Benefits of Using Reloadable Cards
For the past two decades, the financial experts of the world have engaged in an ongoing discussion of what they see as a future “cashless society.” While they make a number of convincing arguments for this trend, perhaps the best evidence for such a possibility is the rapid increase in the millions of people using debit and reloadable cards. As the next step in the evolution of the credit card, these cards are replacing paychecks, being used for rebates, and are the preferred gift of many teenagers. In fact, the trend towards a cashless society has also seen the rapid decline in the use of paper checks.
Vendors and banks alike encourage this aspect of the many changes because of the convenience and substantial savings it brings. The trend is so pervasive that many churches are installing ATMs in their facilities. It seems that many of their members almost never carry cash and don’t even have checking points. Those that wish to give only have one means – sliding their cards through a reader. As an increasing number of consumers rely on their debit and cash cards, you will find everything from vending machines to parking meters that are now configured to accept digital currency. Going even further, there are actually places where you will find that cash is not accepted as a form of payment. It is hard to argue with these trends, even when you miss that jingle of change in your pockets. The tradition of grandpa giving the kids a quarter or two may soon be a thing of the past.
Well, there really is no catch. Rather prepaid debit cards just have a different financial approach to how you spend your money. These cards must be loaded up with your money first before you can use them to buy anything whereas credit cards are more or less loaded up with the promise that you’ll pay down the road. With a reloadable prepaid debit card it’s sort of like loading up your wallet with cash first before you go to the store – think of it as an electronic wallet.
So it’s much more difficult to get into financial trouble with these debit cards than it is with their credit card siblings. That’s a very good thing in today’s wacky credit world where credit card companies play it fast and loose with interest rates, charge limits, and penalty fees. You see, these prepaid cards force you to plan better, to think your purchases through, and to know where the money’s coming from before you make the purchase (instead of after).
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Category: Credit Cards, Debit Card
