Prepaid cards: are they safe?

Prepaid cards are a valid alternative to credit and debit cards, however they allow you to spend only the amount deposited on the payment instrument. In fact they are not connected to the current account and do not allow the opening of credit.



What are prepaid cards for?

At the same time they can be recharged within the limits set by the contractual conditions set by each individual operator. These solutions are much appreciated because they can also be requested by underage and protested users or who have had difficulty in repaying the installments of a loan or mortgage.

This is possible because there are no income controls and tax controls before accepting the issue application, unlike what happens with credit cards and current accounts. At the same time, these payment instruments are characterized by offering high levels of security and anonymity of transactions both for online and offline purchases.



BECAUSE PREPAID CARDS ARE SAFE
Very often users consider prepaid cards less secure than credit cards, however this is not true. This is also due to the fact that these payment instruments are mainly used for online purchases.

In reality, prepaid cards guarantee very high levels of security and are protected against cloning. Moreover it becomes possible to request the activation of some services that are used to maximize the security of the prepaid card. This category includes warning and notification modes such as SMS Alert and SecureCode.

These are services that send a notification to the user each time the prepaid card is used for an operation. This way you can counter fraud or scams and the payment instrument holder is always aware of when someone is using it.

Secondly, contactless prepaid cards also require the entry of an identification code when purchases made in physical points of sale thanks to POSs exceed a total amount of 25 euros. As a result, even in the event of theft or loss, you can protect your deposit.

Finally, it is good to keep in mind that prepaid cards guarantee a high degree of security, but it is necessary to adopt some precautions in its use to avoid rendering integrated protection measures ineffective.

This applies especially to online purchases. For example, you need to make sure that e-commerce sites are reliable and use secure communication protocols. Just check that the word https is present in the URL of the web page.

PREPAID CARDS: IBAN SOLUTIONS WITH NO CURRENT ACCOUNT
The original version of the prepaid cards consists of single-use, anonymous payment instruments (because they do not have the name of the cardholder on the front or back) and which can not be reloaded once the credit has been used up. As a result you can only spend the pre-set amount.



However, most of the models on the market are rechargeable. This solution is very useful in case of continued use. Please also note that there are some versions of prepaid cards with IBAN with no current account that can also be used to arrange and receive wire transfers in total security.

They guarantee most of the services and features of a current account, but there is no need to subscribe to this banking product and undergo the relevant income controls. As a result, users who do not hold a bank account can also purchase this payment instrument.

Prepaid cards with IBAN without current account are characterized by higher levels of security as they allow for absolutely secure money transfers to current accounts and other prepaid cards in Italy, the European Union or the Extra Euro Area. This also applies to credit transfers that are credited.

To receive the money it is sufficient to communicate to the person who has to send it the IBAN combined free of charge to the prepaid card. The code can be found in your own Reserved Area, by turning on your account with your credentials. It should also be remembered that this method also allows the crediting of salary or pension, the domiciliation of domestic utilities (gas, pay TV, water, electricity and telephone bills) and the payment of telephone top-ups.

In Italy there are more than one hundred different cards with IBAN issued (here you can find the complete list ): the most popular solution in Italy is represented by Poste Italian Postepay prepaid card and the now famous Hype card (Start and Plus) , available in different versions so as to meet the various needs of users. At the same time there are also cards made available by some Italian credit institutions.

USE AND DIFFUSION ABROAD AND IN ITALY
Each prepaid card has its own serial number: for this reason, it allows safe and anonymous purchases, both in physical stores and online, in Italy or abroad. In any case, the current account number is never provided. The security of transactions is guaranteed even when withdrawals are made at ATM or Postamat ATMs depending on which circuit you are joining. In fact, the prepaid card can be supported by the Visa or MasterCard system.

This also applies to Postepay cards issued by Poste Italiane. In this way payment instruments can guarantee all the security deriving from being part of these circuits. At the same time this fact also ensures their use abroad in the shops and ATMs that join the circuit in question. Precisely for this reason prepaid cards are more and more popular and widespread both among young people and adults who have to spend a longer or shorter period of time outside the Italian borders, in an EU country or in the Extra Euro