Mogo’s Green Initiative, in collaboration with Offsetters, recently introduced their Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card, as a way to reduce carbon emissions and control your spending at the same time. Curious to know how this MogoSpend product can help you and our planet? Keep reading to find out.
How Does The Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card Work?
Although pretty much all prepaid credit cards work the same way, the Mogo Visa* Prepaid Credit Card is different because every dollar you spend will automatically go toward offsetting a pound of carbon emissions through the REDD+ Amazon Forestry Project. The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s most important carbon-absorbing reservoir and houses 30% of the earth’s biodiversity. REDD+ Amazon Forestry Project protects 130,000 hectares of land in a region of the Amazon with one of the highest rates of deforestation.
Essentially, what MogoSpend is trying to do is to gradually get Canadian consumers back to a carbon-neutral way of living, while improving their financial health and spending habits. With the average Canadian producing around 30,000 pounds of CO2 a year, our planet is now in desperate need of sustainable climate change solutions and the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card is one way to get started.
Mogo’s Visa* Platinum Prepaid Card vs. Other Prepaid Cards
At first glance, the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Card works the same as any other prepaid credit card. You put a certain amount of money on it and the user, whether it’s you or someone you know, can spend it on whatever they want. So, unlike a normal credit card, where you have a revolving credit limit, you have a spending cap that you cannot go over. Once all the money is spent, you can refill the card or try another.
Benefits of the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card
While regulating the consumer’s spending is one of its primary functions, there are plenty of other helpful features that the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card has to offer, including but not limited to:
- Carbon Footprint Reduction – As mentioned, when using the Mogo Platinum Prepaid Card, you’re not just improving your financial health, you’re helping to reduce the amount of CO2 that your spending habits would normally produce.
- Bitcoin Rewards Program – Mogo members can earn 1% (2% on foreign purchases) bitcoin cashback rewards for every purchase made on their MogoCard. All you have to do to take advantage of this reward program is refer a friend and get them to sign up using your referral code.
- Auto-Transfers – Using your Mogo account or mobile app, you can transfer money from your bank account to your Mogo Platinum Prepaid Card in a variety of payment frequencies, without having to switch financial institutions.
- Spending Goal Setting – If you want, you can also use your MogoSpend account to create a “Spending Goal”, then set your budget accordingly. This way, you can keep track of any money on the card and how long you’d like it to last.
- Security Perks – Under the terms of Visa’s Zero Liability Policy, your MogoCard is protected against unauthorized usage. Plus, if your card is ever lost or stolen, you can simply use your MogoApp to freeze your account and order a new one.
- Spending Insight – Your account’s monthly spending tracker will send you notifications whenever you make a purchase, each of which lists how much money you spent, where you spent it and how much carbon you helped offset.
What Does The Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card Cost?
Despite all the benefits that your Platinum MogoCard comes with, it’s always important to think about what it might cost you, now and in the long run. Thankfully, MogoSpend does not charge any monthly fees or interest to use their prepaid cards. The same goes for any money transfers, purchases or, setting up the card.
That said, there are a few small fees that you might have to factor into your budget after performing certain transactions, such as:
- Domestic ATM Fee = $1.50
- International ATM Fee = $3.00
- Foreing Currency Transaction Fee = 2.5%
- Account Inactivity Fee (after 1-year of non-use) = $1.99
- Adding Money At Canada Post = $3.00
Note – If you are adding money to your Mogo Platinum Prepaid Card at a Canada Post outlet, you will need cash or your debit card (fees are charged by Canada Post on-site).
MogoCard Spending Limits
Remember, the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card can help you stick to your budget because you can only spend whatever is in your account. In addition, there are limits as to how much money you can actually add to your MogoCard:
- Maximum Card Balance = $10,000
- Maximum transfer to card in a 24-hour period = $9,900
- Maximum purchase amount in a 24-hour period = $5,000
- Maximum cash withdrawal amount in a 24-hour period = $500
- Maximum amount for a single purchase = $3,000
- Maximum amount for a single cash withdrawal = $500
- Maximum amount for a single transfer (apart from Canada Post) = $5,000
- Maximum number of transfers in a 24-hour period = 10
Change The Way You Spend With Mogo
Mogo is a financial technology platform that you can use to make fast, simple purchases and apply for all sorts of credit products, such as mortgages, loans and, of course, prepaid credit cards. You can also use your Mogo account to monitor your credit score, make investments, buy cryptocurrency, and acquire free Identity Fraud Protection.
Although plenty of financial companies offer these kinds of products, MogoSpend is the first platform that offers a prepaid credit card that can help you improve your spending habits while decreasing our country’s environmental impact. After all, climate experts say that over 70% of the planet’s carbon emissions are the result of consumerism.
In the end, it’s all about the bigger picture and every pound of carbon that we can prevent from entering the atmosphere, the better. As stated earlier, the Mogo Visa* Platinum Prepaid Credit Card is one small but potentially very effective solution that every credit user can participate in, no matter how strong their financial health is.
