Western Union (WU) Prepaid Visa Card Rating


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EDITOR'S RATING

Please note that this page regarding Western Union prepaid card Visa card’s rating is outdated and maintained for archival purposes only. However, consumer comments below are current and new consumer reviews (by folks like you) on this card are still encouraged. You can view our current prepaid card reviews here.

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Overview:

Western Union Prepaid Visa Card Rating
  • Activation Fee: None
  • Monthly Fee: 0-$9.95 depending on which of the 3 fee plans you choose
  • PIN Transaction Fee: $2 on pay as you go fee plan only- no charge on other 2 plans
  • Signature Transaction Fee: $1 on pay as you go fee plan only- no charge on other 2 plans
  • ATM Withdrawal Fee: $2.50 on all plans
  • ATM Out of Network Withdrawal Fee: $2.50 on all plans
  • Cash Load Fee (* asterisk indicates third party fees): Cash Value Load Fee at a Netspend Reload Network location: Fee may be assessed by reload location and may vary from location to location. This is a third party fee and not charged by Western Union.

Please consider writing a customer rating of this card below and reading other card complaints and praises- it only takes a few mins!

Western Union Prepaid Visa Card Features:

Initial Fees

Average Monthly Fees

Bill Pay Fees / Features


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Total Score

User Rating
5 total ratings

Things We Like:


Convenient way to send money if you are a Western Union customer already (send money in 3 mins)


Things We Dislike:


If you choose the “Pay as You Go Plan”, you get hit with a $2.00 charge every time you make a purchase, which can add up very quickly if you use the card more than a couple of times a month. 🙁


Posted April 15, 2019 by Hilary

Full Article



Read Customer Reviews Below!
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Important Consumer Note!
Prepaid debit cards do NOT help you improve your credit. 🙁 If you are trying to get a higher credit rating (which is very important), we strongly suggest you consider you consider a new service that will allow you to build credit WITHOUT a credit card and without a credit score- no credit history is required to get approved. And, as an added bonus, you can set aside or save money while your building credit. 🙂

The new Western Union® NetSpend® Prepaid MasterCard® is the result of a partnership between WU and Netspend. The old Western Union prepaid card has been discontinued and replaced with this new offer. The new offer has 3 fee plans, which is good for customers. Pick the best fee plan based on how you use the card.

Please read our bottom line review and rating of this card below and be sure to read customer complaints as well as positive opinions and post your own opinion of the WU prepaid MasterCard at the bottom of this page!

Western Union Netspend Card Features:

Good Things about the Card: 🙂
Lots of card features and 2 respected brands (Netspend services the card).

Plus the ability to easily transfer money using Western Union’s money transfer service.

Bad Things about the Card: 🙁

The Pay as you go plan charges $2.00 for each PIN transaction (when you choose debit at the cash register)- yikes! If you choose signature option and you will only pay a $1.00, but still high!

Mobile Check Deposit Load:

Take a few photos with your phone and load checks to your Western Union Card Account.

Western Union Money Transfer Transactions®:

Use your WU card to send or receive a WU® money transfer transaction to over 200 countries and territories, or conveniently receive a Western Union® money transfer directly onto your Card Account from another party.

Optional Savings Option:

With no minimum balance or deposit requirements, Western Union® NetSpend® Prepaid MasterCard® optional savings account allows you to start saving money. The account currently features a 5.00% APY on balances of up to $1,000.

Important Consumer Note!
The WU prepaid reloadable card does NOT help you improve your credit profile. 🙁 If you are trying to get a better (i.e. higher) credit score, we strongly suggest you consider applying for a secured credit card is one of the smartest ways to will help you build up or rebuild your credit (click to read reviews and apply online in mins).

Also, secured cards typically have less fees than prepaid cards- at least one secured card only requires an initial refundable deposit of as little as $49 with no annual fee (like all credit cards, secured cards do charge interest charges if you carry a balance).

And after using a secured Visa or MasterCard for only 6-12 months, many people find their credit score increases significantly and are soon eligible to qualify for an unsecured credit card (regular card that doesn’t require an upfront security deposit) and get their security deposit back. 🙂

Cash Reward Offers- Payback Rewards℠ Benefit:


Get special purchase offers from select merchants and get cash back rewards on those purchases. Or, use the Refer-a-Friend program and when your family and friends fund their Card Account with at least $40 in cash or with Direct Deposit, you could each (you and the person you refer) get a $20 credit on your debit card account.

Western Union® NetSpend® Prepaid Card Perks:

Get payroll paychecks and your IRS tax refund up to 2 days faster with direct deposit (common feature with all prepaid debit cards)
The NetSpend prepaid Mastercard from Western Union® allows you to transfer money worldwide quickly through their money transfer service.


Send WU® money transfers to nearly 500,000 agent locations in over 200 countries and territories on your mobile phone or from the comfort of home.


Receive WU® money transfer funds directly onto your prepaid MasterCard in the online account center.


Add or deposit cash at over 130,000 cash reload locations including Western Union®, CVS/pharmacy®, Family Dollar® and participating 7-ELEVEN® locations.


No credit history check, no late fees, or interest payments because this is not a credit card (typical of all prepaid cards).
Card issued by MetaBank® in partnership with Netpsend, Member FDIC.


Western Union Prepaid Visa Card Rating Summary:


Our bottom line review is that if you are an existing Western Union customer that uses the money transfer service that they are well known for, this card can make sense and can be conveniently used to your advantage annd is not scam. If you are not a Western Union customer, this prepaid card offer is really not that great of a deal as the fees are on the high side.


There are definitely better general purpose prepaid cards (not tied to a money transfer company) with lower fees that you should consider- click here to read reviews (apply online in mins).

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.”

Other Related Reviews and Resources That Might be Helpful:

Hilary

More articles by Hilary »
Related:
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Consumer Reviews and Ratings of the Western Union Prepaid Visa:

Jamie Punohu

I’ve been Western Union cardholder prepaid for 10 years . but their customer service Employees are lazy and incompetent.

I tell them I can’t remember the year I opened my account and They shove me back entering my social security.

But then will ask for my card number if I enter my s.s

it will then say not valid but I got no card cause they won’t send me one!


2021/04/20 at 11:21 pm


Judith April 8, 2015 at 11:35 pm
My prepaid card account:

I was going over some old files and want to make sure that this prepaid card account is closed.
I will give further information if I am contacted by one of your representatives.

Thank you.

Reply

Curtis Arnold April 8, 2019 at 11:39 pm
Judith-

Thanks for your posting in the customer opinions section of the Western Union MasterCard.

Unfortunately, we only provide reviews and WU does not advertise with us. So, you will need to contact them directly. Let us know if you don’t have their contact info. Thx!

Jamie Punohu

I’ve been Western Union cardholder prepaid for 10 years . but their customer service Employees are lazy and incompetent.

I tell them I can’t remember the year I opened my account and They shove me back entering my social security.

But then will ask for my card number if I enter my s.s

it will then say not valid but I got no card cause they won’t send me one!



2019/04/08 at 11:39 pm
Shane Tripcony

In reply to shane.
Thank you for your message. It turns out that the Western Union MoneyWise card was discontinued around November 2014. That may be the reason you are finding it difficult to find information about the card.

You should be able to contact Western Union directly at a branch or by phone and they should be able to pull up your card information by your name and/or social security number. They have replaced that card with the NetSpend Prepaid MasterCard. NetSpend lets consumers load paychecks to the card balance through direct deposit with no fees.

You can find information on the card here https://www.bestprepaiddebitcards.com/card/western-union-netspend-prepaid-mastercard/

Hopefully, that can help.
For contact information, click the following link or call their customer service phone number.

Let us know how they are able to help you. All the best with your calls.


Select comment Shane Tripcony
1 In reply to Jacqueline Vickers.
Ms. Vickers, I am sorry to hear of your problem with activation.

I have tried to email and called and left a message with the phone number to call for Wells Fargo customer support. They should be able to help you get your card activated. I am pasting that number here as well.

Try activating your card from their website

If that does not work, below is the contact information to contact Western Union’s support team to help get this resolved.

Call us toll-free at
1-800-214-5483
between 8AM-10PM CT, Monday through Friday and 8AM-8PM CT, Saturday and Sunday.

Hopefully, that will help. Unfortunately, we do not actually issue the cards nor activate or approve them. We only provide information about the cards themselves, currently.


Select comment Jacqueline Vickers

I need help to activate my new card. Jacqueline Vickers, P.O.Box XXX Pearson, Georgia which expires on 11/16: Western Union Moneywise/ Visa Debit. Thank you.


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Jacqueline Vickers
Jacqueline Vickers
10 years ago

I am having trouble activating my new card, Western Union/ Moneywise which expires on 11/16, my card number is xxxxxxxxxxx3742, the activation number of 1-888-215-6772 was incorrect on the card, can you please send me the correct activation number to activate my card, when I try to activate it the card is invalid, my address is Jacqueline Vickers, P.O.Box Pearson, Georgia 31642: thank you, I have not been able to use my card or get the right service to fix the problem. Thank you.

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