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What is a prepaid card for employees?

27 June 2025

You want to embed employee rewards and financial wellbeing benefits into your people strategy, but the landscape is complex. There are prepaid cards, cashback cards, vouchers, and one-off payments. Finding the best solution for your people and business doesn’t need to be a mission. Time is money, and you can save both by combining employee rewards and benefits into one prepaid cashback-earning card powered by Visa. Read on to discover all you need to know about prepaid cards for employees.

What is a prepaid card?

A prepaid card is a payment card that doesn't connect to a specific bank account. Prepaid users can add funds to their prepaid card account via an app and spend wherever Visa Prepaid is accepted.

Prepaid card benefits include avoiding debt – there are no overdraft facilities, so you can only spend the available funds. There’s no credit, so there’s no interest. When funds run out, you replenish them.

 

A prepaid card as an employee benefit

The mechanisms of a prepaid card are straightforward. Get the card, add funds and go! When you embrace what a prepaid card can do in the employee benefits space, a world of opportunities awakens.

As an employee benefit, a prepaid card can:

  • Help employees budget.
  • Allow employees to set aside emergency funds.

When cashback-enabled, like with our Pluxee Card, a prepaid card stretches salaries further.

Other business uses include:

  • Using it to issue cash rewards and bonuses.​
  • Embed it within your sales incentive channels.​
  • It's an impactful way to reward loyalty and enhance membership and loyalty schemes.

Prepaid cards are very versatile, adapting to a variety of business needs as an employee benefit, reward and incentive.

How does a business prepaid card for employees work?

If you embed a business prepaid card into your employee benefits strategy, you’re actively making financial wellbeing support available to all employees. Because there's no borrowing or credit involved, your employees don’t need to go through a credit check to receive one.

Employees with a poor credit score will still be eligible for this salary-stretching money management tool.

When you apply through Pluxee UK, we run mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) checks as part of the onboarding process. Once completed, employers can either send their employees an email encouraging them to apply for their prepaid card or add the option to their employee benefits portal, allowing interested employees to apply at any time.

All associated terms and conditions are available when applying for a prepaid card, ensuring clarity and transparency.

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What is a virtual card?

A virtual prepaid card is exactly the same as a physical prepaid card, minus the ability to place something solid in your wallet. A virtual prepaid card lives in your eWallet only and is compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Why choose a virtual card?

Why should a business consider a virtual card over plastic if they do the same thing?

One thing to remember is that even if you opt for a physical prepaid card for employees, they can still use it virtually by adding the details to their eWallets. However, choosing virtual-only does bring additional business benefits.

Instant delivery

We deliver your employees’ virtual card account details as soon as they register. All they need to do is add them to their digital wallet of choice and load some funds, and they can purchase goods wherever Visa Prepaid is accepted.

person paying for goods with phone

More security

In the UK, millions of physical bank cards are lost or stolen each year. While many find their way back to their owner, others fall into the hands of criminals who use the cards fraudulently.

When you embed a virtual-only prepaid card solution, you eliminate this risk. There’s no physical card to lose. All details are stored digitally in employees’ phones or watches.

 

CSR & ESG

We produce our physical prepaid cards from recycled PVC, making them environmentally conscious, but they still generate carbon emissions. When you opt for a virtual-only prepaid card, we don’t need to produce anything. We’ve helped clients make a significant impact on their carbon reduction and net-zero targets by transitioning them from physical cards to a virtual-only solution.

A prepaid card made from recycled PVC has (on average) a carbon footprint of 414.86 gCO2e per card, including production, distribution and end-of-life emissions. If you have 2,000 employees using it and you transition them to the virtual card, you could reduce your organisation's carbon emissions by 0.83 tCO2e!

Prepaid card benefits for employers

We’ve already referenced a fair amount of prepaid card benefits for employers, including the CSR, inclusivity and versatility topics. Next, we’ll cover each benefit in more detail.

A streamlined solution

One business prepaid card, multiple uses = a streamlined and efficient way of doing business.

An employee benefit

There are three ways to use a prepaid card as an employee benefit. You can opt to add business funds only, set it up so that only the employee tops up, or choose a solution that allows for both.

Allowing employees to top up funds is essential because it enables them to continue using the card and the benefits it provides to their lives. When you enable employer loads, you can add money to the card to cover cost-of-living bonuses, work-from-home allowances or remote working stipends.

Your employees' account details remain the same, simplifying the process of making fund distributions.

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An employee reward

Once you’ve enabled the employer-load mechanism, you can also send employee rewards to their prepaid card account. Using a prepaid card for employee rewards allows you to eliminate single-use vouchers and gift cards, making the process more cost-effective.

When you use your prepaid card as both an employee benefit and a reward, you reduce administration and streamline HR processes.

Employee rewards + joyful living = better employee engagement and retention.

 

A channel incentive

Businesses that rely on channel incentives and referral payments can also benefit significantly from using a prepaid card. Issue sales reps and channel partners with their cards and send incentive payments directly to their prepaid accounts.

Why is this option better than sending their money to a bank account?

When funds land in our bank accounts, they can easily get swallowed up by regular spending, direct debits and bills. When you send incentive payments to a prepaid card account, the recipient has complete control over how they choose to spend it, which may well be everyday essentials but could also be a special treat.

Giving recipients more choice over how they spend their incentives has a greater impact – it adds more meaning, and the same is true of employee rewards.

Improving financial wellbeing

Financial anxiety is on the rise, and financially resilient employees are a benefit to your business, as we explore in our blog, ‘How to Improve Employee Financial Resilience’. 

Let’s explore the perks employers enjoy when they improve employee financial wellbeing.

Higher employee engagement

When employees are less worried about money, they’re more focused and energised at work. If the employer is the reason that their financial situation has improved, their loyalty and engagement will rise, which is one area where you’ll see a return on your investment.

Dive into our blog, ‘Re-Engaging the Disengaged Employee’, to discover the ways high levels of employee engagement can help your business thrive.

Reduced absenteeism

Money worries cause stress. Stress can worsen poor mental wellbeing and have harmful physical effects on our bodies, leading to higher levels of absenteeism. Another thing to keep in mind regarding absenteeism is that it’s not just about illness. Engagement levels also impact absenteeism.

Improving financial wellbeing reduces stress and boosts engagement, lowering expensive absenteeism levels and saving your company money.

Increased employee retention

Recruiting new talent is expensive, and when roles are left vacant for a long time, it has a negative impact on those left to cover extra tasks. When you combine the potential implications with a sizeable recruitment bill, it makes sense to invest in financial wellbeing benefits that employees want and need.

The benefits you offer your employees can be the deciding factor when they’re considering sticking around or moving on to new opportunities.

Brand exposure

You can brand your prepaid card scheme with your corporate identity and messaging, keeping it front and centre. Whether it’s ensuring your employees remember who to thank for their improved financial situation, or a channel partner or sales representative who always prioritises your products, adding branding to your scheme is a definite bonus.

 

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Prepaid card benefits for employees

It’s time to move on to the prepaid card benefits for employees. Just how can they improve their lifestyle and financial resilience?

Money management

A prepaid card is a brilliant money management tool. On payday, employees can load a specific amount to their prepaid account to cover monthly essentials, knowing that the money won’t get swallowed up by other expenses.

Stretching money further

With the cashback-earning functionality, when employees use their prepaid card to purchase goods with one of our over 80 retailer partners, they earn as they spend. It’s a great feeling, watching a pot of cashback grow from a few pounds to a value that could make a significant difference.

Emergency funds

As well as adding funds to the prepaid card to cover monthly expenses, employees can set funds aside to use when they need emergency funds. Washing machines can break, mobile phones get dropped, or a best friend might announce a shotgun wedding. Unexpected expenses can arise at the most inopportune times, and when employees use their prepaid cards to store funds, they’ll always have a backup.

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Your guide to financial wellbeing

Download our financial wellbeing guide to discover how to create financially resilient employees in your business.

Peace of mind

Unlike credit and bank-issued debit cards, employees can’t get into debt with a prepaid card. There are no debit facilities, so they can’t spend what they don’t have. Likewise, a prepaid card isn’t a credit card. They’re not borrowing and accumulating expenses that they’ll later need to repay with interest. They can only ever spend what’s already on the card.

Household support

With Pluxee UK, your employees have the option to add a partner card to their prepaid card account. They can put this in a partner's or spouse's name or even give it to a child. Children heading off to university will benefit from having a prepaid card at their disposal, helping them better manage their money and earn cashback.

When the inevitable call to the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’ comes, parents can send funds to the prepaid card.

Why choose business prepaid cards for employees?

We’ve covered a lot during this blog. What a prepaid card is, how you can embed it into your business, and the benefits they deliver for employers and employees.

Let’s have a quick recap. A prepaid card can:

  • Streamline business operations
  • Improve employee financial wellbeing
  • Increase employee retention
  • Reduce absenteeism
  • Support CSR and ESG goals
  • Enhance brand exposure
  • And so much more!

We partner with Visa Prepaid to give you and your employees the chance to use your prepaid card worldwide. Our UK cashback network comprises over 80 high-end and high street retailers, offering up to 25% cashback.

 

FAQs

What are the restrictions when applying for a prepaid card? 

Employees must sign up for the card individually, but they do not have to undergo credit checks, making it inclusive of all employees, regardless of their credit score. When you apply as a business, we will run a mandatory KYC check. 

How can employees keep track? 

Employees can top up their prepaid card, check their balance and monitor cashback earnings from a handy app that’s compatible with Android and iOS.

What is the difference between a prepaid card and a debit card? 

Debit cards are linked to a bank account, providing access to all available funds and potentially an overdraft facility. You have to specifically transfer funds to a prepaid card and can only spend what’s available. You can’t withdraw cash from a prepaid card account.

Can I use my prepaid card everywhere? 

There are very few places that won’t accept a Visa prepaid card, such as airlines. Visa Prepaid is part of a global payment network, allowing you to use our prepaid card worldwide.

Are prepaid cards contactless? 

Our physical prepaid cards are contactless, especially when added to an eWallet.

Will my prepaid card work with Google Pay? 

Our prepaid cards are compatible with Google and Apple Pay.