Do you know which wallet accepts prepaid cards or how to buy Bitcoin and crypto? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.
Digital and crypto wallets are changing the way that we view, manage, and spend our money – but are they as versatile as they could be? You may want to know: which wallet accepts prepaid cards?
Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Apple Pay all support some prepaid cards, but not every card is eligible. Prepaid cards can also be used in conjunction with a number of different crypto exchanges as well, including Coinbase, eToro, Crypto.com, and CEX.
Read on to find out all you need to know about how wallets and prepaid cards can work together.
What Is A Digital Wallet?
Before we identify the wallets that can be connected to prepaid cards, which should first outline what a digital wallet actually is and the different types that are out there.
Digital wallets are essentially applications that allow you to store funds, make transactions, and track your payments. They are usually installed on a mobile phone or a tablet and can store your financial information.
These wallets allow you to make payments with your device from connected cards and accounts through one of three technologies:
- QR Codes. These can be scanned to initiate payments.
- Near Field Communication (NFC). This technology allows two smart devices to communicate through electromagnetic signals as long as they are in close proximity.
- Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). This is the same technology that you find in a magnetic card reader. Your device will generate an encrypted field that another device can read.
There is a difference between a digital and a crypto wallet, however. Cryptocurrency wallets (or crypto wallets) are basically places that store your private keys, which gives you access to your cryptocurrency while also keeping your balance secure and safe.
The platforms that are used to buy and sell cryptocurrency are typically referred to as crypto exchanges.
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How Are Prepaid Cards Different From Debit Or Credit Cards?
Most digital wallets are easy to connect to a traditional bank account, a visa debit card, or a credit card – but things are not always as straightforward when you’re dealing with prepaid cards.
The main difference with a prepaid card, in this context, is that they are not backed up by a traditional bank in the same way. They have limited funds specifically tied to the card itself, and do not have the support and regulation that you find with bank accounts.
Therefore, companies can find it hard to follow up on issues with insufficient funds and the money is harder to trace. Equally, adding a new form of payment to any service takes time and effort – and there are a huge number of different prepaid cards on the market – which is why some of them are not supported on every digital wallet.
Which Digital Wallets Accept Prepaid Cards?
So, if you do want to use your prepaid card through a digital wallet, what kind of options do you have? Interestingly, it depends more on the prepaid card itself rather than the wallet you go for.
The main digital wallets on the market today are Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. Google Pay and Samsung Pay are the options that you would use for Android devices, while Apple Pay is what you would use on an iPhone. All three of these wallets will accept some prepaid cards, but not every type of prepaid card is eligible.
Let’s take a look at which cards are supported, and which cards are not.
Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay all support the following prepaid cards:
- American Express Serve Cash Back
- BB&T MoneyAccount
- BBVA Compass ClearSpend Visa
- CashPass Network Prepaid Visa
- Commerce Bank mySpending
- FamZoo Prepaid
- Access 360° Prepaid
- Green Dot Prepaid Visa
- Movo Prepaid Visa
- MyVanilla Prepaid Visa
- PNC SmartAccess Prepaid Visa
- Regions Now Card
- TD Connect Card
- TD Go Reloadable Prepaid Card
- Wells Fargo EasyPay Card
A few prepaid cards are only supported by some of the wallets, but not all of them.
- Greenlight: Supported by Google Pay and Apple Pay, but not Samsung Pay
- Current Prepaid Visa: Supported by Apple Pay, but not Google Pay or Samsung Pay
Then, there are the prepaid cards that are not currently supported by any of the three major wallets, which include:
- Bluebird by American Express
- Brink’s Prepaid Mastercard
- CARD.com Visa Prepaid
- Control Prepaid Mastercard
- GoHenry Prepaid
- Insight Visa Prepaid Debit
- Kroger REWARDS Prepaid Visa
- Mango Prepaid Mastercard
- MileagePlus GO Visa Prepaid
- Mission Money Debit
- Netspend Visa Prepaid
- PayPal Prepaid Mastercard
- Turbo Prepaid Visa Card
- Univision Mastercard Prepaid
- Walmart MoneyCard Visa
- Western Union Netspend Prepaid Mastercard
If you are not sure whether or not your prepaid card is going to work (or you want to see if the wallet has recently expanded the cards it supports) then you can simply test it out.
The apps for these wallets are completely free to download and very easy to install.
Once you have the application, it only takes a few seconds to try and add your card and see whether it will be accepted.
You will get a message straight away to tell you if the card is supported or not, and it won’t cost you any money.
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Which Crypto Wallets Accept Prepaid Cards?
While crypto wallets themselves are ways to store and access your cryptocurrency safely, online crypto exchanges usually need to be connected to an account of some kind in order to pay for coins.
Most people purchase cryptocurrency with debit or credit cards, but prepaid cards are actually one of the safest possible ways to buy. However, not every exchange actually accepts prepaid cards at the moment.
Some of the most well-respected and popular crypto exchanges where you can buy coins using a prepaid card include:
- eToro
- Crypto.com
- Coinbase
- CEX
As with digital wallets, however, not every prepaid card is going to be supported on every crypto exchange.
Summary
So, which wallet accepts prepaid cards? Actually, all three of the main digital wallets will accept prepaid cards, the question is: Which ones? Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay all support a number of different prepaid cards with their application, but none of them support every single prepaid card on the market today.
If you’re looking to use a prepaid card to buy crypto for your crypto wallet, then you have quite a few options.
Many of the major cryptocurrency exchanges accept some prepaid cards, but you will again need to check which specific cards are currently supported.