Frequently Asked Questions on Pre-paid Credit Cards

Frequently Asked Questions on Pre-paid Credit Cards

What is a prepaid credit card?
A prepaid card looks like a credit card, but works differently. You can use it everywhere MasterCard is accepted, but you can only spend up to the available balance on your card. With a prepaid card, you load funds onto your Card and use that money to make purchases and get cash - you are not borrowing money from a bank or other financial institution.

How does a prepaid card work?
Your prepaid credit card can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted, including ATM's. The cardholder signs for purchases and gets a receipt. Unlike a credit card, though, each purchase is deducted from the pre-paid balance on the card.

Where can I use my prepaid credit card?
You may use your prepaid card to make purchases at over 21 million locations worldwide, get cash back at over 600,000 ATMs nationwide, make online purchases, buy airline tickets, make hotel or rental car reservations, pay for gasoline at the pump and more!

How is a prepaid credit card different from a credit card?
The prepaid credit card looks like a credit card - it has the Visa or MasterCard logo and hologram -and allows the convenience of cashless purchases like a signature-based credit card, with no PIN input required at the point-of-sale. However, your card accesses pre-loaded money from an account you fund with your funding source(s).

As a prepaid card, there is no "line of credit" extended. This means that your spending limit is determined by the amount of money that you have loaded to the card. Best of all, because it's not a credit card, there are no finance charges, no late fees, and no accumulation of debt.

What are the advantages of the prepaid card over cash?
The safety of carrying a piece of plastic with access to your cash, versus carrying a fold of bills in your pocket, is pretty straightforward. If you lose the cash or leave it somewhere where it is stolen, it is gone forever. If you lose your card or leave it somewhere, unless you put your PIN code on your Card (which you should NEVER do), your money is still safe.

What happens if the card is lost or stolen?
You should call the customer service to report it missing immediately and you won't be responsible for any unauthorized transactions. Remember to keep your card in a safe place and never lend it to anyone.

How is a prepaid credit card different from a debit card?
It is actually a pre-paid, reloadable card and completely separate from the checking or savings account, or credit or debit funding source account(s) that you use to load money to the card. Spending ability is limited to the amount of money that you separately load onto the card and store in the card account. When you purchase an item with your card, the purchase amount is withdrawn from your card spending balance, and never directly drawn from a funding source account that you use to load money onto the card.

With a debit card, overdraft protection may mask the actual account balance, resulting in over-spending. You won't be able to use a debit card for making a reservation on hotels and rental cars.

Can the prepaid credit card be used at ATMs?
Yes, your card will work at ATMs. You can receive cash with your card and a PIN (Personal Identification Number). There is usually some withdrawal fee at most ATMs.

How can I load money to the Citi Cash Card account?
Depending on which prepaid card you have, there are several ways to add value to your card using the followings:

* Check, Cashier's Check or Money Order
* Wire Transfer
* Regular Credit Card
* Online Card Load
* Western Union and other fund transfer services

Are there spending limits?
The beauty of the pre-paid credit card is that you set your own limits. Your spending power is limited only by how much money is loaded onto the card, up to the card issuer assigned value. When the money is gone, you ust need to load more money to it.

Is a security deposit required to open a prepaid card?
No.

Will my prepaid credit card have interest or finance charges?
Because you are not borrowing money, you will not be required to pay interest or finance charges on your Card.

When I use my prepaid card, is the money taken from my card right away?
Yes.

What happens if I return something I purchased with a prepaid card for a store refund?
Just like a regular credit card, the amount refunded will appear as a credit on your card account.
What if there isn't enough money on my card to cover a purchase?
The transaction will be declined if you do not have enough money loaded on your card.
Offshore Pro Group