Anyone know if prepaid MasterCard is accepted here?

[msau4301]

Does anyone know if eBay accepts prepaid Mastercard as a method of payment here?

I just today received a prepaid Mastercard from Carrier as part of promotion they were having when we recently had to replace our furnace (and air conditioner and air cleaner). The paperwork that came with the card said accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Being both a seller and buyer here I know not all methods of payment will work and if I know it will work here there are a couple of items I might consider!

You guys are a wealth of knowledge...anyone know? Thanks!

[marnotom! · Accepted solution]

Well, consider that the new Managed Payments system is still a work in progress and a learning curve for most of us.

Why don’t you try and let us know the results so we can add the info to our collective pot of knowledge? 😁

I’m pretty sure prepaid credit cards work with PayPal, so if yours doesn’t work as a more direct payment, you should have a fallback.

[msau4301]

Yes, you are right I should just try it! (Maybe with something smaller first)...I was eyeing something a little over my typical budget but probably not the best idea for a first go at it. Maybe I'm better to add it into Paypal I can always remove it later, might be the better route to try with all the fallbacks as you say.

[msau4301]

Hi marnotom! You wanted me to let you know the results of using a prepaid card here and I followed your suggestion and added the Prepaid Mastercard to my Paypal wallet and it worked easy peasy!

I just bought an item from eBay here and the new card was linked to my Paypal which I could see immediately and  used it no problem. I think that's the best way for anyone (or if anyone asks us as buyers if we accept it), I don't think I would try to use it directly (without Paypal) anyways I like the extra protection they offer.

The only issue I can see with it will be I will have to keep track of the remaining balance and of course resisting  the urge to spend money I don't have to pay back all at once!

[marnotom!]

Great to hear that this worked for you, @msau4301!

As far as keeping track of your balance goes, are you able to register the card online and view it on the issuer’s website? I was once gifted a VISA gift card that allowed me to do that, and I found it through the website that I was dinged a maintenance fee for each month that I still had a balance, so it encouraged me to use it up as quickly as possible.

A “pre-paid” card may work differently, though.

[msau4301]

Yes, I have registered already to look at the issuers website, I wanted to see if my purchase was showing. That is certainly good to know there could possibly be a maintenance fee for each month. My card came from Carrier heating and air conditioning but I think there is a massive mother company that does these cards up for numerous businesses as an incentive program. (Hey it worked on me!) But I guess Mastercard would have to get something out of the deal!

I will have to keep my eye on those possible monthly maintenance fees, no statements will be issued since there is no balance to be paid back! I will have no trouble spending it quickly if that is the case!

Thanks again for your input.