Definition
A card you load with money in advance and then use to pay; it is not a credit card and does not build credit.
What it means
A prepaid card, sometimes called a general-purpose reloadable card, lets you load money and spend it at stores, online or at ATMs. Some people use prepaid cards instead of a bank account, and employers or government agencies sometimes pay wages or benefits on them. Federal rules from the CFPB require prepaid providers to show a short fee disclosure before you buy and give you protections against unauthorized transactions and errors if you register the card. Fees can include purchase, monthly, reload, ATM and inactivity charges. Money on a prepaid card may be FDIC-insured through the issuing bank if the account is set up for pass-through coverage and you register the card. Because a prepaid card is not a loan, using it does not appear on your credit report or help build a credit score.
Example
A card with a $5.95 monthly fee and $2.50 for each out-of-network ATM withdrawal costs $101.40 a year if you make one ATM withdrawal a month.
Illustrative numbers only. Your situation will differ.