Prepaid plastic (cashplus MasterCard)

Member Name: Lakerfanster

Product:	cashplus MasterCard
Date:	13/07/08 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great to have

Disadvantages: Might need to upgrade in the longrun

**Introduction**

I had an account with Woolwich which supplied me with a visa electron card but when they were bought up by Barclays I was automatically given a standard Barclays savings account which meant I wasnt supplied with a new debit card and so I looked around for a pre paid credit card after hearing about a number of new cards coming out around the time. After a short time looking at the various options I then found a prepaid cashplus card from Mastercard which I decided to get.

**Signing Up**

The great thing about the signing up process is that you don't need to have a credit check, you just fill out the application form online and then you will get a quick response from them once you have filled out everything required and your form has been sent you will get an email response which will tell you that you will be sent a letter in the next week or so which you take to the post office and pay the joining fee of £9.95, you can also add any money you want to be on your card account when you have received your card and you also pay the first months fee of £4.95 which you pay at the end of every month. You will then receive you card in the next few days and your pin information and you are free to use your card for online and store purchases.

**My Cashplus**

Basically what you get with the card is the ability to use your card for online purchases and store purchases. You cannot however use your card at ATM Machines unless you upgrade your account which will need some identification to be sent but I woud recommend trying it out as an online purchase card first and then decide after a few months whether you really need your card to be able to withdraw money at ATM Machines.

**Topping Up**

It is very easy to top up your prepaid mastercard as all you need to do is take your card to one of the places listed on the website and hand your card over to the cashier with the amount of money you want to upload onto the card.

At The Post Office

You can top up anything from £10 to £999 for FREE and your funds will be ready on your account within twenty four hours. There are quicker alternatives to this though as shown below.

At a cashplus retail outlet

You can Top-up for FREE any amount from £10 to £5,000. This will be on your account much quicker than via the post office and you will usually be able to use your funds in about 30 mins from when you top up.

At an e-pay outlet

If you visit an e-pay outlet you can top-up any amount from £10 to £150, in multiples of £10. The e-pay outlet will charge you £2 per top-up and your money should be available in 30 minutes

**Drawbacks**

For me the only real drawbacks about this card are that you need to upgrade your account if you wish to use the card at ATM Machines and if you would like to have balances up to £5,000 instead of £1,500 for the no frills account. To me these won't affect most people as most people who use this card will have another card account which they can use at an atm.

**Incentives**

You can use this on every website you see the mastercard sign and of course in any shop that has this sign. This card is great for people who have a low credit rating or if you just want a card that you can limit to transactions that you actually need to take out of another account to use. This will be a great thing for people who spend too much on their debit card and they can only use it when they have some money on it.

You can also use your card to setup standing orders if you need to pay bills or if you would like to setup a feeding system from another card which will put say £20 for instance into your prepaid account from one of your cards aswell as being able to pay your salary into this account which you just need to give your employer a form to sort this out.

**The Website**

If you are interested in getting one of these cards for yourself then the website you need is www.mycashplus.co.uk and there you will find all the information you need about the card and once you are logged in you will be able to review all your transactions and see your account balance which makes everything clearly laid out.

**Overall**

This is a great way for people to get the benefits of shopping on the internet without spending more than they can afford. If you don't have the funds then you won't purchase something as it won't let you do it. A great way to budget your money too and the benefits of upgrading could make this card even better.

Summary: Great card