MeCard Prepaid MasterCard Review

The MeCard Prepaid MasterCard

What Prepaid? Summary

Date Reviewed: October 2011

What's Good

The MeCard prepaid card is great if you are a parent or guardian with teen-age youngsters. MeCard is the new user friendly, flexible, prepaid service from MasterCard. It boasts an online linked-account system, where funds can be transferred from parent to teen at the click of a button. No more queuing at the bank or fiddling with passcodes. MeCard is simple and secure.

What's not so good?

As with all prepaid cards, fees do apply. Although significantly lower than most PrePaid offerings, MeCard does charge for a few services. ATM withdrawals cost £0.75 and MeCards must be renewed after 2 years at a cost of £9.99 to the card holder..

Key Features

Application Process

MeCard has stuck to a simple and straightforward sign-up format, which does what it says on the tin. Credit checks are not performed, just a simple name/address verification is carried out. Parent cards are free and Teen cards cost £9.99 with a free £10 gift allocated to each teenage card holder..

Card Design

Cards are individualized with name of card holder, but card design is not editable and the same design is applied to parent/teen cards.

Fees

On-going Fees:

Fees:
On application	Parent Free/Teen £9.99
Monthly	None
Term before renewal	24 months
Purchases in store	Free
Purchases online	Free
On ATM withdrawals	£0.75
ATM withdrawals abroad	£1.50
Card replacement	£5
Additional cards	£9.99
Annual	£9.99

Self Servicing

MeCard is applied for and managed primarily on-line. Teens can view their balance, shop online, and top up a PAYG phone through their online account. Parents can use BACS, PayPoints or set up standing orders to their parental MeCard, before distributing the funds between teen cards. A customer service team is available to help with questions and can be contacted online or over the phone.