New Pockit Prepaid MasterCard slashes typical charges by 76%
Pockit.com, the innovative Prepaid MasterCard provider, has laid down a gauntlet and launched one of the UK's first prepaid cards that is completely fee free to load online and spend anywhere in the UK and does not charge for account dormancy or cancellations. Across the sector, consumers are currently charged an average of £133 a year in fees and charges to load and spend an average of £3,220. However, some providers levy considerable charges of up to £225 a year in total to enable consumers to load and spend the money on their prepaid cards. This equates to almost 7% of the annual spend - for people who are already on a tight budget this is unfair.
The new Pockit Prepaid MasterCard enables consumers to carry out transactions and load cash onto the card using BACs and debit cards completely free of charge. In addition; there are no dormancy fees for people who do not use the cards for any length of time. There is an initial fee to purchase the card which is just 99p, currently one of the cheapest costs to acquire a card across the prepaid sector. There are also two other fees to be aware of which are; 99p for UK ATM withdrawals and 99p to load cash at PayPoints. Based on the average customer usage, consumers using a Pockit Prepaid MasterCard will pay just £32 a year in charges which is 76% cheaper than the industry average which totals £132.50.
With some organisations charging anything up to £9.95 for the initial card application, the charges on prepaid cards don't stop there. Consumers can part with up to 2.95% of the value of every purchase made on the card and up to £9.95 if they fail to use the card within a designated period. If people decide to cancel their card, several providers will charge up to £10. Pockit has reduced all charges to the lowest possible levels. In some cases, the cost to provide the service actually outstrips the cost passed onto the consumer.
Prepaid cards are designed to ensure people only spend the money they have so they don't run the risk of running up debt or incurring penalty charges. Pockit.com also offers consumers the benefit of cashback of up to 10% with 3,500 retail outlets across the UK including brands such as M&S, B&Q, New Look and Halfords. Based on the average annual spend (£3,220) this could earn cardholders up to £322 a year in cashback. This can be withdrawn as cash or used to make further purchase as it will be loaded onto the balance of the card.
Customers can stay in control of their money with a simple online account management tool which allows them to check the balance, load and move money, track and manage spending, monitor online statements, set balance alerts and look at cashback savings. External organisations can also make payments to existing cardholders such as employers, benefits agencies or even birthday or Christmas gifts from friends or relatives instead of traditional gift vouchers.
As with all prepaid cards, applicants do not have to undergo a credit check to receive a card. This means that people who don't have a good credit score or may not even have a bank account will be able to enjoy the cost benefits of online shopping, booking travel online and all the other things you can only do with a card. All primary cardholders must be at least 18 years old and can have up to three additional cards. This means that parents can give these cards to their teenagers to make online transactions and reduce the risk of running up excessive credit card bills.
Virraj Jatania, CEO and Founder of Pockit.com, comments: "Pockit.com is all about helping people who struggle to make ends meet to manage their money more effectively, offering 24 hour access to the latest technology. Our card opens up a range of retail deals and offers that these consumers wouldn't normally have access to as many do not have bank accounts and may deal predominantly in cash. By giving our customers cashback of up to 10% across a range of leading UK retailers, we are creating a way for them to both manage and save money efficiently. Without any form of credit or debit card, many of these consumers wouldn't even be able shop online.
"The majority of prepaid card providers in the UK are charging a raft of fees for these cards totalling up to £225 a year. This seems unfair as the people using them are often less well off. From our research, we believe there are around eight million people in the UK who may not be getting the services they require from the main stream banks. These are the people we genuinely want to help - not just make lots of money out of them. With the new product launch we are laying down a gauntlet for the prepaid sector as we feel the only way to really grow this market in the UK is to make the charges transparent and clear."
The Pockit Prepaid MasterCard card can be used at over 35 million locations and 1.9 million cash machines worldwide – anywhere with a MasterCard Acceptance Mark. Cardholders can load cash directly onto your card in one of the 28,000 PayPoints up and down the country.