Virgin Prepaid MasterCard - Load it with money and use it like a credit card

It’s not a credit card, charge card or debit card, although you use it in exactly the same way to shop online, over the phone and in stores.

It’s a prepaid MasterCard card, which means you load money onto the card before you shop. When your funds are running low, you simply top up again.

You don’t have to have a bank account to own a Virgin Prepaid MasterCard, and there are no credit checks.

The card costs just £9.95 to buy and offers two tariffs. Depending on how much you use it – choose from 'Pay as you go' or 'Pay monthly'.

A Virgin Prepaid MasterCard is ideal for shopping online, by phone or mail order if you don't have, can't get, or don't want a credit card.

It's also handy for travelling, as it's safer than carrying cash. And if you've got family members travelling or living abroad, it's easy to top them up from home to keep them going. Plus it's a great alternative to old-fashioned pocket-money.

You don't need a bank account to get one, and it's great for keeping a lid on temptation, as you can never spend more than you've got. It also has PIN protection and fraud protection like a credit card*, and is accepted wherever you see the MasterCard Acceptance Mark.

* Although it's like a credit card, the Prepaid MasterCard doesn't offer the additional card protection on purchases that credit cards offer.

Unlike credit cards, a Prepaid Card application isn't dependent on credit checks or earnings, so, subject to ID verification, there's 100% acceptance.

A Virgin Prepaid MasterCard costs just £9.95 to buy, and offers two tariffs.

'Pay as you go' is suitable if you only use the card occasionally. Or if you think you will be using it a fair bit, then 'Pay monthly' might be best. See examples.

Please allow up to 15 days for your card to arrive.

We send out your PIN when you give us a quick call to activate your card.

To activate your card, please call us on 08454 601 606.

(Don’t forget to sign the back of your card as soon as it arrives.)

You will notice your new card has ‘for electronic use only’ written on the top right hand corner. This doesn't affect using it online, over the phone or at an cash machine. It simply means that when you are out shopping it can only be used in the normal electronic terminals you find in the UK and elsewhere.

The card can’t be used in the older manual sliding style of card machines, as it doesn’t feature raised numbers. And you may find you can't use it in a plane or a train as there may not be an electronic connection available.

If we haven’t been able to confirm your identity fully, we'll set your spending limit at a reduced amount (known as a ‘Restricted Card’). It means your total spending limit is £1,600 a year (up to £600 of this can be withdrawn from cash machines).

If you're happy with this limit, you don't need to do a thing.

If you'd like to increase your spending limit, we just need you to send us certain documents which confirm your identity.

Please note, there's a £4.95 admin fee for this identity check which would be taken from your Prepaid Card.

Click here to find out about increasing your spending limit.

Load your card	Approximate business days it takes for funds to reach your card	Cost
at any Post Office®	1	FREE
by debit card at myvirginmoney.com	2	FREE (Maximum top-up £2,000)
by direct transfer from your bank account	4	FREE
by credit card at myvirginmoney.com	2	2.5% (Minimum fee £2, maximum top-up £500)
at any shop or garage where you see the PayPoint logo	usually immediate	2.75%

To top up by direct transfer from a bank account, you'll need the following details when setting this up either online or when visiting your bank in person:

Payee: Virgin Money Direct Deposit
Account number: 10055654
Sort code: 20-03-53
Payment reference: The 14 digit account number on the back (top left) of your card (you must include this).

Debit or credit cards used to load money onto your Virgin Prepaid Card using our online service might need to be registered with your bank for 'MasterCard Secure Code' or 'Verified by Visa'.

Please note, for security reasons, it’s not possible to load up a Prepaid Card online using a debit or credit card if we’ve had to set your card at a reduced spending limit. This could be because we’ve been unable to carry out a full ID check to verify your identity. If you top-up a Prepaid card with more than £600 directly from your bank account, we may ask for identification before we load up the Card.

An e-voucher is used when you take out the card and pay for it in cash. Hand your money over to any PayPoint retailer and ask for a 360money e-voucher.

This voucher contains a code which you type into the application screen to pay for and/or load money onto your new Virgin Prepaid MasterCard.

To make things even easier, just print off this barcode and hand it over to the PayPoint retailer with your cash to get your e-voucher.

You can load money onto your card wherever you see the PayPoint logo.

You'll see it in in certain shops and garages near you. There are over 16,000 places around the UK with PayPoint. Just look for this logo:

Or to make things easier, find your nearest PayPoint agent before you go out.

If you've got your card, hand it over along with the money you want to put on it. The shop assistant will put your details into the PayPoint machine and the funds are immediately loaded onto your card.

It depends on how you choose to load up your card:

• PayPoint top-ups are usually available to spend immediately on your card.
• Post Office® top-ups take 1 business day.
• Credit and debit cards take up to 2 business days.
• Direct transfers from your bank account take up to 4 business days.

Your employer can pay your wages directly onto your Virgin Prepaid MasterCard. Then you can spend it like cash. Simple.

Our 'Pay monthly' tariff is designed for customers who use their card a fair bit. You can choose this option when you apply, or if you already have a card you can switch to ‘Pay monthly’ at any time.

You can have up to £3,500 on your card at any time, with a maximum of £4,500 for all cards in your household*.

To get your weekly or monthly wage put onto your card, just print off the wages form, complete it, and give it to your employer. Your wages will be transferred directly to your card within 4 days - for free.

Please note, wage transfers may take up to 4 working days to reach your card once they’ve cleared in our account. You can check they’ve gone onto your card by looking at your balance online.

*If you’ve got a card with a reduced spending limit, the amount you can have on your card at any one time is lower (£1,600 a year). So it’s likely you’ll want to increase your spending limit.

To do this, you’ll need to send us certain documents which confirm your identity. Please see increasing my spending limit for more information.

There's a £4.95 admin fee for this identity check which would be taken from your card.

Spend on it just like you would a credit card and use it wherever you see the MasterCard logo. Use it to shop safely online, by phone and on the high street.

Yes. When you apply for a card we are legally obliged to verify your identity. If everything is OK you’ll get a card that lets you shop, use cash machines* and make cash withdrawals over the counter at a bank.

If we can't confirm your identity, we'll set your card a reduced spending limit that still lets you shop everywhere and withdraw cash but some limits apply. You’ll be able to spend up to £1,600 a year - £600 of that can be withdrawn from a cash machine.

See 'How can I increase my spending limit?' for more details.

* The cost of a cash withdrawal on the 'Pay as you Go' tariff is 2.95% in the UK and 3.5% overseas. On the 'Pay monthly' tariff it is £1.50 per withdrawal, either in the UK or overseas.

Just like the Virgin Credit Card, our Prepaid Card can also get you exclusive discounts at Virgin companies and beyond.

Click here to see all the great discounts available to you.*

*Please note, each discount has its own terms and conditions, and your 2.95% card transaction fee is applied on the 'Pay as you go' tariff after any discount, so the fee is based on the discounted amount, which means you pay less.

Also, Virgin Wines and Virgin insurances are only available if you're over 18.

To set up online service just click ‘My Virgin Money’ at the top right of the screen or visit virginmoney.com/service anytime and click the ‘register’ button on the Virgin Prepaid Card section.

It's really easy to set up and only takes a few minutes - just answer a few security questions and you're away. Then you can check your balance, see statements, load funds and update your details.

To help the planet, we don't send out monthly printed statements but if you would like a statement posted to you, just give us a call us on 08454 601 606.

Please note, there’s a fee of £3.50 for each statement you request, charged to your Prepaid Card.

Don’t forget though, you can check your statements and print them off for free anytime online, when you enrol for online service. Just click on ‘My Virgin Money’ at the top right of the screen or visit virginmoney.com/service

The first payment will be debited from your card when you make your first top-up. Your monthly payments will then be taken on that date each month. (Though if you top up after the 28th of the month, your payment date will be the first of the month.)

If there isn’t enough money on your Card to pay the monthly fee, you won’t be able to use your card until you top up again. When you next top-up, the full £4.75 will be debited and you will then be billed each month on this date instead.

Please note, if we are unable to collect your monthly fee we reserve the right to move you onto the ‘Pay as you go’ tariff.

Yes* - up to 4 in fact. Maybe you want each member of your family to have a card for emergencies, or you'd like to budget across separate cards.

It costs £4.95 for each additional card and you can have up to £4,500 across all your cards, with a maximum of £3,500 on any one card*.

You can order additional cards through online service once you have received your main card and created your online service account.

*Subject to ID verification of main cardholder. See 'What is a restricted card?' for more information.

Yes, you can switch tariffs for free. So if you end up using the card more than you thought you would or a bit less, just switch.

You can switch from 'Pay as you go' to the 'Pay monthly' tariff once your card is set up, and then once every four months if you wish. If you've selected 'Pay monthly' you can't switch immediately after your card is set up, but you can switch after four months.

Switching tariff is quick and easy. Just visit 'My Virgin Money' and enrol/log in to Prepaid Card online service. Choose the 'Switch tariff' option then follow the on-screen instructions.

You can use your Prepaid Card at millions of places worldwide.

In fact, MasterCard cards are the most widely accepted cards around and can be used at more places than Visa and Maestro combined.

The charges for overseas transactions and cash withdrawals are:

If you have a family member living or travelling abroad and you want to share money with them regularly, all you need is an additional card on your account.

This will cost you £4.95. When their card arrives, your relative should phone to activate the card and get their PIN. If they’re already abroad, you’ll need to forward the additional card overseas first.

Then you’re all set – to share money you simply load it onto your card in this country and the additional card will have access to those funds wherever in the world it may be.

If your card gets lost or stolen, call us anytime on 08454 601 606 and we’ll block it so it can’t be used. Then we’ll transfer the funds onto a replacement card and get that sent out to you within 7 days. A charge of £4.95 will then be debited from your balance for the replacement card.

If you wish to cancel your card, please call us on 08454 601 606.

If you cancel your card within 14 days we can refund you your application fee but we can’t if it’s after 14 days of opening your account.

Any remaining balance will be returned to you by cheque.

Please note there is no charge for cancelling your card. However, you will be charged a £5 redemption fee if you choose to redeem any money remaining on the card.