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The Impact Visa Card was lasted reviewed on 9th September 2005
Summary - The Impact Visa Card is designed for those looking to build or rebuild their credit and have difficulty getting a regular unsecured credit card. It is a prepaid visa card, but also has a credit builder program, whereby you can make monthly payments that are reported to the credit bureaus. Let us look at this card in greater detail.
Details and Fees - The Impact Visa Card is a prepaid card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. It is a prepaid debit card, which means you can only spend what you have loaded into the card.
When you apply for the card, there are various fees you have to pay. There is a one-time non-refundable application fee of $59.95. There is also a one-time processing fee of $90.00. You will also need to load a minimum of $10.00 into your card for the first initial load. Hence, you need to pay $159.95 initially to get your card going.
There is no annual fee. However, like most prepaid debit cards, there is a monthly maintenance fee of $8.90 ($4.95 for the Hologram Debit Card and $3.95 for the ATM Card). Like all debit cards, you can load your card via your bank account or direct deposit from your employer and withdraw cash from ATMs.
Credit Builder - The Impact Visa partners with Credit Builder, a service which allows you to build or rebuild your credit. This is how the program works. You pay a monthly fee of $29.95 for 12 months (of which $10.00 is refunded via a load into your card) to Credit Builder. They then report this payment to the credit agencies. If you make your fee payments on time every month, your credit score should show improvements within six months or so.
No credit or employment checks - As this is a prepaid debit card, the Impact Visa Card does not conduct any credit or employment checks. Hence, one is almost certain to get approval after application.
Conclusions - The IMPACT Visa® Card will appeal to those looking to build or rebuild their credit and find it difficult to get a regular unsecured credit card. Though there are some upfront fees and monthly maintenance fees, having a prepaid card prevents one from overspending and within a year, prompt payments of the Credit Builder Fees should help improve one's credit scores.
Update - The Impact Visa has been discontinued. You may want to check our report on prepaid credit cards with credit builder.
Positives
Credit Builder Program - reports to credit agencies and allows you to build oir rebuild your credit history.No credit or employment checks, hence almost guaranteed approval
Negatives
Upfront, monthly maintenance fees and various other transaction fees
| Impact Visa Card |
| Cost/Fees |
| Annual Fee |
$No annual fee |
| One-time Application Fee |
$59.00 |
| One-time Processing Fee |
$90.00 |
| Monthly Maintanence Fee |
$4.95 (Holographic Debit Card)
$3.95 (ATM Card) |
| Creditbuilder Payments |
$29.95 from bank account of which $10.00 will be returned as a credit to your card |
| Bank Account to Card Reload Fee |
$1.00 |
| Direct Deposit Reload Fee |
$1.00 |
| Purchase at Merchant Fee |
$0.50 |
| Purchase Online Fee |
$0.50 |
| Telephone Purchase Fee |
$0.50 |
| ATM Withdrawal Fee |
$1.50 |
| Point of Sale Withdrawal Fee |
$0.00 |
| Live Teller Withdrawal Fee |
$1.50 |
| ATM Balance Inquiry |
$1.00 |
| Online Balance Inquiry/Service Fee |
$0.10 |
| Automated Telephone Inquiry/Service Fee |
$0.50 |
| Customer Live Call Fee |
$3.00 |
| Paper Statement Fee |
$5.00 |
| Card replacement/cancellation/reactivation Fee |
$5.00 |
| Maximum Load |
Not more than twice a day or ten times a week
not more than $1,500 a day or $5,000 a week |
| Maximum ATM Withdrawal |
$300 within 24 hours |
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