Prepaid cards

Our top-pick children's prepaid card will charge a £3 a month inactivity fee from 3 June if you fail to use your account in 12 months. But it's not an issue for most as you can easily avoid the new HyperJar fee. Here's how.

If you're a Zing user, you should spend, move or withdraw your funds before it shuts down on 22 May 2025. It's unclear if you'll still be able to access your cash after this deadline, so it's best to move your money beforehand.

U Account holders can no longer access their accounts or use their prepaid cards to spend or withdraw cash as the digital bank closed the service from midday today (Tuesday 3 May). The app-based account is also no longer available to new users. 

Hundreds of thousands of prepaid card users, including those with Pockit, Anna Money and FairFX, have had their accounts frozen after action by the UK regulator, with many left unable to buy essentials, pay bills or access their cash. But the regulator now says it's working to lift its restrictions, and MSE founder Martin Lewis says there are signs those locked out may be able to access their money later this week.

We've long warned travellers to pay in the local currency rather than pounds to avoid hideous exchange rates – and from Friday, if you've a Mastercard prepaid card you won't be offered transactions in pounds at all.

App-based bank Monzo experienced problems today, with many prepaid card users unable to make payments.

Travellers with a Ukash prepaid card will have to pay a fee to transfer money back to their bank account if they don't spend their balance before their travel cards are shut down on Tuesday 21 February.

If you've a prepaid travel card with My Travel Cash you've until 4 October to withdraw or spend your money, after the firm announced it's scrapping the cards.

Travellers with a Ukash prepaid card will be hit with a raft of new charges from April. But they WON'T have to pay if they want to cancel the card before then, as the firm's now backtracked on plans to charge a £9-£11 closure fee.