Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard

How We Rated the Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard

Card Features Fees Disclosure Clarity BBB Rating Load Options Overall Rating

Rating Explanation Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard 4 GetDebit.com Editor The Green Dot Master Card has some excellent features and if used well, very low fees. The most appetizing features are Fee monthly monthly maintenance fees with $1000 load or 30 transactions per month, FREE ATM transactions at thousands of participating locations, FREE Direct Deposit reloads and thousands of load centers available across the country. This card receives very high marks from us. The Green Dot Master Card has some excellent features and if used well, very low fees. The most appetizing features are Fee monthly monthly maintenance fees with $1000 load or 30 transactions per month, FREE ATM transactions at thousands of participating locations, FREE Direct Deposit reloads and thousands of load centers available across the country. This card receives very high marks from us.

Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard Fee Examples

Want to know how much the Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard might cost you to use in a typical month? We have crunched the numbers for you! We also show how Green Dot Prepaid MasterCardstacks up against some common alternatives so you can see if you would save money using this card. Please remember -- cost should NOT be the only reason why you pick a card -- make sure to consider the card's features (some cards have more features than a typical bank account).

To see different scenarios, change the following variables.

	Number of transactions each month	Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard	Bank of America "Regular" Checking	Check Cashing Store
Monthly Fee	Once per month	$	$	$
Cash paycheck (per month)	$	$	$	$*
ATM Withdrawals	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	$	$	$
Bill Payments	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	$	$	$
Online Purchases	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	$	$	N/A
In-Store Purchases***	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	$	$	N/A
Overdrafts:****	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20		$	$
Total		$	$	$

Note: * Based on a U.S. Average check cashing rate of 4.54% (per the Brookings Institution),
**Using the Money Order fees from the U.S. Post Office (Some of the lowest available),
*** We assume that 1/2 of your in-store purchases will be made using your PIN,
****A LARGE portion of Americans experience at least 1 overdraft each Month. Also note that the Check Casher CANNOT buy items online, and must use cash for all purchases.

Fees Associated With The Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard*

Activation Fee:	$0.00	Card Limit:	$2500
Monthly Fee:	$5.95	ATM Withdrawal:**	$0.00
Signature Transactions:***	$0.00	ATM Balance Inquiry:	$0.00
PIN Transactions:***	$0.00	Bill Payments:	$0.00

The Green Dot Mastercard's structure is quite simple and straightforward with excellent disclosure. One fee tip is to load at least $1000 each month or make at least 30 transactions and save the $5.95 monthly maintenance fee.

Notes:
* Fees verified as of 07/13/2011. Check the Current Terms & Conditions for a list of all the fees.
** Some ATM operators may charge a fee for use of their ATMs in addition to this fee.
*** To use your Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard in a "signature" transaction, select "Credit" when checking out at a brick and mortar merchant. Most internet transactions are automatically processed as "signature" transactions.

Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard Card Options

No frills - one card design with some great features.

Here are GetDebit’s “Low Fee Tips” for this Card

With careful use, as with any financial product, the Green Dot MasterCard prepaid card has fees that can be avoided.

Tips for Using The Green Dot Prepaid MasterCard

• Loading Funds On Your Prepaid Card with MasterCard’s rePower Network
• Reloading Your Green Dot Prepaid Card
• How to Dispute a Debit Card Charge
• Can I Make a Deposit at an ATM to My Prepaid Card?
• How to Set up Direct Deposit on a Green Dot Prepaid Debit Card