The
Green Dot Visa® Secured Credit Card is a pretty good secured credit card that's worth it for people with bad credit and no bank account. The Green Dot Secured Visa requires a refundable security deposit of at least
$200, placed after account approval, but it’s still cheaper than most of the unsecured credit cards for bad credit available in 2024.
Unlike with many other secured credit cards, having a bank account is not among the Green Dot Visa Card’s approval requirements. Cardholders can instead mail a check, send a money order, or pay with cash at participating retailers when placing the required security deposit and making monthly bill payments.
Green Dot Secured Card Review Highlights
$39 Annual Fee
The average credit card charges
$22.29. Some secured credit cards have no annual fees.
No Monthly Fees
Monthly credit card fees are most common with unsecured cards for people with bad credit.
$200+ Security Deposit
No secured card guarantees a lower minimum security deposit requirement.
19.99% APR
This is slightly above average for a secured card, a type of card already ill-suited for financing.
No Rewards
Only a handful of secured credit cards have rewards, so this isn’t too big of a negative.
3% Foreign Fee
You should use a different card if you happen to travel abroad or make purchases from internationally based sellers.
Green Dot positions its Secured Visa Card as being for people with limited credit history or better, which would seem to exclude applicants with bad credit. Don’t let that discourage you, however. If you’re a U.S. resident who is at least 18 years old with enough income to afford monthly bill payments on the card, you should have a good shot at being approved. There’s not much risk, either, since Green Dot evaluates applications using a soft credit inquiry that will not impact your credit score.
There are also plenty of really good
secured credit cards with no minimum credit score requirement. Some are even less expensive than the
Green Dot Visa® Secured Credit Card.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.