With the prepaid cards becoming more widely available in recent years, you can find them most all grocery store chains such as Publix, Costco, Meijer Foods, A&P, Ahold, and other chains. In fact there are so many regional grocery store chains that carry them, we’d be publishing a long list of stores that carry prepaid debit cards if we tried to list them all.

Buying a Prepaid Card at a Grocery Store

What you should know about the cards you get in a store, versus getting one online, is that you simply have more information available online to research the full benefits of a card, such as loyalty programs, the ability to text message to check your balance, and cash back bonuses for referring a friend. For instance, MiCash offers $30 for referring a friend (see details).

You can find the prepaid cards with gift cards, and hence it can be confusing to tell which is which. Reloadable prepaid cards bearing the Visa or MasterCard logo, can be used over and over again simply by loading more cash onto the card. They can also be used wherever prepaid debit cards are accepted around the country and even internationally when you are traveling.

A popular way to reload a prepaid card is through direct deposit from your pay, so instead of receiving a paper check, your pay goes straight onto the card, and you can then avoid paying check cashing fees. Another method is to get a Greendot Moneypak. These Moneypaks are a way to transfer money onto a prepaid card, and Greendot MoneyPaks are widely available in national grocery store chains as well. MoneyPaks are conveniently located by the prepaid cards. Makes sense.

Looking for a prepaid debit card at Rite Aid? Or are you wondering if your local Rite Aid has Greendot MoneyPaks for reloading your prepaid card. The answer is yes on both counts. Continuing our series on where to find MoneyPaks to reload your MiCash Prepaid MasterCard, here are some facts about this drug store chain.

• Rite Aid Corp. is the third largest pharmacy chains in America with nearly 4,800 stores in 31 states.
• You are more likely to find a Rite Aid on the East or West coast. In fact Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast
• Find the company on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker RAD.
• Rite Aid’s first store opened in September 1962 as Thrif D Discount Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Greendot MoneyPaks at Rite Aid

So, when you come through the big glass doors at your local Rite Aid, make a beeline for prepaid card kiosk. There you will find Money Paks hanging in their bright green packages. For just $4.95 you can put a bunch of cash on a MoneyPak, then call Greendot’s customer service phone number or go online to move that money onto a prepaid card. Why not use the MoneyPak for making purchases? Well, other than eBay and a few other places, merchants don’t accept MoneyPaks. They are not branded Visa or MasterCard to function on those debit card network. However, it is swift and easy to use a Greendot MoneyPak as a means to get your cash onto your prepaid card.

Here at MiCash we know Greendot Money Paks are a great way to load money to a prepaid card. Yet, scam artists are also getting money out of unsuspecting folks by asking them to share a MoneyPak activation number as a way to “pay” for something that is simply a scam.

Adding money to your MiCash Card using a MoneyPak is easy and convenient. However, once you put your hard earned cash on a MoneyPak you’ll want to guard the  14-digit activation number like cash. In fact, you’ll want to call MoneyPak’s toll free customer service line, or go online at moneypak.com to move the MoneyPak’s funds to your prepaid card soon as you can.

This article describes how the Arizona Better Business Bureau has examined how phony websites are cheating people this way, much like they have used untraceable MoneyGram and Western Union wire transfers to run their their frauds.

BBB says the public should be very cautious when using a Green Dot MoneyPak to pay an unfamiliar company or individual.  Anyone who requires an upfront payment with a Green Dot MoneyPak is very possibly operating a scam.

The article offers several examples of how people have been scammed.

A senior airman at Scott Air Force Base near Shiloh, Ill., lost $1,000 last month when paying for a treadmill with a Green Dot MoneyPak.  “I was taken,” he said…  He said he found an ad on Craigslist for the treadmill, and the contact referred him to the site.  The site looked “very professional,” and he said he used a Green Dot MoneyPak to pay the $1,000 cost, as directed by the company. When he did not receive the treadmill, he contacted BBB.

… A man from Columbia, Mo., said he discovered a Playstation game system on a Yahoo shopping site and was directed to make payment to the company, Tech Gear Upgrade, using a Green Dot MoneyPak.  “I thought it was weird that they didn’t take Visa or Mastercard,” he said.  He never received the game system and has given up hope of collecting his $180.

It’s safer to purchases things online with a prepaid card or credit card. And regardless you should be very wary about purchasing anything from individuals or companies you don’t know, if you have to pay up front before receiving your merchandise.  If you share your MoneyPak activation number to a scammer by typing it into a web form or sending it in an email, or saying it over the phone, a within moments they can take use that activation number to drain the MoneyPak of funds and be gone. You or the authorities likely won’t know how to catch them.

The moral of the story? Consider that anyone you don’t know who is online or not in front of you and who wants your MoneyPak activation number, or a wire transfer, may be up to no good.

People looking for a prepaid debit card can find them at Kmart stores nationwide. Or, if you already have a prepaid Visa® or prepaid MasterCard® and are looking for a way to put money on your card, you can also find GreenDot® MoneyPaks at any K-mart.

Kmart Store Locator

This online Kmart store Locator can help you find the nearest Kmart location. There are more than 1,327 stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation. The first Kmart store opened in Garden City, Michigan in March 1962.

You can watch a video of how to load money by clicking the LOAD MONEY link in the navigation bar above.

Wal Mart Finder for Greendot MoneyPaks

We are often asked how do you find a Greendot MoneyPak at Walmart?

STEP ONE: Wal Mart Store Locator

First, find your nearest Wal Mart. Just drive a few miles because there are more than 4,000 locations nationwide.¹ Or use Wal Mart’s handy Wal Mart Store Locator.

STEP TWO: Locate the Greendot MoneyPaks inside the store

You’ll find the MoneyPak in the prepaid card section or on the Green Dot display, usually at the front of the store, or in the Wal-Mart MoneyCenter.

STEP THREE: Purchase and Load your GreenDot MoneyPak

Purchase and load your GreenDot MoneyPak with cash. A Greendot MoneyPak retails for $4.95 or less. So, let’s say you want to put $50 on your Prepaid Credit Card / Debit Card. You would give the cashier $50 + $4.95, or $54.95 plus tax, and your MoneyPak would then have the value of $50. Next you can call the Greendot customer service number printed on the MoneyPak or log onto Greendot’s website. You provide your prepaid card account number and the Moneypak’s unique identification number to complete the transfer.

The Greendot MoneyPak is a one-time-use card that you dispose of after you use it to load your prepaid card. It cannot be used again.

See our Loading Money with Greendot MoneyPaks or Western Union Agents information page.

¹Walmart is the world’s largest retailer with $405 billion in sales for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2010. In the U.S., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates more than 4,300 facilities including Walmart supercenters, discount stores, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club warehouses.
Internationally, Walmart operates more than 4,000 additional stores in 15 markets worldwide, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile’, China, Costa