According to a 2019 FDIC survey 5.4% of U.S. Households or about 7.1 people are considered Unbanked. Which by unbanked means without access to a bank account. Not having a bank account makes it difficult to receive transfer of fund. If you don’t have a bank account and need to get a transfer of funds, there are solutions those such as prepaid visa. One of those Prepaid Visas is the Accountnow Prepaid Visa. In this article we will cover and review the AccountNow PrePaid debit card offering.

What is AccountNow Prepaid card?

AccountNow is a prepaid offering from the Green Dot Corporation. The company provides prepaid debit utilizing both the Visa and Mastercard networks. Green Dot is a company that sells prepaid visa cards, often distributed through stores like Walmart and Target.

You can prefund the account and then use the prepaid visa card like you would use any visa card as long as the amount you were spending was within the balance available. The Accountnow card is one of Green Dot offerings.

AccountNow Prepaid Visa Card Review

Account Setup

If you purchase the prepaid debit card at Walmart you will need to go their website at www.AccountNow.com to activate the card in order to use it. If you don’t have an account, you can also go to the site in order to setup your online account. There are different buttons to activate and setup a new account but they are both available on the login page.

If you click on Signup it will take you to a new page called Go2Bank where you can open an account. To get started you will need to start with your email address and then provide the information that they are looking for such as your name, address. The information provided will be used to ship you your debit card.

Card activation

If you already have an Accountnow card and want to activate there is a button on the accountnow login page to activate your card. You will need the card number and cvv in order to activate the card. One the card is activated, you will be able to use at any place that accept visa cards, you will also be able to receive funds on the account.

How to load your AccountNow card?

You can reload the card online through the account management page or by calling 888-633-9434. You can also purchase a Reloadit pack at a retailer that carries them such as Safeway and Vons. There is a $3.95 fee for reloading the balance on your card using the Reload pack.

Fees

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Speaking of fees, the debit cards issued by AccountNow carry very high fees, and some fee like a card replacement fee are expected but they even charge $1.50 to check your balance at an ATM. The rest of the fees are listed in the table below.

Where can you Use AccountNow debit cards?

Since AccountNow issues cards utilizing Visa and Mastercard networks, you can use them at any business that accepts Visa or Mastercard, depending on the card that you have. You can also use the cards at any ATM.

AccountNow Banks Used

Greendot/Accountnow utilize two banks to handle the financial aspects of the prepaid cards. For Visa they use The Bancorp Bank. The company uses MetaBank for the prepaid cards that utilize the Mastercard network.

Accountnow Contact Information

Mail – Customer Service

AccountNow Customer Service
P.O. Box 5100
Pasadena, CA 91117-0100.

Mail – Disputes

AccountNow Disputes
P.O. Box 5100
Pasadena, CA 91117-0100.

Customer Service Number – 877-762-2308

Account Login – https://my.accountnow.com/SignOn.aspx

AccountNow Alternatives

Varo Bank –  is an online banking that offers a debit card service to customers via the mobile app.

Chime –  is also an fee-free mobile banking company that offers debit card services via the mobile bank account.

Walmart Moneycard – This alternative is a low cost debit card issued by Walmart.

What others are saying about Accountnow?

We reviewed the comments on a number of sites and discounting that most people that have an issue with a product or service are more likely to file a complaint or post a negative comment, but there is a significant number of those comments though.

BBB Rating

Accountnow has a B- rating at the Better Business Bureau, there are also 560 complaints filed against them. The most common category of complain is with the product or service, followed by billing and collection issues.

Complaints Board

There are 149 complaints posted at ComplaintsBoard, one of the most common complaints listed is account is frozen and the company will not unfreeze the account.  Another common thread among the complaints is that customer service is slow to respond to issues.  

Pros and Cons

There are a number of positives and negatives associated with this prepaid debit card, listed below our some of our pros and cons associated with the card/account usage.

Pros

  • Access to Visa/Mastercard
  • Access to a Bank Network for direct deposit
  • Ability to build credit.

Cons

  • High Fees
  • Poor Customer service
  • Limited support

Our Take and Review

While the card carries a number of benefits such as access to VISA/Mastercard network, ability to possibly build credit (the company submits payment information to PRBC), easy way to get the card and reload it. It does carry high fees and if you have or reload small balances the fees will eat up a large amount of your deposit.

This debit card is great for a one-time gift if you’re looking to give a gift and don’t want to send or provide cash. However, if you are planning on using the AccountNow debit card as a replacement for a debit card issued from your bank or

Conclusion –

AccountNow is a prepaid debit card from the Green Dot Corporation. You can purchase it at many retailers including Walmart and Target or setup an account online. The card is targeted towards the many individuals and households that don’t have a bank account. The card carries a number of benefits, like access to the VISA/Mastercard network but for that access you will pay a high fee in terms of the fees charged by the company, which is everything from a monthly fee to a reload and ATM balance inquiry fee.

The company doesn’t have a good reputation for customers service and if you are considering using the AccountNow prepaid debit card as a replacement for your bank account or your bank issued debit card, then there are much better AccountNow alternatives for that.