With all of the bad debt that many of us have racked up over the years, and it is only seemingly getting worse, it’s time to start taking better financial responsibility of our debt and future. For a good number of people, they get a new credit card and use it to book a trip or some other major purchase, and then tell themselves that they will deal with paying it off later. With all of the high-interest rates that are attached to credit cards though, it makes paying down this form of debt very challenging - even for those who earn a good salary due to high fixed costs for daily living.

Credit Cards Can Create Problems

Budgeting is getting more and more important to keep variable expenses in check, to improve personal credit ratings, and to reduce the stress that comes with debt and trying to keep paying it down while the interest accumulates daily. Credit cards are very convenient to use, almost too much so, and it has led to people going broke, or even worse - having to declare bankruptcy and start over from scratch.

What’s Like a Credit Card But Doesn’t Have an Interest Rate?

Consumers want the convenience of a credit card but don’t want the high-interest rates that come along with using them. So what alternatives are out there that provide many of the benefits that a credit card offers including the ability to make purchases when traveling overseas? A prepaid credit card provides much of what a traditional credit card offers but allows someone to save on the high-interest fees, but there are still negatives to consider.

A Prepaid Card That Suits Your Style

Western Union now offers its PrePaid MasterCard from NetSpend which offers a lot of value to its users - especially those who receive and send a lot of money transfers. How can you decide if this financial instrument is the right fit for your lifestyle though? We take a closer look at the Western Union Prepaid MasterCard to outline how it works, its benefits, what the costs are, and provide a transparent look at how it might be of use to you and how you live your life.

The Western Union Prepaid MasterCard - How It Works

Cash is handy to use but has its drawbacks, mostly its lack of protection if you lose it, if it gets stolen, or if it gets damaged or destroyed. Not everyone wants a credit card and not everyone has the credit history available to qualify for one. So that leaves someone having to use a debit card that’s associated with their bank account, but this financial instrument has its limitations.

The great aspect about a Western Union Prepaid MasterCard is that there is no credit check that has to be done, as the card isn’t technically a credit card. By simply requesting one of these cards online a consumer can gain access to one, activate it after receiving it in the mail in just a few business days, and then add money to it so it’s ready to use either domestically or internationally.

How Do I Add Money To My Card?

There are a variety of ways to load money onto the card, and they include:

• By receiving a money transfer.
• Allocating money directly from a bank account.
• By dropping into a reload location within the NetSpend Reload Network - a vast network that has a reach of over 130,000 locations.
• Direct deposit either through the cardholder’s employer when a paycheck is given or through government benefit payments.

The direct deposit option is a popular one as access to new money on the card can come a couple of days earlier than the other options - dependent on the payment processor.

More value from the card includes the ability for cardholders to receive or transfer a Western Union money transfer within a few short minutes from more than 200 countries, can have their tax refund deposited to their card, can pay bills online, and other built-in benefits.

What Do the Numbers Look Like?

This specific card is actually a dynamic debit card so the worry of interest building up is gone as there is no associated interest rate. The card does come with some fees depending on which of the three plans a cardholder elects to go with, as outlined below.

1. Monthly FeeAdvantage - A monthly fee of $9.95 is charged to the cardholder, but no other transaction fees are applied.
2. Premier FeeAdvantage - This plan has a $5/month fee and also includes unlimited transactions, much like the Monthly FeeAdvantage does. Almost $60 per year is saved versus the above monthly plan’s $9.95/month fee, the only stipulation is that at least $500 via a direct deposit each month has to be received.
3. Pay-As-You-Go - No monthly fee is charged, but every PIN purchase made carries a $2 fee, and every signature purchase made has a $1 fee. If a cardholder is a light user of the card then this option may make sense, otherwise one of the above two monthly plans are more economical.

All three of the above plans also have a $2.50 fee for each ATM withdrawal, and additional fees from the cardholder’s bank or the ATM owner can also exist.

Refer a Friend, Receive a Credit

When a cardholder refers a friend and they join and load at least $40 onto their card, then that referring cardholder receives a $20 credit to their card.

Special Offers

Some merchant partners do offer various special offers during select promotional periods, and cardholders can earn money back from select partners during these periods. Cardholders who are looking to gain value from merchant partners should pay attention to promotional offers that may be available to them at certain times.

LeadGenius has a free to use online marketplace that features a big and diverse network of lenders - both on the business or personal end of the spectrum. A loan request can be made in under five minutes, and the lender’s decision can come minutes after the request was first submitted.