Best Prepaid Debit Cards for 2025

Some of the main features of prepaid cards are mentioned below:

1. Goods and services can be bought without the need of cash transactions.
2. Prepaid cards help in controlling spending. You will be able to set a budget and reload the card so that you can spend within the budget.
3. Individuals who have a bad credit score can also opt for a prepaid card.
4. It is very easy to apply for a prepaid card. Individuals can visit the respective bank website and apply for the card. The maintenance of the card is also very simple as no repayments will also have to be made.
5. A gift card can be given to individuals. Individuals can use the pre-loaded amount to buy anything they like.
6. Most prepaid cards can be used to withdraw money at ATMs.
7. In case employees do not have a bank account, employers can directly transfer their salary to the prepaid card.
8. In case you are travelling abroad, you can carry a prepaid traveller's card instead of carrying cash.
9. Prepaid cards are very secure. They are similar to cash but come with an extra layer of security. In case there are any fraudulent charges, it can be reported, and the money will be refunded back to the account.

To give you a comprehensive notion of where the prepaid card market stands in the Indian Economy, here the details of prepaid cash cards offered by top 5 banks in our country.

Top Prepaid Debit Cards in India 2025

1. SBI Prepaid Cards
2. HDFC Prepaid Cards
3. ICICI Prepaid Cards
4. Yes Bank Prepaid Cards
5. Axis Bank Prepaid Cards

SBI Prepaid Cards

Overview of SBI Prepaid Cards

Prepaid cards function on the principle of ‘using what you have at your convenience’, meted out in partnership with VISA. It is literally like your mobile recharge prepaid card in which you load a certain amount and use it for various payments before the specified expiry date.

One does not need to own an SBI or any other bank account to avail a card of this kind. Prepaid plastic is expedient substitutes to hard cash or cheques and is beneficial in terms of utility, security, easy money management, accessibility and a no-nonsense tracking system.

Based on the needs of the customers, SBI offers seven types of tailor-made prepaid cash cards:

HDFC Bank Prepaid Cards

Overview of HDFC Bank Prepaid Cards:

HDFC prepaid card is a solid promise in plastic of ease of use as well as better financial discipline without the added stress of carrying around cash, especially when travelling. The rate differences can also make it a tad difficult when you try to limit all transactions in cash in a foreign country.

Recognized at thousands and thousands of mercantile worldwide, HDFC Prepaid Cards can be your travel companion, a personal financial watchdog along with being a perfect corporate solution for handling employees’ accounts in the form of payroll card, meal coupon card and so on. HDFC remains to be the bank that offers the maximum number of prepaid cards for a variety of clients in India.

There are 'n' number HDFC prepaid cards but the following are the top level HDFC prepaid cards:

ICICI Bank Prepaid Card

Overview of ICICI Bank Prepaid Cards:

Forget hard cash. It is not easy or safe to carry around, especially in bulk. ICICI Bank has introduced prepaid cards a few years ago with this mind. And it was widely acclaimed for its utility and ease of use.

The simpler and quicker paperwork was something that bowled over almost everybody. Later the bank started developing more prepaid cards for various customer types. Now ICICI boasts of seven prepaid cards introduced for youth, corporates, women, elderly, blue collar workers and more.

At present ICICI Bank offers the following Prepaid Cards, which are:

AXIS Bank Prepaid Cards

Axis Bank Prepaid Meal Card

Overview of Prepaid Axis Bank Meal Card:

For many salaried employees today, marginal perks they can hope for were a good medical cover and a functional coffeemaker. Many enterprises have upped their ante in this regard and offer subsidized and tax-free meal cards now.

Axis Bank wasted no time in leveraging on this trend. Their Prepaid Meal Cards take care of the requirements of an organization to mete out meal allowance to their staffs. It is an absolutely safe and secure electronic magnetic strip that the company can use to deliver consumer-friendly and tax free meal coupons, supported by VISA.

Features of Prepaid Corporate Meal Card from Axis Bank

1. User-friendly and convenient: Axis Bank’s Corporate Meal Cards can be swiped at any Visa powered Food & Beverage Mercantile entailing hotels, bistros, cafes, and sweet & confectionary outlets etc.
2. Easy Issuance: Meal Prepaid Cards do not just facilitate cost savings, but also result in better functional efficiency for your company.
3. Unrestricted Denomination: You can load any sum between INR 500 and INR 10,000 in your card and use it as per your need. There is no need to spend needlessly to fit into any denomination.
4. Account Balance Check: Axis Bank Meal Cards are endowed with a unique feature with which you can check balance via net banking or telebanking.
5. Unused Card Balance: The money remaining in the card at the time of expiry date will automatically lapse to the bank.

Benefits of Axis Bank’s Meal Card

1. Expediency & Utility: Prepaid Meal Cards are simple enough to use in day to day life and do away with the difficulty related to paper coupons. Axis Bank Meal Cards may also be financed through numerous channels.
2. Money Management: With Axis Bank meal cards, the whole payment procedure is streamlined and brings down the admin expenses considerably.
3. Wide Acceptance: The card is accepted at any Visa-marked Food & Beverage Mercantile (including supermarkets and pharma), meaning you can use it across India.
4. Safety: Meal Cards offer a much better security compared to the ordinary paper coupons as you can immediately block it in case of loss or theft.

Fees and Charges

1. Fee Levied for Card Issuance: This fee is estimated based on factors such as number of cards ordered by the firm, average monthly upload for each card, replacement charges (INR 100 per Card and GST) and Redemption Card (INR 100 and applied GST).

Axis Bank Prepaid Gift Card

Overview of Prepaid Axis Bank Gift Card:

Axis Bank’s introduction of Gift Card and E-Gift Card was nothing short of revolutionary. An idyllic gift for your loved ones, it opens up a Pandora’s Box of diverse options and possibilities to the beneficiary when it comes to choosing a gift for herself/ himself.

With Axis Bank Gift Cards, you enjoy an exemplary gifting experience that is not strenuous or complicated. Axis Bank Gift Cards and E-Gift Cards are delivered in partnership with providers, VISA International, MasterCard and RuPay.

Features of Gift Card from Axis Bank

1. The Axis Bank Gift Card is a pre-loaded magnetic stripe card, valid for 12 months and cannot be reloaded. It is greatly recognized at all mercantile and PoS (powered by VISA, MasterCard and Rupay).
2. You can opt to have a Virtual Gift Card (E-Gift Cards) as this is not just provided as physical cards. E-Gift Cards, as they are known, make present-giving swift and simple for the customer and the gift card is promptly delivered to the beneficiary’s inbox. The E-Gift Card may be utilized at any VISA-enabled Indian online mercantile.
3. Globally Accepted: Axis Bank Gift Cards can be utilized at all merchant outlets as well as online platforms opening up a host of diverse options to person to choose his/ her gifts from.
4. Great Flexibility: You can load your Gift Card with any denomination ranging from INR 500 to INR 50,000. The Card can be initiated in a matter of hours after issuing. And it it is an E-Gift Card you are getting, it will be activated immediately.
5. Absolute Security: The Axis Bank Gift Cards are endowed with a unique PIN that delivers comprehensive security when you use it for any online purchase or while swiping at any PoS.
6. Organizational Gifting: Axis Bank’s Gift Cards are a first-rate choice of gift for business incentive programs as well as Rewards & Recognition Programs within the firm as the cards can be customized accordingly. This can also serve the purpose of gifting to partners and special clients as token of appreciation.
7. Gift Cards are easy to carry around and used as per convenience with no denomination restriction as compared to gift coupons, which can get damaged easily.

Benefits of Prepaid Gift Cards from Axis Bank

Axis Bank Gift Cards gives a fresh and gratifying gifting experience to both the sender and the beneficiary as seen in the box below.

Fees and Charges

1. Issuance Fee levied for Gift cards: INR 100 plus GST for each card Card
2. Issuance Fee levied for E-Gift Cards: INR 20 not counting the GST per card
3. Feel levied to replace card: INR 100 and GST per Card.

Axis Bank Prepaid Smart Pay Card

Overview of Axis Bank Smart Pay Prepaid Card:

These days it is a race among enterprises to come up with the most convenient payroll system with jazzy rewards. They want to be every job seeker’s envy. Axis Bank’s Smart Pay Card is a ground-breaking and customized means to distribute monthly remunerations, incentives, rewards and refunds to your blue collar staffs. Smart Pay is a rupee denominated prepaid card for paying your workers’ wages in a more streamlined and structured way. Now there is no added bother of getting cheques issued, distributing to individual employee and them going to the bank to cash the cheques. Now all it takes is one loading command to the bank. Job done.

Benefits and Features of Prepaid Smart Pay Card from Axis Bank

1. Utility: The Smart Pay may be utilized at any Axis Bank ATM in the country along with countless VISA Mercantile for shopping transactions (online and retail).
2. One do not need an Axis Bank or any other bank account to avail this card. There is no mandate of maintaining an average quarterly balance.
3. Transaction Limits:
4. Money withdrawal limit per day at any Axis Bank ATM: INR 20,000
5. PoS transaction limit per day: INR 50,000
6. No Lost Card Accountability: The Smart Pay Card is endowed with a zero lost card accountability if you report it lost or stolen to the bank’s customer care center. You will not be held responsible for any false fund transactions done with the card after notifying them.
7. All the unused balance in the card will be automatically lapsed to the Axis Bank once the expiry date is crossed.

1. Convenient Yet Foolproof: With secure and convenient electronic payments it ensures instant pay outs and empowers your employees with anywhere-anytime money.
2. Unparalleled Features: Smart Pay Prepaid Card enables money withdrawal and PoS transactions at countless mercantile.
3. Easy Utility: The Smart Pay takes away the requirement for a different salary account for each worker.

Fees and Charges

1. Smart Pay Card Issuance Card: It depends on the number of card requested by the enterprise and the average monthly upload per card from the company’s current account.
2. Charges levied to replace if the card is lost or stolen: INR 100 and GST for each card.
3. Redemption Fee Levied: INR 100 plus applied GST for each card.

YES Bank Prepaid Cards

Overview of YES Bank Prepaid Cards:

YES BANK Prepaid Cards offer a secure and user-friendly payment solutions to handle every big and small fund transactions with a click or swipe. There is no question of carrying wads of currency on your person when you have this multipurpose card, which has to be recharged with cash. 

Prepaid cards from YES Bank are strategically customized and idyllic for travelling, remunerating and giving as gift, which can be applied to and availed from any YES Bank branch close to you. These cards are endowed with a host of perks and offers and guess what, you don’t even need to have an account with the bank to get this service.

How to apply for a YES Bank Prepaid Card

If you want to avail any YES Bank Prepaid Card, you simply have to get in touch with your nearest YES Bank branch via phone, email or in person. A Relationship Manager will contact you at the earliest to take the application forward.

Documentation required to apply for any Prepaid Card from YES Bank:

1. ID and Resident Proofs as mandated by the bank.
2. A duly filled application form
3. If you already have a YES Bank Savings Account, you do not need to submit any KYC document.

YES Bank's Range of Prepaid cards

• Corporate Gift Card
• Payroll Card

YES Bank Corporate Gift Prepaid Card

Overview of YES Bank’s Prepaid Corporate Gift Card:

The YES Bank Prepaid Corporate Gift Card is a pre-charged card, powered by MasterCard, specially made as a kind of corporate incentive or appreciation token. It can be handed out by companies to their workers, partners, clients or other business associates. It can be given as Employee Benefits (for festivals), Incentives, Performance Awards, Gratuity, Bonus, and Group Rewards among others.

Features and benefits of Prepaid Corporate Gift Card from YES Bank

1. There is no denomination restriction to use this card and the card be loaded with any amount not exceeding INR 50,000.
2. Easily Manageable: It functions just as an ordinary credit or debit card when you shop at any mercantile including eateries, hotels, supermarkets etc.
3. It is widely accepted across more than six lacs mercantile (both online and retail) that accepts MasterCard in India.
4. You can check and enquire your card balance any time using the special feature, YES TOUCH Phone Banking and your prepaid internet banking account. You can also check balance at any YES Bank ATM, free of charge.

Fees & Charges

YES Bank Payroll Prepaid Card

Overview of Prepaid Payroll Card from YES Bank:

These days most corporates are looking for ways to handle monthly expenses and salary payment in a quickly yet efficiently. The YES Bank Payroll Card is a rupee-based prepaid card for shelling out your staff’s remunerations in a structured and less hassle-free way.

The company has to load the cards in advance from the company’s current account. Then the YES Bank Payroll Card allows the organization commence payment using card rather than distributing cash or cheques to staffs.

By enabling money withdrawal at any ATM in the country and PoS transactions at every mercantile that supports MasterCard fund transactions, the Payroll Prepaid Card takes away the requirement for a distinct salary bank account.

Features and Benefits of Yes Bank Payroll Card

1. Card Type: YES Bank Payroll Prepaid Card is essentially a rupee-denominated and rechargeable MasterCard Card, which is valid up to a period of five years.
2. Utility: The YES Bank Corporate Payroll Card can be used at any YES Bank ATM in the country as well as at any online shopping portal or physical retail outlet (Maestro and MasterCard enabled) in India.
3. Eligibility Criteria: You need not have a bank account with YES Bank or any other bank or maintain a specific quarterly balance.
4. Transaction Limits:
5. Money withdrawal limit from ATM per day – Rs. 10,000
6. Transaction limit at any PoS per day – Rs. 20,000
7. Unlike normal bank accounts, only the company owner with whom YES Bank has signed the agreement can load a corporate prepaid card with money.
8. You can only load up to Rs. 50,000 in a card. For instance if the current balance on the card is INR 30,000, you can only load INR 20,000 into it.

Fees & Charges

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