These days, more and more people are finding that a prepaid credit card suits their needs and solves some problems. Prepaid credit cards are technically debit cards, but there is no difference between how the two are used, and the prepaid cards are accepted all over the world by any merchant that accepts Visa or MasterCard (and, increasingly now, Providian and Discover, too.)

Several years ago, there was a kind of stigma to using a prepaid credit card; the inference was that the card holder must be unemployed or have bad credit or have some other reason why she or he could not get a "real" credit card. That is no longer the case. Many consumers are choosing to use prepaid credit cards, because those cards simply suit the consumer's needs.

Safety has always been a concern with using credit cards because losing them or having them stolen means potential hassels and high expenditures to have to prove aren't yours. With the prepaid card the amount on the card is limited and fraud protection is standard.

Teens and college students have long been a core group of prepaid credit card users, and that has not changed. They are the perfect solution for a situation where the parents want and need to control spending, but do not desire to be involved in each and every transaction. As more people are now taking oversight of elderly parents and loved ones' finances, prepaid credit cards are filling a need in that area as well. The older person still has the financial freedom to spend without direct supervision, but is protected from making any huge error that could have potentially disastrous results.

Bank issued prepaid cards are far more common than they used to be, with entries such as Homeland, Vaya, and Worldpoints. These cards act less like the traditional generic prepaid card and more like traditional bank credit cards, with such customer perks as rewards programs and varying levels of cards. The "no frills" generic cards such as the CVS prepaid credit card and the GreenDot card still exist, and are a good option for the consumer who wants to acquire a basic card with a minimum of hassle.

The number of prepaid cards on the market speaks volumes about their increased popularity. There are a lot of cards on the market that are aimed very specifically at narrow markets. The Baby Phat card is a pink card marketed directly to young hip hop females, while the Muchmusic card is aimed at consumers as young as thirteen who frequent that music website.

Prepaid credit cards eliminate much of the worry that may accompany traditional credit cards - there are no interest fees to worry about and spending is automatically limited to the amount of funds loaded on the card at any point in time. Consumers also appreciate the anonymous factor of the prepaid cards for Internet and phone shopping.

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