Start with card type and network
Every option in this guide is a prepaid card, which sets the first filter on how you use it: you load money, then spend it. Beyon Money, BFC Pay, CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa, JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card and Skrill are all recorded as prepaid products, so none of them behaves like a credit card where you pay a bill at the end of the month.
The network decides where the card is accepted. Beyon Money runs on Visa, as do CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa and JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card. Skrill runs on Mastercard and its listed features are crypto, virtual card and multi currency, so a virtual card is an option if you would rather not carry plastic. Start your comparison in the Prepaid cards rankings and shortlist on type and network first, because a card that is not accepted where you need it makes the fee comparison academic.
Weigh the fees, line by line
Monthly charges are the easiest line to compare. Skrill charges €5. CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa lists a monthly charge of BHD 0, and JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card lists JMD 0. Across the prepaid cards in the comparison, monthly fees sit at €0 to €31.38, so the spread is wide enough that a card charging a recurring sum can cost more in a year than a card with a higher one-off conversion cost.
Foreign exchange is where the choice usually bites. Beyon Money lists an FX fee of 0%, while Skrill lists 3.99%. The full range in the comparison is 0% to 7%. If you hold or spend in more than one currency, this single line often matters more than the monthly charge, so read it before you read anything else.
Cash withdrawals have their own allowance. JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card lists a free ATM allowance of JMD 0, and ATM allowances across the comparison run €0 to €438.48. Ask what is charged per withdrawal beyond the free amount, and what applies at an ATM abroad, because the number that matters to you is rarely the headline allowance.
Check who is holding the money
The party that holds your balance determines how much recourse you have if something goes wrong. Skrill is described as custodial, so the money sits with the operator rather than with you as a depositor. A custodial arrangement is not automatically a problem, but it is a different risk profile, and you should weigh it as one criterion among several.
The issuer's exact legal name matters just as much. Skrill is issued by Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited., CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa by CrediMax B.S.C., and JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card by Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited. Find that name in the terms and conditions and keep it, because the entity on your terms is the one you deal with if a dispute needs escalating. Track records also differ: CrediMax was founded in 1999 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited in 1992.
Verify the licence, not the marketing
A licence is the hardest fact to check and the most useful one. Skrill carries two recorded identifiers, MiCA CASP 213800QBQVHWRBHJTA89 and PSD_EMI IE_CBI!C184986. Take the identifier, look it up in the public register and confirm that the name attached to it matches the issuer you signed up with, since clone brands borrow familiar names.
For the other options in this guide, make the same check before you load money rather than after. Read the permissions section of the issuer's terms, confirm which regulator supervises the funds, and check what the terms say happens to your balance if the issuer fails. Fees are easy to compare because they sit in a table; permissions are easy to skip because they sit in small print, which is why they deserve their own pass.
Count the currencies you actually use
Currency count is the quickest proxy for travel usefulness. CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa covers 33 currencies and BFC Pay covers 30. Beyon Money, CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa and JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card each list multi-currency and travel among their features, and Skrill lists multi-currency too.
Count the currencies you genuinely spend in rather than the total on offer, then return to the conversion cost. Holding many currencies is worth little if every conversion is expensive, and a smaller list with a low FX fee can serve a long trip better. The CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa review and the BFC Pay review are worth reading for how the currency list works in day-to-day use.
Treat perks and audience as tiebreakers
Rewards decide nothing on their own, but they are easy to compare. JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card pays cashback at 10%, and the Beyon Money reward type is cashback. Work out how much you would actually spend for the reward to beat the FX fee you would otherwise pay, because a cashback rate cannot rescue an expensive conversion.
Who the card is built for is the last filter. CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa is aimed at business and student, so it suits someone who wants a prepaid card for work costs or study costs rather than for general day-to-day spending. If none of the features line up with how you live, the rankings are a better place to keep looking than these five.
Check support, then read the reviews
Support tells you how quickly you can get unstuck when a payment is declined abroad. CrediMax Cardy EX prepaid Visa offers phone, email and chat, while Beyon Money offers help centre. Confirm that a live channel exists, and that it operates in your time zone, before you need it rather than after.
Read the individual reviews with the criteria above in hand: fees, then the party holding the money, then the licence, then currencies. Our Skrill review, Beyon Money review and JMMB Moneyline and JMMB Money Transfer prepaid card review cover the trade-offs behind the numbers. The verdict is simple. Pick the card whose monthly charge, conversion cost and withdrawal terms match the way you spend, and confirm the licence before you load funds.