As banks add more fees, and as it becomes difficult for some consumers to obtain accounts at some of the big banks, prepaid debit cards are becoming popular.

Prepaid debt cards look a lot like “regular” debit and credit cards, sporting the logos of major payment processors like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.  You can use them anywhere major credit cards are accepted, so it makes them convenient.

However, no matter how much like a credit card a prepaid debit card is, it’s important to understand the difference.

Credit Card vs. Prepaid Debit Card

With a credit card, you are borrowing money up to a certain limit.  You use the money first, and then repay it later.  Additionally, if you carry a balance, you end up paying interest on that balance.

A prepaid debit card functions differently.
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The FDIC has been in the news a lot in recent years, but during quieter times the agency and what it does are invisible to most Americans.

The closest we get to it is the sign in the bank window that says, “Member FDIC”.

The FDIC is sort of like a giant insurance company for the entire US banking industry (in fact it stands for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).  The fact that we usually don’t know what it does is an indication that it’s doing the job it was meant to do.

The History of the FDIC

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What kind of benefits does an online checking account provide over a standard checking account with a traditional brick-and-mortar bank?

Should you be enticed to try an online checking account or stick with the options in your local area?

4 Benefits of an Online Checking Account

Here are a few benefits of switching to an online checking account.

Interest on Deposits

For your average brick-and-mortar bank, offering interest on the deposits held in the checking account isn’t necessary.
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Bank routing numbers, or “routing transfer numbers” (RTN’s) appear on virtually all of our checks and other demand instruments, but as common as they are most of us have no idea what their purpose is.

Occasionally we’re asked to provide our bank’s routing number—such as for direct deposit of income tax refunds—but this does little to clear up the mystery behind them or why they’re so important.

Think of it this way: each of us has a checking account number—the bank has its own identification number, and that’s the bank routing number.  That number is at least as important to the bank as our checking account numbers are to us.

Where do you find a bank routing number?

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