Writer: Choncé Maddox
Editor: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewer: Ashley Fricker
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At a glance, prepaid debit cards might seem like they don’t offer the same perks as a traditional checking account. But the exciting news is that these cards are evolving and now come with more benefits.
One of the most challenging aspects of managing a prepaid card is figuring out how to add funds. If you’ve been dreaming of a prepaid card that lets you deposit your paycheck using your phone, you’ll be happy to know there are now some fantastic options available.
Best Prepaid Cards With Mobile Check Deposit
Unlike gift cards, prepaid debit cards provide more flexibility and features akin to a bank account. Here are some top prepaid cards with mobile check deposit that stand out for their unique advantages.
It’s no secret that prepaid debit cards can come with lots of unexpected fees hidden in the fine print. It may cost more to withdraw money from an ATM or simply use the card due to the monthly maintenance fee.
If you’re going to use a reloadable prepaid card, the editors at CardRates have carefully reviewed and vetted the options listed below. As a bonus, these cards are among some of the best to help you utilize the mobile check deposit feature with ease.
- Brink’s knows Security! 24/7 access to a suite of security benefits to help keep your account armored.
- Get access to over 100,000 Brink’s Money ATMs.
- Get paid faster than a paper check with direct deposit.
- Add funds to your Brink’s Armored Account and use Brinks Armored debit card anywhere Debit Mastercard is accepted.
- Account opening is subject to registration and ID verification. Terms & fees Apply. Deposit Account is established by Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC.
The Brink’s Armored™ Account goes above and beyond our expectations for a prepaid debit card. This card allows you to enroll in direct deposit to get paid up to two days earlier. You can also deposit your paycheck or a personal check using the mobile banking app, available for both Apple and Android phones.
First Century Bank and Ingo Money provide this card’s mobile check load service for free. It usually takes around three to five minutes to approve a mobile check upload. In some cases, it could take up to one hour.
The Brink’s Armored™ Account charges a monthly fee that can be reduced if you sign up for direct deposit. Then, if you happen to receive other checks throughout the month, the mobile deposit feature could always come in handy. This card comes with plenty of options, but how you deposit your money is ultimately your choice.
- Move money from your PayPal account to fund your prepaid card account.
- Earn cash back and personalized offers, just for using your card.
- With Direct Deposit, you can get paid faster than a paper check.
- Card issued by The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC. Card may be used everywhere Debit Mastercard is accepted.
- Click PayPal Prepaid Mastercard® for additional features & program details, and to request a Card.
Additional Disclosure: The information related to PayPal Prepaid Mastercard® has been collected by CardRates.com and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
The PayPal Prepaid Mastercard® is one of the best prepaid debit cards with mobile check deposit. If you happen to receive checks, you can deposit them in minutes using the mobile app. This involves taking a clear picture of your check with the app and uploading it for review.
Your check can be quickly approved and will appear as a pending deposit in your account within minutes. Additionally, the PayPal Prepaid Mastercard® lets you set up direct deposit or add funds to your reloadable card at any of the 130,000+ NetSpend cash Reload locations across the country.
Best of all, you don’t need a PayPal account to have this card.
3. NetSpend® Visa® Prepaid Card
This card is currently not available.
When you think of prepaid debit cards, NetSpend might be one of the first companies that come to mind. That’s why it’s not surprising that the NetSpend® Visa® Prepaid Card is among the top prepaid cards offering excellent mobile check deposit features.
With this Visa debit card, you can take a picture of your payroll or personal check then upload it to your prepaid debit account using the free app. The mobile app for your Netspend card is also a great tool to help you check your card account balance, see transaction history, and receive alerts about your prepaid debit account.
NetSpend will notify you when your mobile check deposit is complete via the Netspend mobile app, and you should see an updated balance amount.
- A reloadable prepaid debit account that can be used anywhere American Express® cards are accepted
- Get your paycheck up to 2 days faster with free direct deposit
- With Visa’s Zero Liability Policy you can have peace of mind when making purchases with Bluebird
- Get free ATM access at over 40,000 MoneyPass® ATM locations. It’s free to add cash to your account at Family Dollar locations and free to transfer money to other Bluebird Accountholders.
- With Roadside Assistance, you can call us in case of emergency for coordination and assistance services to help you get on your way
- Pay no monthly fees or foreign transaction fees
The Bluebird® American Express® Prepaid Debit Account can be used wherever American Express is accepted. As with many other prepaid debit cards on the list, this card includes a few bank-like features, including online bill pay, the ability to send money to friends, direct deposit, and mobile check deposit. There is no reload fee when you add cash at the Walmart Money Center.
You can use the mobile Check Capture feature in the Bluebird app to digitally deposit paper checks. This feature is only available on updated Apple and Android phones. Data rates may apply depending on your cellphone carrier.
The app is very user-friendly, and there’s a section called “Money In” that can show you your options for depositing money onto your card.
5. The Mango Prepaid Mastercard®
This card is currently not available.
The Mango Prepaid Mastercard® can be used wherever debit Mastercard is accepted. There are no hidden fees or interest charges, and because this isn’t a credit card, you don’t have to worry about getting your credit pulled when you apply.
You can easily manage this reloadable card right from your mobile phone, making it an excellent choice for mobile check deposits.
Use the Mango mobile-enabled cardholder portal to check your balance, send money to family and friends, and upload checks to be deposited into your account. You’ll have the opportunity to save some of the funds you deposit with Mango’s high-yield savings account.
- Enjoy FREE withdrawals at over 37,000 MoneyPass® ATM locations nationwide.
- 24/7 access to world-class American Express Customer Service
- No monthly fee when you direct deposit $500 or more within a statement period
- Use Online Bill Pay to help you save time and help you avoid late fees. Terms apply.
- Check your balance and recent transactions, pay bills on the go, get SMS text alerts, and send money to family or friends who have a Serve Account
- No credit check, no hidden fees
- Seamlessly transfer funds between Serve Accounts in no time and without a fee
The Serve® American Express® Prepaid Debit Account has many modern capabilities to accommodate your money management preferences. This isn’t an American Express credit card — it’s a debit card that comes with no reload fee, as well as direct deposit and mobile check deposit options.
The monthly card fee is waived when you set up a recurring direct deposit of at least $500 per month. You can deposit checks straight to your Serve account using the mobile Check Capture feature in the Serve mobile app on your smartphone.
While depositing your check through the mobile app is free, you also have the option to pay a small fee to access your money even faster, with little to no waiting time. This feature, called Money in Minutes, requires a small percentage of the check amount or a flat-rate fee.
- Manage and control your money on one convenient reloadable prepaid card
- Get paid up to 2 days faster with direct deposit
- No-fee cash withdrawals of up to $100 at ACE with qualifying Direct Deposit
- Earn Payback Rewards on qualifying purchases
- Choose from 3 card designs
- As a cardholder, you can open a Tiered Optional Savings Account. Balances up to $1,000.00 currently earn up to 5.00% annual percentage yield. No minimum balance required.
The ACE Elite® Visa® Prepaid Debit Card is a prepaid debit card with a lower monthly fee and plenty of great features. Thanks to the Ace Elite Mobile app, you can easily manage your finances on the go. With this app, you can check your balance, add money through mobile check deposit, and send funds to family and friends.
The Mobile Check Load feature lets you add checks to your card effortlessly. With Anytime Alerts, you get text notifications about balance updates and transactions, including when a deposit is cleared.
Once your money gets deposited on your card, you can use the card to make purchases wherever a Visa debit card is accepted. Or you can withdraw up to $100 per day from over 900 ACE Cash Express locations nationwide.
What is Mobile Check Deposit?
Mobile check deposit is a digital tool that allows you to deposit checks to your bank account (or in this case, your prepaid card account) via your mobile device. This is convenient if you cannot deposit your check in person at a financial institution or visit a cash reload location.
Today’s smartphones have a lot of modern capabilities, and you can simply take a picture of the front and back of your check and upload it to your account.
Similar to the traditional method of depositing a check, you’ll need to endorse the check with your signature and confirm the amount, but it’s all done on your card’s mobile app. The amount is then cleared and available in your account, usually within 24 to 48 hours.
Most prepaid cards are not connected to a bank account. This doesn’t mean that having a prepaid debit card is the same as having a bank account. However, the company may partner with a third-party bank to offer banking services, such as direct deposit and mobile check upload features.
If you only have a prepaid card instead of a checking account, mobile check deposit can be crucial for depositing personal, government, payroll, and other types of checks smoothly.
Can I Deposit a Third-Party Check On a Prepaid Card?
A third-party check is any check that is not made payable to you, but rather a check that has been endorsed to you to cash or deposit by the person to whom the check is made out to.
Handling third-party checks can be tricky because your prepaid card company might not permit their deposit. However, if it’s a government check, the chances of your deposit being accepted are higher, thanks to the backing of the federal government.
But you may still have a hard time depositing unapproved checks that don’t have your name on them.
You should ask the prepaid card issuer about its policies for third-party checks and who the checks must be made out to. Often, you and the endorser must sign your names on the back of the check.
It’s crucial to ensure checks are made out to you and that your full name matches the name on your prepaid debit card to prevent any problems.
Do All Prepaid Cards Allow Mobile Check Deposits?
Many prepaid cards allow mobile check deposits, but some still don’t. We’ve given you seven solid options of prepaid cards with this feature in this article.
That being said, it’s always a good idea to compare and contrast prepaid cards that include mobile check deposits and evaluate the other features they offer.
Prepaid cards with this feature will have a mobile app to help you manage your account. You should have plenty of options — in addition to check deposit — to add money to your card. You’ll also want to make sure there are no hidden fees — including fees added by your cellphone service provider — for depositing your check via the mobile app.
Mobile check deposits are usually free, so you should have nothing to worry about. If you know that you may want to use a mobile check deposit feature with your prepaid card, consider choosing one of the options on this list just to be safe.
What Fees Do Prepaid Cards Charge?
Prepaid cards are well known for their convenience as a bank card alternative. If, for some reason, you don’t want to have a bank account, you can get a prepaid card, but it’s important to watch out for fees.
Prepaid debit cards often come with a wide range of fees, including:
- monthly fee
- transaction fee
- overdraft fee
- ATM fee
- balance inquiry fee
- cash reload fee
- card replacement fee
- and more
Sometimes, the card issuer will charge a transaction fee every time you use your card for certain purchases made online or in-person at stores. Be careful to watch out for ATM fees because you could get charged twice — once from the ATM company (for using the machine) and again by your prepaid card for using a machine outside of its ATM network.
Luckily, you can avoid many of these fees. For example, while some cards charge an activation fee when you first sign up, you can get a card that waives this fee, like the NetSpend® Visa® Prepaid Card.
You may be charged a fee if you load money onto your card via Western Union. But you likely won’t pay anything if you sign up for direct deposit or use a mobile check upload feature to add money to your account.
To avoid being charged for ATM withdrawals, you can make debit card purchases or ask for cash back when you’re at the store.
Another major downside of having a prepaid debit card is that you could be charged anywhere from $5 to $10 per month just to use the card. This fee can usually be waived by setting up a direct deposit of at least $500 per month.
How Do I Choose the Best Prepaid Card For Me?
Just as with credit cards, not all prepaid debit cards are created equal. This means you’ll want to spend a little time comparing the best options out there so you can choose the best card for your needs and preferences.
Start by determining how you want to use the prepaid debit card.
Do you wish to use it for online and in-store debit card purchases? Are you interested in direct deposit or mobile check upload features? Would you find it helpful to have a mobile app or receive account transaction updates via text? Do you plan on making lots of ATM withdrawals?
Remember that prepaid cards don’t build credit — if that interests you, check out a secured credit card instead.
For some people, a prepaid card is simply a tool they can use for specific purchases (like a gift card) because it’s safer than carrying cash around. Others prefer to use a prepaid card as their primary financial tool for purchases, deposits, withdrawals, and paying bills.
You may also want to consider the card fees and how easy it is to waive or limit any existing fees. All in all, you can narrow down which card has the features that best serve your financial needs, is easy to use, and helps you keep more money in your pocket.
Is a Prepaid Card a Good Alternative to a Bank Account?
A prepaid card can be a smart alternative to a bank account in certain situations. For instance, if you have a poor credit history or find yourself unable to open a bank account for any reason, a prepaid card could be a great option.
With a prepaid card, you can load money onto the card and use it for purchases or withdraw cash from ATMs. But prepaid cards may have fees associated with them, such as activation fees, monthly fees, and transaction fees, so it’s important to carefully read the terms and conditions before signing up for a card.
Additionally, prepaid cards do not usually offer the same protections as a bank account and may not have the same access to financial services as a bank account.
Compare Prepaid Debit Cards With Mobile Check Deposit Online
Ultimately, it’s nice to know prepaid debit cards with mobile check deposit features exist should you ever need them.
When you compare the best prepaid debit cards with mobile check deposit, you’ll see that you really can’t go wrong with any of the options above. They all have a mobile app and free check deposit features that will make your life easier.
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Editorial Note: Our site content is not provided or commissioned by any credit card issuer(s). Opinions expressed on CardRates.com are the author's alone, not those of any credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by credit card issuers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information; however, all credit card offer details, including information about rewards, signup bonuses, introductory offers, and other terms and conditions, is presented without warranty. Clicking on any offer on CardRates.com will direct you to the issuer's website, where you can review the current terms and conditions of the offer.
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