A Green Dot MoneyPak is used to send money, reload prepaid cards, add money to a PayPal account or to make payments to companies. MoneyPaks must be purchased ($4.95 as of April 2011) and loaded with cash (up to £715) in a store.

MoneyPaks can't be reloaded but can be used to reload a permanent prepaid card, which will be issued and mailed to you. They are used like bank-issued debit cards and have a Visa or MasterCard logo.

Purchase a prepaid card and load it with cash. Cards can be bought at CVS, Kmart, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven, Walgreens and thousands of other retail locations throughout the United States.

Register and activate your card at Green Dot's website, or call 866-785-6963. You will need your Social Security number and personal information. A personalised card, which can be reloaded, will be mailed to you. The initial card can't be reloaded.

Load additional funds on your permanent prepaid card by buying and loading a MoneyPak. Scratch off a section on the back to get the MoneyPak card number. Call 800-473-3636. You will be prompted to enter your prepaid card to add funds to and the MoneyPak number to add funds from.

Tip

Green Dot charges a £3.80 monthly fee (in April 2011) for the prepaid card. The fee is waived in any month where at least £650 is loaded to the card or at least 30 purchases are made with it. The prepaid card can be used for ATM withdrawals. There is a £1.60 fee for transactions at non-network ATMs. There is no fee for transactions completed at Green Dot network ATMs. Find network ATMs at the Green Dot website.