Tags: amit, Business, card, expenses, Kalixa, prepaid, sharma

Over 10 years in the prepaid industry creating, developing, selling, supporting, reviewing and comparing prepaid cards and I finally found a card that I can use. About 10 months back, I decided that I needed to get back into smelling that pungent/fresh air in Central London and took up a consultancy position in the heart of London. Working from home was not an option, so it demanded that I travel up and down from Nottingham which meant paying for travel, food and other expenses.

Having preached the prepaid card gospel for over 10 years, I started looking at which particular prepaid card I could use. I reviewed a few different alternatives with the following objectives in kind

1. Had to be cheap or free to buy (a one-off purchase but hey, free is free)
2. Had to be cheap or free to load
3. Had to be cheap or free to use at POS
4. Had to have ATM access for emergencies
5. Would ideally like a contactless card as I get my coffee at Starbucks and my lunch at Pret a Manger
6. Would provide updates/alerts  and a transaction history and not require me to keep endless receipts

So whilst I outlined my desired objectives, I started looking at what was available and quickly settled on the Kalixa Prepaid Mastercard. Here’s why

• Free Purchase: I had a previous Kalixa card which the guys at Kalixa upgraded to a contactless Kalixa Card free of cost. A new card typically costs £6.95 but then this is unimportant as it is a one-time fee.
• Loading: I load the Kalixa card using my company VISA debit card and it costs me nothing. I load with around £100 in each instance.
• Using at POS: Using the Kalixa card to buy my lunch, my train tickets, my London Underground pass – all classified as POS transactions is 100% free in the UK. So no charge here.
• Using at ATM: Not had to use it yet and I don’t intend to either. I bought the card to have an electronic record of all my business subsistence needs. It does that.
• Contactless: Yes it is! So Starbucks, Pret, the Lebanese Joint around the corner with the awesome falafels– all get a quick tap and go once or twice a day! Sorted.
• Alerts: I get a free email and SMS alert with every load and spend. Freeeee

So my net cost for getting the Kalixa Contactless card has been ZERO and for using it has been ZERO and hence, at this point my ZERO cost Kalixa Card is my business expense HERO!

Yay! I am finally using a prepaid card!

Who knows I might even use a travel card on my next trip across Europe!

Amit Sharma is the CEO and Founder of www.prepaid365.com and a senior prepaid industry consultant. You can follow him on LinkedIn.

Find out more about the Kalixa Prepaid Card here.