Walmart Prepaid Visa
The Walmart prepaid Visa card is offered by this merchant at their local stores. This card is not available in every state, but can be used anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
Prepaid Debit Card
The Walmart prepaid Visa card, called the "Walmart MoneyCard", is a prepaid debit card featuring the Visa logo. There is no credit account associated with the card. Instead, the available balance is the amount of money loaded onto the card by the cardholder minus any fees. The card cannot be used to purchase items on credit and should not be confused with the credit card offered through this merchant.
Once the balance on this Walmart prepaid card is exhausted, no more purchases can be made unless the balance is replenished by the cardholder. The card can be used any place Visa is accepted, including point-of-sale, online and reservation transactions.
How to Get the Walmart Prepaid Card
There are two ways to get the Walmart Prepaid Card:
- In-Store - Acquire unactivated cards at any Walmart location. You can add funds in-store and have rapid account access.
- Online - Order a prepaid Walmart card online. Your card will arrive in 7-10 business days. Add funds electronically from your bank account when you request the card, or wait for the card to arrive and load your card in-store, or electronically by transferring funds from another bank account.
Loading Funds on the Card
Cash and MoneyCenter Express
You can load cash of any amount onto your card at all Walmart locations, or use the MoneyCenter Express located in select Walmart locations. There is a fee associated with adding funds using these options. You can also use another PIN-based debit card to load funds onto your Walmart Prepaid card in-store.
Direct Deposit
Sign up to have your paycheck directly deposited to your Walmart Prepaid card. There is no charge to add funds to your card using this method, and Walmart occasionally offers promotions that give you a one-time cash bonus for signing up.
Online Bank Transfer
Transfer funds to your Walmart Prepaid card from an existing bank or credit union account for free. These transactions must be completed online through the Walmart MoneyCard website.
Check Cashing
One of the most convenient features of this card is the check cashing feature. Cardholders can go to any Walmart register and present a payroll or government check and request the check be cashed for a small fee. They also have the choice of placing a portion of the check onto the card as part of the card's balance for later spending. Adding to the balance with part of a cashed check will not incur the usual reloading fee.
This is a valuable feature for cardholders who do not have a bank account. Instead of paying fees at a financial institution to cash payroll and government checks - or visiting a check cashing facility and potentially paying exorbitant fees - customers can have their checks cashed at the same place they do their shopping.
MoneyPak
MoneyPak by Greendot is another prepaid money card, but you can add funds to your Walmart Prepaid card with funds from MoneyPak if you also have the MoneyPak prepaid card. There are fees associated with this transaction, but the fees vary.
No Bank Account, No Problem
This card is designed to be a convenient product for customers who do not have bank accounts at traditional financial institutions. With this prepaid Visa card there is no need for a bank account to conduct simple transactions such as cashing a payroll check or having payroll directly deposited for easy access. Cardholders can request that employers directly deposit payroll onto the card, making it easy to access the funds without going through the actions of cashing a check.
There is no credit check required for this card because there is no credit extended. Another unique feature of this card is that you can also sign up for bill pay using the Walmart Prepaid Visa card. Utilities, rent payments and any other recurring obligations can be paid through this card.
Fees
This card has a wide variety of fees. Some of the fees are waived in certain situations - such as the balance reloading fee that is waived when the funds from a cashed check are applied directly to the card. Special promotions offered by Walmart often result in fees being waived for a certain amount of time.
Cardholders can expect to pay these fees (as of November 2011) with this Prepaid Visa card:
- Initial purchase fee of $3
- Reloading fee of $3 for cash and Walmart MoneyCenter Express loads.
- Additional card fee (including lost or stolen card replacement) of $3
- ATM usage fee of $2, in addition to fees charged by the ATM
- Monthly account maintenance fee of $3 (waived if you reload at least $1,000 onto your card during the month)
- ATM balance inquiry of $1
- Teller cash transaction - $2
- Rush delivery of card - $20
- Foreign transactions - 2% of purchase price
Cardholders can minimize fees by conducting transactions at Walmart locations, but the monthly fee will remain.
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