Verdict – This is your typical pre-paid debit card, with enormous amounts of fees (expect to spend easily $100-200 per year due to ATM transactions and monthly fees) in exchange for the convenience of a Visa / MasterCard, direct deposit, and bill pay. In terms of total fees, Juniper ranks in the middle of the pack, at $5 per month plus ATM charges, paper statement charges, and customer service call charges.

Before choosing this card, consider the Wired Plastic card, which is another prepaid debit card with slightly lower monthly fees and ongoing fees.

Pros (compared with other prepaid debit cards):
Low activation fee of $5.95; most other prepaid debit cards are around $10.

Cons (compared with other prepaid debit cards):
High monthly fee of $5.

Typical (compared with other prepaid debit cards):
Long list of fees for everything from ATM inquiries, to paper statements, to customer service calls.

What is a prepaid debit card?
Almost anyone can qualify for a secured credit card, or alternatively for a pre-paid debit card, regardless of credit history. What’s the difference?

A secured card requires a one time upfront deposit, then behaves like a normal credit card. This money is “gone” until you close the account at some future date, and is collateral for your future spending. To be clear, money you spend in the first month must be paid back at the end of the month, despite the faact that you have already deposited collateral. The size of the upfront deposit determines the size of the line of credit – typically a $500 deposit will earn you less than a $500 credit line.

On the other hand, a pre-paid debit card is a stored value card, where money deposited into the account can be spent.

Pros and Cons of a Secured Credit Card versus a Pre-Paid Debit Card
The advantage of a secured credit card is that they help you build (or damage) your credit by reporting to the 3 credit bureaus. Some pre-paid debit cards claim to do this, but this is difficult to fathom, given that credit agencies look at the ratio of your balance versus available credit, and pre-paid debit cards do not have a credit line.

The advantage of a pre-paid debit card is that it does not require a permanent deposit to act as collateral, and can be more anonymous. However, fees are generally much higher. Some of the cards promoted most heavily on the internet will cost you hundreds of dollars a year in hidden fees. Some typical examples include $2.50 for ATM transactions, $5-10 per month, $0.50 to check your balance at an ATM machine, and $15 to shut down your card. Be careful!