Glossary
Prepaid card
A prepaid card is a card you load with a fixed amount in advance rather than one drawing on a bank account. A platform can only ever take what is loaded, and the charge lands on the card instead of on your main statement.
GlossaryPrivacyBillingSafety
Where you see it
You choose it at checkout like any other card, entering a number, expiry and security code. Some are bought in a shop and topped up in person; others are issued inside a banking or wallet app.
Why it matters
It caps exposure and keeps the entry away from an account other people can see, which is the reason most readers consider one. The trade-off is recovery: refunds, disputes, renewals and identity checks are all harder on a card with no bank account behind it, and not every platform accepts prepaid cards at all, so check the accepted methods before relying on one.