What is a Pre-Paid Credit Card?

A prepaid credit card is a credit card that does not offer the option of borrowing on it. It is opened by paying money into the card account in the same way as you would pay money into a bank account. Once you have paid money into the credit card account, you can use your prepaid credit card anywhere that accepts credit cards. The best part though is that you won't go into in debt because as soon as you have spent the funds you have credited to the card you can't spend any more until you make another deposit. There are no bills and no interest charges. If you're frustrated because you can't apply for a credit card because of maybe a previous bad credit history or a lack of address, you should consider a prepaid credit card as it will give you all the advantages of a credit card but you won't have to worry about interest charges.

Below are details on some of the leading pre-paid credit and debit card providers in the UK to help you determine the best pre-paid card for your circumstances.

Britain’s leading prepaid network, Take on Optimum - the flexible yet secure prepaid card from 360money. No credit checks an instant approval with a valid UK address. The Optimum prepaid mastercard costs £9.95   Further information on the Optimum prepay card

BREAD PREPAID CREDIT CARD

The bread card is new into the prepaid MasterCard card market. The Bread prepaid card offers competitive rates to users with no fees on purchases and no monthly fee. Card can be loaded via Paypoint and BACS and it is simple to apply on-line and all that is needed to get a bread prepaid card is either a UK driving licence or international passport number together with a UK address. The card is aimed at those who do not have access to a MasterCard facility such as individuals with debt / credit problems or recent immigrants to the UK. The BREAD Prepaid Card only costs £7.50 and can be paid by another card or via SMS.   Further information on Bread prepaid cards