with you in 5-7 days.

Note: The Silver Card is a fully personalised card and take around 7 days to arrive from the date of a successful application. As long as you live in the UK and are 18 or over, you’re guaranteed to get one. Green card holders can upgrade to the Silver card by providing KYC details.

Card Features

• Fixed Fee Cash Loading Fee - £1.50 at Payzone agents for up £300 and just £0.99 at Post Office Branches nationwide.
• Low FX Fee - Very Low foreign exchange fee - 1.5% (one of the lowest in the UK)
• Multiple Companion Cards - Cardholders can request up to 3 companion cards on their account compared to a single companion card on most other products.
  

Design
The beautiful green Instant Issue Lycamoney prepaid card is complemented by the fully personalised and sophisticated Silver Lycamoney prepaid card.

Fees
An attractive fee structure with some of the lowest ATM fees around and fixed fee loading at over 30,000 UK locations

• Card Issue Fee - £4.99
• Monthly Fee - FREE
• Transaction Fee UK - FREE
• ATM Withdrawal Fee UK - £0.50.
• Reload Fee - Bank Transfer Load FREE*, £0.99 via Post Office.

*Note: Bank Transfer, Standing Orders and Wage Transfers are only available as loading options on the fully personalised Silver Lycamoney Prepaid Card

Online Account Management and Self Servicing
Lycamoney Provide a comprehensive online account management and IVR Facility. These facilities can be used FREE of charge for the following:

• 24/7 Online Access to account information
• Balance alerts via SMS after every transaction
• IVR access to account information
• 24/7 Call centre
• Interactive SMS features for Lycamobile users

Remember, all this functionality is available to you absolutely FREE!

Using Abroad
The Lycamoney prepaid Cards are currently available only in GBP. A MasterCard branded prepaid card, these cards can be used around the world at over 30 million global locations for purchases as well as making withdrawals at over 1.5 million ATM's that accept MasterCard..

POS transactions abroad are free subject to an FX fee of 1.50% if used in a region with a different currency from GBP. Use of ATM's abroad incur a £0.50p or 1.5% of the amount withdrawn whichever is higher

So you can definitely use your Lycamoney Prepaid Cards around the world but if your main intended usage is abroad, then it may be worth considering prepaid travel cards.

Reload Options
You can load your Lycamoney Instant Issue Prepaid Card and the Silver Full KYC Lycamoney Prepaid card with Cash at Payzone and Post Office Locations across the UK. Additional loading options are available for the Silver Card

> Green and Silver Lycamoney Prepaid Cards

• Using Cash at Post Office - £0.99
• Using Cash at Payzone - £1.50

> Additional Options for Loading the Silver Lycamoney Prepaid Card

• Standing Order - FREE
• Bank Transfer - FREE
• Payroll Transfer - FREE

Customer Service
The Lycamobile prepaid MasterCard customer services team can be reached using various options as detailed below.

• Telephone : +44 (0) 207 132 1100 (Available 24/7 )
• Email: info@lycamoney.co.uk (General Enquiries)
  
• Online Support Centre: On the "Contact Us" page of the Lycamoney Website
• Lost and Stolen: +44 (0) 207 132 1100 (24/7)
  
• By Post: Lycamoney, 3rd Floor, Wallbrook Building, 195 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SG

Complaints Procedure
The Lycamoney Prepay Card team are dedicated to responding and resolving all complaints as quickly as possible and complaints can be sent across to customer services using the contact details above. It is the policy at Lycamoney to answer complaints within two working days if they cannot be resolved immediately upon being raised.

If you are still not satisfied after following these procedures, you can ask the Ombudsman to review the complaint. Alternatively you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR or telephone 0845 080 1800. Calls may be recorded.

Awards
If the Lycamoney Prepaid Card proves as inspired an offering as Lycamobile, then this space should not be vacant for too long!