Before buying a prepaid card as a gift or for personal use, carefully read the card agreement and answer all these questions before you buy it:

Is another form of payment better for you? Compare fees and benefits for using cash, prepaid, debit or credit cards.

Where can you use the prepaid card? Can you use it online, in the stores where you normally shop or outside of Canada?

Does the card have an expiry date? If so, check if you lose any remaining balance after this date, or if you can transfer it to a new card.

What are the fees? There can be activation, purchase or dormancy fees. There can also be fees to check your balance, withdraw money from automated banking machines (ABMs), and to replace or load more money onto the cards.

Can you add more money onto the card? Some prepaid cards are reloadable. For non-reloadable cards, once the balance reaches zero, the card is no longer valid.

Is information on fees, terms and conditions available where the cards are sold, on the card’s packaging or on the issuer's website? If you buy the card as a gift, give this information and the proof of purchase to the recipient of the card.

What happens if the card is lost or stolen? The card issuer may transfer a balance to a new card, or you could be out of pocket just as if you had lost cash.

Can you cancel the card? Fees to cancel the card can be equal to the balance on the card at the time of cancellation.