ANZ MySpace PrePaid Visa Debit Card Review

By FutureNestEgg | September 9, 2009

MySpace and ANZ have joined forces to launch a PrePaid Visa Debit card – specifically aimed at teenagers. Teenagers (between 13 and 18 years) are not eligible to hold a credit card (and rightly so). This new PrePaid Visa Debit Card will help the teenagers to make online purchases and/or withdraw cash for their own use.

Features Of Pre-Paid Visa Debit Card

1. It is different to a debit card – A debit card has to be linked to a bank account. The prepaid debit card is not linked to any account – It is like a prepaid phone card – reloadable. You don’t need to have an account with ANZ to apply for this card.

2. You do however need to have a MySpace account to apply for this card.

3. Parents can load the card and then give it to their kids for their spending – They can load a maximum of $1000 and a minimum of $50.

4. These cards are good gift ideas.

By giving the prepaid card to teenagers, the parents are shifting the spending decision responsibility to their children – this makes good financial sense because you are teaching them good financial habits – they will now know how much they have and will spend accordingly. This shifting of financial responsibilty can have a negative effect too and I will come back to this point a little bit later in my post.

Fees To Be Aware Of

Issue Fee At the time of initial issue, a $5.95 fee will be charged. If you lose your card then there is a replacement fee of $15.

Monthly Fee There is a monthly service fee of $2.95.

ATM FeesYou can use this card for your online purchases – wherever debit cards are accepted. This card can be used to withdraw cash at ANZ ATMs and also at ATMs where there is a Visa sign. There is however a 75 cents fee – for ANZ ATMS and the fees can be much higher for a non ANZ ATM.

Topping Prepaid Cards
You can top up the prepaid debit card either through b-pay or at selective ANZ merchants. There is a topping fee though – $2 for b-pay and $3.45 for ANZ merchants. So B-Pay is definitely more cost effective.

Checking Balances They have an online facility to check your account balance – this is free to use. If you ask for your balance via SMS there is 25 cent fee. If you use their phone banking service then you have to pay $1.20 per call. To speak to a customer service officer, you have to pay $4 – quite hefty !!!!

There are more fees for international withdrawals, unsuccessful dispute of transactions, card closure and re-issue fees.

Linking MYSpace

This part I am really not very sure – On the website it says that MySpace and its partners give cardholders access to real rewards – not sure how this works. There is no phone number that I can call them on – the 1800 number listed there is only for card holders and even for them there is a charge of $4. There is some benefits from MySpace but exactly how it works, I am not sure off – I am guessing that if you buy from one of their participating merchants then you get some kind of rewards.

Financial Responsibility

Okay, this is a big catch 22 situation – all teenagers need money for their expenses – this card is prepaid and hence is supposed to teach them financial responsibilty – agreed. But hang on – there are a couple of important points worth nothing here:

1. The parents have to make sure that the card is not loaded with too much money – the parents have to site down with their kids and set limits on how long the card should last for. If we load it with $500 and say it is for 2 months and if they spend before 2 months is up then do no reload till 2 months is up – otherwise the whole point is lost.

2. If your teenager is getting this prepaid card, then don’t expect the card to teach him / her financial reposnsibilty – he or she should already be a bit responsible – otherwise they will use this card unwisely and might end up losing heaps on fees and charges.

I like this card, if your child is already a bit responsible and will use the card wisely – otherwise I am not sure how it will help them….Unlike a credit card, it will not drive them to debt because it is prepaid – that is definitely a pro with this card. But if you don’t set strict limits and boundaries, then the benefits of the card will be lost.

Couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Smarty Pig account and then you could hear my excitement in my words – with this one, I am a bit more cautious – a good product if used wisely – so don’t expect the card alone to do the trick for your child – you and the card have to work together to teach them financial responsibilty.

If you wish find out more about this card, click here.

What do you think of this card – pros and cons – would love to hear from you…

Best,