The application of prepaid cash card for consumers

Prepaid cash card is a plastic card encoded with monetary value on a magnetic stripe. A prepaid cash card account is opened by depositing money into that account, once you have money in your account, you're issued a prepaid cash card that can be used anywhere.

The money is yours and once it's gone, you can't spend any more until you make another deposit. There are no bills and no interest charges.

There are two main categories:

Closed-loop cards- merchant gift cards, transit system fare cards, and prepaid telephone cards;
Open-loop cards- which can be used at many retail merchants and for banking purposes, such as receiving direct deposits or withdrawing cash from automated teller machines.

Prepaid cash cards are particularly useful for those:

1. Under the age of 18
2. Who have had past credit difficulties
3. Who have had difficulty getting accepted for a standard credit card or bank account

examples of applying prepaid cash cards on internet

Advantages of prepaid cash cards:
1. There is no worry about your credit history or more debt, because you are not borrowing any money but actually using your own money. The money is yours and once you finished using the money in prepaid cash card, you can't spend any more until you make another deposit.

2. A better way to track spending and not overspend. The account activity can be monitored online to help keep within a budget. The balance can be checked or loaded with additional funds online or over the phone.

3. Secure way to carry your money. Carrying a prepaid cash card is much safer than carrying a large amount of cash. It also offers convenience when a merchant only accepts cash or credit. You also have the security of knowing that you must sign for every purchase, making it difficult for a thief to use your card.

4. If your card is ever lost or stolen, you can cancel it with a simple phone call.

Examples of prepaid cash cards:

Touch ‘n Go (TnG) smart card used by Malaysian for electronic payment system to toll expressway and highway.

Obopay, The service itself will allow for person to person payments between phones. Obopay says that “users can send money to almost any mobile handset”,

Octopus Card -It is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card to transfer electronic payments in online in offline system.

Apple iTunes prepaid cards -Once you enter in the card # (on the back, under some silver coating that can be scratched away), you can then buy 15 songs which are automatically downloaded to your computer.

link:

1. http://www.moneyextra.com/cards/prepaid-cards/

2. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-prepaid-credit-cards.htm

3. http://www.answers.com/topic/stored-value-card

4. http://www.marketprosecure.com/free-prepaid-debit-card.html

5. http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-of-Using-a-Prepaid-Credit-or-Debit-Card&id=1838202