Bankmed Fresh Funds Prepaid Travel Card review

The card carries a monthly fee of $15 on the prepaid account. Across comparable cards on the site the median monthly fee is €0, so this one sits above the typical figure. The fee applies to the account rather than to each purchase made with it.

Loading is charged on a split basis: the first load is free of charge, and reloads are subject to a fee. Because of that, the card suits someone who funds it once before a trip. Regular top-ups add a charge to each load after the first.

It is a prepaid card, not a debit card linked to a current account. The balance sits on the card itself, so spending is limited to what has been loaded. Card type is prepaid, and prepaid accounts form a smaller share of comparable cards than debit ones on the site.

A prepaid balance limits the exposure, because the card only holds what you have loaded onto it. That is the main appeal for travellers. The card is issued by Bankmed SAL, a bank founded in 1944 and headquartered in Lebanon.

The card covers 2 currencies, which suits a trip to a single destination. A traveller moving through several countries would find that narrow. For a card built around holding balances in many currencies, Wise charges a monthly fee of £0.

The issuing bank is Bankmed SAL, licensed by Banque du Liban in Lebanon. A bank licence matters here because the card sits inside a regulated institution rather than with an unregulated card issuer. The licence appears as 22.

Support runs on phone only, so a phone call is the route to help. There is no chat or email channel listed for the account. Among cards on the site, help centres are the most common support route, so expect a call rather than self-serve documentation.

It fits a traveller funding a trip in a single market, who loads the card and spends down the balance. It does not suit a multi-country trip, where 2 currencies runs short. It also does not suit someone who wants a free plan, as the monthly fee is $15.