Netspend® Visa® Prepaid Card Review | Bankrate (2024)

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• Rewards

  • This card does not offer rewards.

  Expert Appraisal: Typical
  See our expert analysis

• Rates and fees

  • Activation fee: None if purchased online or through the mobile app; up to $9.95 if purchased through a retailer
  • Plan fee options:
    • Monthly: $9.95 per month
    • Pay-as-you-go: $1.95 per purchase
    • Reduced monthly plan: $5.00 (available for accounts that receive at least $500 in direct deposits monthly)
  • Foreign transaction fee: 4 percent on all purchase transactions and cash withdrawals conducted outside of the U.S. or in a currency other than U.S. dollars
  • Inactivity fee: $5.95 per month (after 90 days with no transactions)
  • APR: N/A

  Expert Appraisal: Weak
  See our expert analysis

• Other cardholder perks

  • Up to 6 percent annual percentage yield (APY) on the first $2,000 in a Netspend savings account

  Expert Appraisal: Typical
  See our expert analysis

You’ll fund your card with a Netspend Debit account, similar to a checking account, that you deposit money into with either direct deposit, mobile deposits or by visiting reload locations. You can only spend as much as what’s in that account at any given time, minus fees.

The Netspend Visa offers a pay-as-you-go plan that has no monthly fees and a monthly plan that charges $9.95 per month. You can reduce your monthly plan to $5 if you receive at least $500 each month in payroll checks or government benefits.

Although it might seem more affordable, the pay-as-you-go plan charges a $1.95 fee for each PIN and signature transaction. The monthly plan doesn’t charge any. If you make more than five transactions per month (and receive less than $500 in direct deposits), the regular monthly plan will be more affordable than the pay-as-you-go plan. The reduced monthly plan will be more affordable than pay-as-you-go if you make two or fewer transactions per month.

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card charges a hefty lift of fees for several different card activities. We highly advise you to familiarize yourself with the card’s rates and fees before applying because this card’s fees could add up quickly over the course of one year. If you project you’ll spend nearly $100 in combined fees, you may want to consider other card options.

While there may be little reason to want this fee-heavy card, its one attractive factor is its access to a high-yield savings account, a great way to leverage your savings to build passive income.

Savings: Earn a leading APY

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card uses funds in your linked debit card account, but you can also open an optional savings account with Netspend that is linked to your card account. You'll need to transfer money from your card account to the linked savings account in order to fund it, but it functions as a high-yield savings account offering a 6 percent APY on the first $2,000 and 0.5 percent APY on the portion of funds exceeding $2,000.

An APY of 6 percent is quite good. Many of the best high-yield savings accounts only offer APYs of around 5.50 percent, so a 6 percent rate can really jump start your savings goals if you’re looking for ways to increase your income.

Although the high-yield interest limit of $2,000 is low, the maximum amount of interest you can expect this balance to yield each month is a little over $9, which could actually help offset some of this card’s monthly or transaction fees. And you can still earn a 0.5 percent APY over the $2,000 ceiling. For instance, if you have $15,000 in savings in your Netspend account, you’ll earn about $5.41 monthly for interest accrued from the $13,000 in addition to the interest you’ll earn from the first $2,000. This isn’t the best high-yield savings account out there, but it beats the fractional interest rates available on common savings accounts.

The Netspend Visa Prepaid card is not a credit card, so it doesn’t report your payment activity to the credit scoring bureaus, delaying your credit-building efforts. You'll also miss some of the best financial perks that you can find even on secured credit cards, so opting for a prepaid card like this isn’t nearly as flexible or rewarding as other options.

Excessive fees: Maintenance and activity fees will cost you

This card’s ongoing maintenance and activity fees can really add up to make it a weighty addition to your wallet that could harm your finances.

Accessing a card can be a means to improve your finances. With the Netspend Visa Prepaid card, even if you qualify for the $5 lower monthly fee, you'll be spending $60 annually just to hold and use. Although it doesn’t sound substantial, this is more costly than other options — particularly secured credit cards with refundable deposits.

At $60 per year, you’re edging closer to the premium card annual fees, which are usually $95 to $100. However, cards with those fees carry more benefits and report your activity to all three credit bureaus, making them much more attractive options that justify their cost. Although they’re more expensive, the service they offer is far more nuanced than what Netspend offers with this prepaid card. You’ll need to consider if what you’re getting with the Netspend prepaid card is worth what you’ll need to pay to hold the card.

No rewards: You cannot offset fees

One of the most popular features on any credit card is rewards, which are typically issued in the form of points, miles or cash back earned at a percentage rate of your spending. Rewards can help offset credit card fees with responsible spending. The Netspend Visa Prepaid card does not offer rewards, which is a disappointing reality on a card so laden with fees.

Credit-building: You’ll delay your credit journey

The most important factor on a card like this is how it handles credit reporting. If you’re considering this card, it’s likely you may need to build up your credit or are underbanked. This means you stand to gain the most from having positive payment activity on your credit report.

Unfortunately, the Netspend Visa does not report your payment activity to the credit bureaus, so you won’t be able to establish a credit history or build your credit score using this card. If you have bad credit, no credit or fair credit and you want to break into good credit, you need to find a card that reports your activity to the credit bureaus. If you don’t, you’ll be delaying your credit journey and stalling your eligibility for the best credit cards available.

While the card has its advantages, there are better prepaid cards and secured cards available that perform similar functions at a more affordable cost. Many even offer rewards.

Netspend’s fees are a major drawback, but this card may benefit anyone without a credit history looking for banking services or a money management tool. Just keep in mind, Netspend doesn’t share activity with any credit bureaus, so using the card will not help you establish credit.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring credit cards for students and people building credit, including each card’s cost, APR, credit-building tools and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular cards designed for students and people with no credit history, bad credit or a fair credit score and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category.

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score:

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