Tag Archives: green

Green Dot Prepaid Credit Card – Review

September 17, 2018   Auto Loans

The Green Dot Credit Card is a prepaid card. This may be unfamiliar so let me explain the basics.

This is not like an unsecured card where the company issues it and attaches a limit on which they then charge interest as it is used. With this you must deposit money and then that amount then becomes your limit.

Instead of making purchases and paying for them later and the interest rate and associated fees. You pay beforehand by loading cash amounts. The issuer is Columbus Bank and Trust Company.

You will need to reload funds onto the card. The minimum amount of the initial load is $20 and the maximum amount of the initial load is $2,500.

You can not have more than $2,500 loaded on the card at any given time. To reload your Green Dot card, you may have a portion of your paycheck directly deposited to your card or you may purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak universal reload from locations such as Rite Aid, CVS, Eckerd, Radio Shack, The Pantry and other participating merchants. The MoneyPak costs $4.95.

You will be charged a $4.95 per month maintenance fee, $2.50 for each ATM transaction ($3.00 per international ATM transaction, $4.00 per cash advance from a teller or non-ATM transaction), up to $1.00 per call to obtain your balance using the interactive voice response system or a live operator, and $10 fee to replace a lost or stolen card. Always be sure to read the Terms and Conditions before applying.

Columbus Bank and Trust Company also offer a Premier version of this card. Be sure to research the Premier card fees before moving forward.

Fees include a one-time $19.95 membership enrollment fee and a $5.00 fee per month if you do not load $750 per month to the card. Additional charges may accrue if you use an ATM.

Likewise, if you purchase one of these cards at a store, the retailer will charge an initial activation fee and a reload fee. Be sure to check with the retailer for the costs involved with purchasing one of these cards.

I do not suggest these cards, however it depend on your situation and why you need the card. Again, personally, I don’t really feel that I want to pay to call someone’s answering machine.

I also don’t want to pay $5 per month merely because I don’t reload $750 per month. I believe I should be the one to decide how much a balance I want to maintain.

Additionally, there are other cards which allow more flexibility as to reload options.

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Go Green With Credit Card

May 24, 2018   Home Mortgage

Barclaycard are the latest company to offer a ‘green’ product to its growing ethically concerned customers who want to lower their carbon footprints. They have announced that their new eco-friendly credit card will be called ‘Breathe’. To ensure its green credentials the card is made from PETG which is the greener alternative to plastic. There will also be no paper statements, they will offer recycling for expired cards and all advertising for the ‘Breathe’ card will be done online. The card offers customers discounts and low rate borrowing when green products are bought. In addition to this Barclaycard will give 50% of after tax profits (estimated at 1 million in its first year) from the card to environmental projects that are dedicated to reducing carbon emissions.

Barclaycard have also recently, along with eight other market leaders – B&Q, British Gas, Marks & Spencer, Sky, Tesco, Royal & Sun Alliance and O2, launched a government backed campaign titled ‘We’re in this together’ which aims to help every UK household cut their carbon emissions by one tonne over the next three years.

Barclaycard isn’t the only lender to be catering to the growing demand for ethical borrowing. Virgin have also launched a green credit card and claim that they have ‘beaten’ Barclaycard in the green stakes because their card is ‘bio-degradable’ and they also promise not to just pay lip-service to the environment but offer on-going dedication to environmental issues. The Co-operative Bank is generally regarded as being the most ethical with all their financial services offering environmental incentives.

The growing popularity of green financial products is encouraging more people to consider an ethical approach to their finances. Not only are they looking at their own environmental positions but they are also showing concern at what their banks and financial companies are doing for the environment.

HBOS, the Abbey and the Yorkshire Building Society have both announced plans to introduce green financial products and you should expect many more credit card lenders following suit.

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