hi there - just an update - im very impressed with the icount - good functiinality, has anyone got a prepaid travel card - i have applied for the caxrton and it seems to be quite good on the face of it...

Hi There - ive just opened a ClearCash icount - has anyone here opened one? i'd like to know what they think - from what I can see it looks pretty good compared to others out there (especially with purchase fee and monthly fee) - let me know anyone?

Hi I have IDT Prime & the Post office Prepaid card

IDT PRIME ADVANTAGES

1. You get the card at the newsagent straight away, (no need to wait for it in the post). You can use straight away , if yo an get through to customer services.

2. You can use cash by paypoint available at most newsagents to pay onto the card immediately & its there within 30 mins (even overnight or the weekend). You can also use the Post Office , free, to put money on but it takes 2 WORKING DAYS to credit.

3. Can be used online for internet purchases , including ebay/paypal.

4. You can register your address with the card (I did this online).

5. My purchases online cost 50p per transaction.

4. You can check your balances by its webaccount online.

5. You can put small amounts as top up

DISADVANTAGES

1. No chip & Pin. So difficult to use it shops. (Also no name on the card but thats sometimes an advantage for safe purchases)

2. Post office top ups take up to 48 hrs to credit. Mega problem if youve got it for a relative abroad. I credited cash at P.O. £200 on Friday. not realising until i checked the balance , that it doesnt credit for until possibly Tuesday.

3. Customer services closes at the weekend for activating the card & in the evenings, so its not entirely true that it takes only a few minutes to register immediately.

4. You have to upgrade by contacting customer services, or writing or online, with passport details etc to make it reloadable, or increase the spending limit. Sending it required copies of passport resulted in no response whatsoever & I currently can no longer use my card to add money, so I'm looking for a new card.

I got the Post Office Travel card

This seems to have a 24hr customer service & activation line. You get the card in £, $ or Euro at the Post office when you apply

Disadvantages

This can only be topped in cash up at the Post office or on the phone (not much use if you are abroad) , although family members can use the card no alone to top up.

Minimum £50 top up.

No chip & pin , but can be used in ATMs (Internationally) once activated

You need to use ID to get it i.e passport, no proof of address required but you need to provide your address.

There may be a delay in money credited to the card of up to 2 working days

Cant apparently be used on Paypal/ Ebay, its restricted for some internet use, which is what I got it for.

Cant pay by credit card/debit card onto card

No web account access to check balances

---------------------------------------------------

I'm tempted to get the cashplus gold as it has alot of things that these 2 cards dont i.e debit/credit card top up

Advantages

chip & pin + web account

you can build up your credit rating if you add cashbuilder.

can be used internationally

I know what you mean MCD. I think you are going to find it quite difficult to find a site that is free from sponorship or completely independent as most of these are affiliate sites and make revenue of the programmes they list. To be fair, that is true even of Moneysupermarket's comparison section which seems to have some enanced listings for those who are willing to pay.

I agree with you when you say it probably isnt a completely true representation of the entire market, but I think it is an extremely good starting point.

Cheers

Rupert

Note: This post has been moderated. Please ensure you read the moneysupermarket.com Community Standards and Terms of Service before posting. Thanks.

The problem with this comparison site, like many others, its only comparing cards it clearly has some interest or sponsorship in. It does not review every prepaid card available in the UK market, so isn't a true representation until it does!

And just to let you know...

I received an email today from Prime telling me you can now put more money on the card in the Post Office. Top ups over £100 are free and under £100 are 49p.

So it seems to be much better value now if you were still looking for a card.

Hope this helps.

I dont know whether these guys do a prepaid credit card. I use them for online shopping/gift vouchers and they are usable everywhere VISA is accepted. Hope this is helpful

Moderator - Link removed, in line with MS terms of service.

As the title of this thread implies, you've never had one, have you? So let me answer your points:

"how easy is it to get the IDT Prime card: very easy just had over the cash and its yours" - Indeed this is true and its the biggest selling point, but what are you buying? - A one time disposable card with a maximum value of £150! Which answers your next point:

"do you need to provide ID: hell no. this means that it can be used by criminals to hide the cash they steal also terrorists can use this to buy goods for their activates" - A one time disposable card does not require ID but with a £150 limit I think the terrorists are going to struggle when financing their multimillion dollar activities!

In fact (as you would know if you had a card as opposed to listening to general hearsay) if you want to use the card on a regular basis and top it up and put a few thousand pounds on it, you need to upgrade (£1.95) which involves doing an identity check (sorry terrorists).

And finally:

"is there an lower age limit (eg 18/13): Nope, this can be used by minors to get access to adult content" - Well lets look at their T&C's which is on the website:

"1.8 Only persons over 18 years of age are entitled to purchase the Card. Once purchased, the Card may be given to another person, including a person under 18 years of age. However, Transactions by persons under 18 years of age may not be allowed by some Merchants."

Now lets understand this, its clearly written on the back of the packet that it can only be purchased by over 18's and the shops themselves know this. If a shop sells the card to someone under 18 it is illegal and the same as them selling alcohol or cigarettes to uderage kids.

They allow an adult to give the card to someone under 18, however, once notified the card is switched to teen blocking i.e. it cant be used to purchase or view things only meant for over 18's.

I hope all this info answers your questions. If you have any more things you would like to know, from someone who actually uses the card, then feel free.

how easy is it to get the IDT Prime card: very easy just had over the cash and its yours

do you need to provide ID: hell no. this means that it can be used by criminals to hide the cash they steal also terrorists can use this to buy goods for their activates (classic example see film national treasure when Ben Gate buys a copy of the deceleration of independence with his own card and the feds get to his house)

is there an lower age limit (eg 18/13): Nope, this can be used by minors to get access to adult content

there is an item on the net cant recall where but it states most of what i have put here

How do you figure?

idt prime is ok but its a its open for abuse

I've been using Prime and I'm very happy with it. Purchase price = £3.

i just recalled why i have not gone for this dd and so only

i need a card that i can top up and use the same day if needed

all cards that i have seen are chip and pin

how long does it take for the topup to go on as sometimes i may need to get money on to it fast

Yes I have the card, had it about three weeks and topped it up already. Its chip and pin unlike most prepay cards and having the photo is in my view a deterrent if I lost the card. I used to carry my passport when I was a mere youngster but having lost it on a drunken night out and having to fork out about £70 I think (it was some years ago!) to replace it, I would be very guarded in taking it out with me.