Best prepaid cards in Canada (2026)

How we picked

Our data lists these as chequing accounts, so the live figures above show monthly fee, transactions and interest for the account. The card details in each write-up come from the issuer’s own pages: whether the issuer calls the card prepaid, the cash back rate, the foreign exchange fee and how you load it.

We ranked on fees first, then cash back and interest, then foreign exchange cost and features. We only included accounts whose card the issuer itself describes as prepaid. One account we checked, the PC Money Account, left the list because PC Financial’s own pages do not call its card prepaid.

Rates, cash back and fees change. Figures here are as of our last check, so confirm them with the issuer before you open an account.

Prepaid vs secured vs debit

A prepaid card draws on money you loaded in advance, so you cannot spend more than the balance. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has said that prepaid cards look like credit cards but are not credit cards, because the money you spend is your own.

A debit card draws directly on your bank account. A secured credit card is a real credit card backed by a deposit you hold as collateral. Because it is credit, the issuer reports your payments to the credit bureaus, which is how it builds a credit history.

Prepaid cards generally do not build credit, because there is no borrowing to report. The exception is when the issuer says it reports. KOHO, for example, offers a separate credit building tool and cites an average score increase for members who use it, but it states this is not guaranteed. Check the issuer’s wording before you rely on any prepaid card to build credit.

If building credit is your goal, read our guide to the secured credit card and our credit building page instead. A prepaid card is better as a spending tool, a way to cap what you spend, or a way to hold money you want to keep separate.

Gift-style prepaid cards

Gift-style prepaid cards, such as Vanilla cards sold at stores, work differently from the reloadable accounts above. They are usually bought for a set amount, are often not reloadable and often cannot be used at ATMs. They tend to carry a purchase or activation fee.

Government of Canada consumer guidance has warned that prepaid cards can carry several fees and can be an expensive way to spend your own money. Read the fee table and the expiry terms before you buy one, and spend the balance soon. We don’t rank gift-style cards, because they are single-use products rather than ongoing accounts.

How to choose

If you want the card to earn something while it sits loaded, look at interest first. Only the EQ Bank card passes interest through to your card balance, and its higher rate needs $2,000 a month in direct deposits.

If you spend abroad, the foreign exchange fee matters more than 1% or 2% cash back. Wealthsimple says its prepaid card charges no foreign exchange fee; check the others’ fee schedules before you travel. The card network’s own exchange rate still applies.

If you chase cash back, do the arithmetic on KOHO’s plans. A paid plan only pays off if the extra cash back is larger than the monthly fee on your spending.

Frequently Asked Questions