Best Prepaid Cards in Cameroon for College Students,Teenagers and kids

In this 21st century (full of credit card hackers, pick pockets and internet fraudsters), prepaid cards have proven to be the most convenient and secure way for college students,teenagers and kids, to make online purchases, carry cash around (for travel) and for budgeting.

One of the reasons why prepaid cards are considered as the best bank cards for students/teenagers/kids, is because they are not linked to a bank account unlike the debit cards. So in a case where the details of a prepaid card get exposed to a hacker or a mischievous friend, loss will be limited to the funds in the prepaid card since the card isn’t tied to any bank account.This makes prepaid cards good for college students/teenagers and other category of people with lax behaviour.

Prepaid cards are also known as electronic wallet because they are re-loadable and can be used to store cash; which can be withdrawn at any time of the day (when needed) via an ATM machine.

Prepaid cards are Alternative to cash!

So instead of carrying physical cash around, money can be stored in a prepaid card (your electronic wallet) and withdrawn via any ATM machine in Cameroon, when needed. So, in a situation where the wallet of your kid (which contains their prepaid card) is stolen, the thief won’t be able to do anything with the prepaid card since he or she doesn’t know the ATM pin of the prepaid card.

Its noteworthy that if a prepaid card is stolen/your kid misplaced a prepaid card, the banks in Cameroon will quickly issue a new prepaid card with the funds in it, still intact (not stolen). In other words, funds can be recovered in case of theft or loss of the card.

Prepaid cards are also good for college students/teens because they have a high tendency of using money extravagantly and recklessly (probably because they are not the ones working for it).

Giving your debit card to your kid won’t be a good idea. Do you still remember the Hollywood movie titled “HOME ALONE” and what Kevin did with his father’s debit card???. Don’t be the next victim!

A Prepaid card can also make it easier to maintain discipline and control the spending habit of your kid in college (away from home).

Like i mentioned earlier, prepaid cards aren’t credit cards. They’re also not traditional debit cards, which are tied to your bank account and thus have access to all the funds contained within.

Prepaid cards start with a zero balance and must be loaded/credited with cash before being used for purchases, bills, and other expenses.

When the card’s balance drops to zero again, you can’t use it until you load more funds onto the card (similar to a gift card). In other words, all prepaid cards have a built-in brake on spending. That makes it easy to load the card with only the funds you need to cover your day-to-day expenses for a given period, usually a week or month, and reduce the risk of overspending. This also makes prepaid cards good for that girlfriend/wife who is a spending thrift.

They’re also great for holding kids’ weekly or monthly allowances (and for older kids, the same principle applies to living expenses while away at college). Simply load each child’s allotted amount in their prepaid cards.

Summarily, Prepaid cards for college students/teens offer a secure, convenient way to handle money.

Things to consider when searching for the Best Prepaid Cards for College Students,Teenagers and kids

1) Little Annual subscription fee.

Most banks in Cameroon usually demand a subscription fee for the issuance and use of a prepaid card. These subscription fees charged by the banks varies from 10,000frs to 35,000 frs per year depending on the expiry period of the prepaid cards. For instance most banks usually charge a 10000 frs annual subscription fee for prepaid cards with a 1 to 2 yrs validity period and 35, 000 frs annual subscription fees for prepaid cards with a 4yrs validity period.

2) Long expiry date (validity period).

When shopping for the best prepaid card in Cameroon for a college student/kid, choose a prepaid card with a validity period which corresponds with his/her length of study. For example if your kid will be enrolling in the university of Buea, you may consider getting a prepaid card with a 3/4 yrs validity period.

3) No reload fee

Some prepaid card issuers in Cameroon like UBA Cameroon, don’t charge any annual subscription fee for their prepaid cards but will charge you 500frs whenever you deposit money in to your prepaid card or whenever you make any online payment. This can be more expensive than the annual subscription fees charged by other banks. If a bank charges reload fee, find out their charges.

4) Monthly Maintenance Fee.

In addition to the annual subscription fees, some banks in Cameroon also charge a monthly maintenance fee, similar to the checking and savings account maintenance fees charged by some banks. This could make usage of a prepaid card very costly.

5) Withdrawal and spending limit.

Most prepaid cards in Cameroon have a withdrawal and spending limit; which is a stumbling block to internet entrepreneurs in Cameroon who often use their prepaid cards for various online transactions. However for the college students/kids, this may not be an issue to be worried about as most prepaid cards in Cameroon have a 1 millions frs weekly withdrawal and spending limit which is more than enough to handle the expenses of the president’s daughter; Brenda Biya.

6) Balance Checks.

When shopping for the best prepaid card for a college student/teenager, go to an issuer which makes it possible for prepaid card holders to check their prepaid card balance online. This will make it possible for you to easily monitor the transactions of your kid (while away at college) and quickly bring them to order if they are spending money recklessly or using their prepaid card for online purchase or gambling.

7) Localization; issuing bank must have a branch in the area where your kid is schooling.

When shopping for a prepaid card (electronic wallet) for your kid, ensure that you choose a bank which has a branch in the area where your kid is schooling. Visa or Mastercard prepaid cards are accepted by all ATM machines. But most banks charge extra fees for ATM cards not isued by them. Most banks/card issuers typically charge for out-of-network withdrawals. These fees usually range from 1000 to 2000frs per transaction. For example if you go to an Ecobank ATM to withdraw cash with a UBA ATM card, you will be charged 1000frs per transaction. But withdrawal is free with the UBA ATM machines for UBA issued ATM cards.

8) Money transfer feature move funds to the prepaid card.

When shopping for best prepaid card for a college student, make sure that you choose a bank which makes it possible for their clients to transfer money from their bank accounts to a prepaid card. This will make card reload very easy. For example UBA Bank account holders, can transfer funds from their bank accounts to a UBA prepaid card. So they don’t need to go a UBA bank whenever they want to reload the prepaid card of their kid. They can simply do that on the online platform of the banks.

9) Good customer service.

When searching for a prepaid card for a college student/kid, make sure that you choose a bank with a good customer service. This will save you from headaches in future. It’s noteworthy that most banks in Cameroon have a very poor customer service.

Ok enough of all this talking talking talking, let move to the main topic.

Best prepaid cards for College students/teens in Cameroon

[wpsm_numhead num=”1″ style=”3″ heading=”3″]UBA Prepaid Visa card (UBA Africard)t[/wpsm_numhead]

UBA Africard is a popular re-loadable Visa prepaid card in Cameroon; issued by the UBA Cameroon. UBA Africard is arguably the most common prepaid card in Cameroon because its very affordable but offers lots of benefits which includes.

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• No need to have a bank account with UBA to be issued a UBA prepaid card. This it very affordable to parents.
• UBA Prepaid card is issued instantly in a few minutes straight away.
• UBA prepaid Visa card has a 2 yrs validity period.
• UBA doesn’t charge card maintenance fee.
• UBA prepaid card holders can check card balance online
• Cardholders receives SMS alert for every transaction performed with the card.
• UBA prepaid cards are issued instantly i.e. after you have filled all the requirements for obtaining a UBA prepaid card, they will handover your prepaid card. You don’t need to come the next day or after a certain period of time.
• UBA bank account holders can transfer money from their accounts to the UBA prepaid Visa card. This makes card reload easy and hassle-free.
• UBA Africard is accepted by Paypal and all online shops. This makes online shopping with a UBA Prepaid easy and breezy.
• It is internationally accepted at all Visa acceptance points (ATM, POS & Web) in more than 200 countries.
• Access to funds 24/7 anywhere in the world (Global acceptance)
• UBA has a good customer service as compared to other banks in Cameroon.

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• UBA charges Card reload fee i.e. whenever you deposit money in to your card you will be charge 500frs as card load fee.This can be more expensive than the annual subscription fees charged by other banks. UBA also charges 500frs for every online purchase.
• Monthly Payment and Withdrawal limit of a UBA prepaid card is 500,000frs. You can’t make payment for items above 500,000frs or withdraw above 500,000frs via an ATM machine. However this is not an issue for the students.

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[wpsm_numhead num=”2″ style=”3″ heading=”3″] Afriland First Bank Cameroon prepaid card [/wpsm_numhead]

 

Afriland First Bank Cameroon currently offers 2 types of prepaid cards labelled as Internationales Cards (I-Card)

The two prepaid cards includes;

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• I-CARD VISA PREPAID CARD &
• I-CARD MASTERCARD PREPAID CARD

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The I-Card Visa Prepaid Card is the best option for college students/kids.

Below are the benefits of Afriland First Bank Cameroon I-Card Visa Prepaid Card.

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• Weekly withdrawal limit: 1 000 000 Fcfa
• Card to card transfer possible.
• POS and Online transaction with the limit equal to the card balance.
• Offer to bank account holders and non-account holders.
• Refill of the card at the First Bank teller.
• Refill possible using E-First.
• Annual subscription fees: 10 000 Fcfa/ year.

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• Validity: 2 years (expires after 2 yrs but renewable).

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I-CARD MASTERCARD PREPAID CARD

Afriland First Bank Cameroon Mastercard Prepaid Card is good for the internet entrepreneurs or people who receive payments online or do alot of online payments.

Below are the privileges of the I-Card MasterCard Prepaid Card.

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• Monthly payment limit: 5 million
• Weekly withdrawal limit: 2.5 million
• Card to card transfer
• Larger acceptance network
• Annual subscription fees: 35 000 Fcfa
• Validity: 4 years

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• I-Card MasterCard Prepaid Card is issued only to Africard First bank account holders.
• High Annual subscription fees.

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[wpsm_numhead num=”3″ style=”3″ heading=”3″] Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card [/wpsm_numhead]

Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card is a multi-purpose prepaid card suitable for college students and the internet entrepreneurs in Cameroon.

In 2014, Ecobank Cameroon issued thousands of Visa CashXpress Card to University of Buea students; who took part in the 2014 Youth day march pass. The prepaid card was used by UB students to receive their reward for participating in the march pass. 3000frs each was credited in to their Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card and they had to withdraw the money from their prepaid card using the Ecobank ATM machine.

This was done in an attempt to encourage parents to get the cards for their children.

Parents can simply load money onto it and then their kids can do withdrawals at an ATM.

These are some of the benefits of Ecobank Visa CashXpress Prepaid Card

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• Pin protected with chip technology for enhanced security
• Balance enquiry; You can easily check the amount of money in your Ecobank Visa CashXpress Prepaid Card in an online platform.
• SMS transaction alert notification
• Card to card funds transfer
• Individual Customer Web Profile to check balance and view Statements.

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Other benefits of Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card

No bank account needed; You don’t have to be an Ecobank customer, or even have a bank account to get an Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card. You’ll have an electronic account on the card. It’s the perfect solution whether you’re a student, employee, merchant or business person.

Carry cash safely wherever you go; To use your Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card, just make a cash deposit at any Ecobank branch to load your card. Your card will immediately show the value you’ve deposited and be ready for you to carry safely. You can then use your card for payments and withdrawals from ATMs, Cashless Payment (POS) terminals 24/7, at home or abroad using your PIN number. Your Ecobank Visa CashXpress card can be used at over 1.6million ATMs and 24million Cashless Payment (POS) terminals worldwide – allowing you to withdraw local currency wherever you are.

Parents can set their own limit and stay informed;

The Ecobank Visa CashXpress Card permits parents to set their own daily withdrawal limit for their kids (college students). It also allows parents to request a card statement, with a full history of all purchases and expenses for the month or a specified period.

[wpsm_numhead num=”5″ style=”3″ heading=”3″] CAMPOST/UBA Prepaid Cards [/wpsm_numhead]

Cameroon national postal service (now working in partnership with UBA Cameroon), offers a Visa Prepaid card which has the same privilege like the UBA Africard listed above.

Holders of a CAMPOST/UBA Prepaid Card can withdraw money directly from any CAMPOST Agency’s counter. This is a huge advantage to the college students as Camtel has an agency in almost all the towns in Cameroon.

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Ok those are the best prepaid cards for college student in Cameroon. If you have any question, please leave a comment below.