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Net spend Prepaid Visa Benefits:
Product Details:
Rating- No Upfront Activation Fees
No Per Transaction Fees (only for Pay As You Go card)
Free Online Bill Payment
Free Card-to-Card Transfers
No Inactivity/Maintenance Fees
Issuing Website Link – not active: The Netspend Visa® Prepaid Card and MasterCard Prepaid Card are both issued by Axos Bank, The Bancorp Bank, MetaBank®, and Republic Bank & Trust Company.
Activation Fee: No purchase fee
Monthly Fee: $0.00-$9.95
PIN Transaction Fee: $2.00 with Pay as you Go Plan
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Find Your Perfect Prepaid or Credit Card to Help you Build or Rebuild Your Credit!Finding the perfect credit card is easy. Simply use our Card Ratings and Reviews for 2026 and we’ll kick-start the search!
Signature Transaction Fee: $1.00 with Pay as you Go Plan
ATM Withdrawal Fee: $2.50 (Over the counter cash withdrawals may be cheaper at a Netpsend network location)
ATM Out of Network Withdrawal Fee: $2.50
Bank Teller Cash Fee: $2.50 + 3.5% Transaction Fee
Inactivity/Maintenance Fee: $5.95 per month (fee applies if Card Account has not had any activity, that is, no purchases; no cash withdrawals; no load transactions; or no balance inquiry fee for 90 days).
Cash Load Fee (* asterisk indicates third party fees): varies
Card Features
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Initial Fees
Average Monthly Fees
Bill Pay Fees / Features
Loading Fees / Options
Total Score
Best Rated Features:
With an upgrade to the NetSpend Premier Prepaid Debit Card, you can make unlimited purchase transactions for $5 per month, which is a 50% savings over the basic Fee Advantage plan. Netspend also offers PayBack Rewards where you can earn cashback on some of your purchases and they offer a savings plan where you can earn interest on any money you set aside.
Things We Dislike
PIN fees are high (2 bucks per transaction) and signature transaction fees of $1.00 on the Pay As You Go card, as well as $2.50 for ATM withdrawals on all card plans.
Posted May 25, 2019 by Curtis Arnold
NetSpend has been a pioneer in the prepaid space having been in business since 1999 and, as a result, they have strong brand recognition. They partner with many prepaid cards and offer three different plans for their main prepaid Visa and MasterCard (read our Netspend Prepaid MasterCard Review here) plans: Pay As You Go, Fee Advantage and Premier.
The choices are nice, but our rating of the card reveals that NetSpend prepaid debit cards fees can add up quickly, though you can lower the fees depending on how you wisely use the card.
Please see bottom line independent (Netpsend does not advertise with us) review of the card and the Refer a Friend or Family Member program at the bottom of this page and also customer complaints and positive opinions. And please be sure to post your own cardholder opinion and/or any questions you may have.
To give just a sampling of those charges, NetSpend Fee Advantage and NetSpend Premier Prepaid debit card have monthly fees of $9.95 and $5.00, respectively. Although the Pay As You Go plan does not levy a monthly fee, the $2.00 charge for all PIN transactions and the $1.00 hit for any signature purchases can make up for that fast (get more info on the Pay as You Go plan fees by reading our post on What Fees Does Netspend Charge here).
If you want to withdraw cash from an ATM with any of the cards (and who wouldn’t?), you are going to rack up another $2.50 for each visit to the cash machine.
Of course, you can try to avoid that charge by getting cash back when you make purchases (remember, the Pay As You Go card charges $1.00 to do this). But the problem with that strategy is that you can usually only get a limited amount of cash back, which may or may not be enough to meet your needs.
Another limiting factor with these cards can be paying for specific items, like gasoline. In order to pay at the pump, you must have a minimum balance of between $55 and $100. Each time you buy gas, NetSpend holds $55 for the merchant. So if you only have say $20 on the card and you need gas, you will be out of luck.
On the positive side, direct deposits are free (though this benefit is typical of most prepaid cards) as well as text alerts and online account management.
Card Sweepstakes Details: (Sweepstakes ended April 30th)
Netspend® Visa® Prepaid cardholders are automatically entered for a chance to double their direct deposit (up to $5,000 each month) in the “Double your Payday Sweepstakes”. To qualify, you must have a Direct Deposit of $100 or more. See their website for more details.
SPECIFIC TO PREMIER: To qualify for the Premier program, set up free direct deposit and make a total of $500 in Direct Deposits during one calendar month. This automatically upgrades you to a NetSpend Premier card. With this you get lower-fees and a purchase cushion, but is it enough to make this card worth it for you?
Cash Bonus Referral Program:
When you refer a friend to Netspend and he or she loads at least $40, you both get a $20 credit to your account (not actual cash). You can refer an unlimited number of friends and family members – meaning there is no cap on how many referrals you can make (see our bottom line review below).
On a relate note, once your friends and family get a Netspend Visa or MasterCard, you can send them money or receive money from them using instant cardholder transfers (most prepaid cards offer this same benefit).
Optional Savings Program:
With Netspend®, you can open a Savings Account to set aside money for special purposes with up to a 5.00% interest rate (APY) earned on your savings, which can help your savings grow.
Simply transfer money from your Netspend PrepaidCard Account to your Netspend Savings Account to start earning interest on the money that you want to put aside (such as for a rainy day fund).
Choose from a few savings deposit options:
Make direct transfers between your Netspend Savings Account and your Netspend MasterCard of Visa
Set up AutoSave to automatically transfer any amount you choose (beforehand) to your Netspend Savings Account. This transfer will happen every time you load cash to your Card and is a “forced savings benefit”.
If you happen to need money from Savings for an unexpected expense, you can transfer it back to your card for spending purpsoses up to 6 times per calendar month
Important Consumer Note! The Netspend prepaid card does NOT help you build or rebuild your credit. If you are trying to improve your credit, we strongly suggest you consider applying for a secured credit card (click to read reviews)
Also, secured cards are a typically less expensive than prepaid cards (like regular credit cards, secured cards do charge interest charges if you carry a balance).
Is the NetSpend $20 Cash Bonus Refer a Friend and Family Member a Scam (and Prepaid Card Review)?
We like the options Netspend gives you and that their cards are FDIC insured (though many other prepaid cards offer FDIC insurance). However, while Netspend has a lot of customers (they claim 10 million and growing) and has been a major player in the prepaid card space for years, other Visa cards have lower fees (see Chime card below for example).
Their Friends and Family cash bonus referral program is not a scam, but we have read complaints about the program (please post your opinion below and read other customer reviews). We do prefer Chime’s referral program over Netspend as Chime offers $50 instead of $20.
The bottom line is that the Netspend Visa is one of the biggest and most well known prepaid cards (and is not a scam), but there are definitely other prepaid cards with lower fees and different benefits your should consider before you apply.
One lower fee card option than the Net Spend reloadable card is
Finally, be sure to read customer reviews (complaints and praises) of Netspend below as to whether the card is scam or not and post your negative or positive review!
Editorial Note!:
“The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, including this review and the reviews written by actual cardholders below.”
Netpsend Card Scam or Not?
Related Netspend Prepaid MasterCard to Consider:
The Netspend® Small Business Mastercard® (click to read our full Netspend business card rating)
will give you the business tools you need to manage your business and features no minimum card balance, no activation fee and no credit score check.
Business Credit Card Features:
Your Card Account is FDIC-insured by MetaBank®.
Business Mastercard Easy Savings®
When you use your card to make certain types purchases at participating merchants such as gas, restaurants and business services, you are eligible to receive automatic rebates that post to your Account. Earn rebates at hundreds of restaurants throughout the country for example.
Ways to Transfer Funds from your Business MasterCard:
Business Name on Card
Feature your Business or Corporate Name on your Netspend Small Business credit card. (Business verification required).
Mobile Check Load
If you get paid with checks for business services, you can deposit checks to your Account in a snap with your phone. (Non-sole proprietorships must verify their business to enable this feature). Please note that a fee may apply and fee is a third party fee, not assessed by Netpspend.
Transfer money from other Netspend customer accounts or load cash on to your prepaid business card at any of the 130,000+ locations in the Netspend Reload Network (fees may apply). Once your card is activated, your funds are FDIC insured up to the current coverage limit via MetaBank®, Member FDIC.
Accept Credit Card Payments
With the optional card feature called ProPay®. Send invoices, and even accept debit and credit card payments that will post to your credit card account.
Consumer Ratings of the Netspend Prepaid Visa and MasterCard:
RedRobin
December 26, 2016 at 5:46 am
Nice information you’ve supplied within the post.
alan durango
November 15, 2017 at 2:13 am
how can i add funds in this prepaidcard??
Shane Tripcony
November 15, 2017 at 6:29 pm
Visit the Netpsend site where you can find information on loading your card.
Curtis Arnold
November 15, 2018 at 4:10 pm
FTC Gives Back more than $10 Million to NetSpend Prepaid Card Customers:
The Federal Trade Commission is mailing more than 430,000 checks totaling more than $10 million to people who could nit access money deposited to their NetSpend reloadable prepaid cards. According to an FTC complaint, many NetSpend card customers were unable to access their funds.
To settle the FTC’s charges, NetSpend agreed to notify and provide refunds to eligible customers who requested them before October 7, 2017. NetSpend also agreed to remit to the FTC any fees collected from NetSpend prepaid debit cards that were eligible for refund, but were not paid out during the consumer redress period. The FTC is using this money to send checks to customers who did not receive a refund previously in this case.
Read more here:
Cindy Fong
May 18, 2019 at 5:30 am
I don’t like the Netspend Visa because I needed something to deposit my tax refund check on and now (after tax season) I’m trying to get another prepaid card.
I’ve had it for a few month’s and the fees are too high (4.95 a month).
I need a free card so I can get pay check added to it every month.
I got declined for the Chime card. 🙁
Any suggestions? Maybe my bank has a prepaid card that they don’t charge for.
Curtis Arnold
May 18, 2019 at 5:34 am
Oh no on Chime! I wonder why they did not approve you.
At any rate, I would suggest you try WalMart MoneyCard then if a WalMart is close to you.
Here’s a link to our review:
