Times are hard and more people than ever are finding it all but impossible to find a company that is willing to give them a credit facility. This has lead to many people using high interest short term loans in situations where they might have used credit cards in the past. Even those of us how simply want to use plastic as a form of convenience when we do the shopping or buy goods online have been hit by this change in lenders willingness to forward credit. Even zero percent credit card offers, which were so easy to find just a couple of years ago seem to have dried up.

For those who miss the convenience of the credit card there is thankfully a product that many of us haven't heard of called a prepaid credit card. Now this is something that does exactly as it says on the time. You pay your cash up front with the supplier and they give you a card that you can use to buy whatever you like from any vendor who would normally accept payment with a regular Visa or Mastercard.

You can apply for these handy little cards online or from a variety of places on the high street and because you are not actually getting credit they are available to anyone. If you have a bad credit rating then there is no need to worry as your credit rating doesn't come into the equation and won't be checked in order for you to get the prepaid card. All you need is the cash to pay onto the card and you are good to go.

Prepaid credit cards carry most of the benefits of your regular Mastercard with some additional advantages.

1. You can only spend the money you have on the device so you are not in any danger of getting carried away and spending more than you can afford. This concept is especially important for people who have a history of getting into credit card debt and have stopping using them but miss the convenience they provided.

2. They are more widely accepted than debit cards - Some people are put of pre paid cards because they think they are just the same as their bank debit card which they are to a certain extent except that you can use them in many more places. In fact you can use them where ever you would expect to use a Visa or Mastercard.

3. Take money abroad - Use them as a prepaid travel card and you can take a certain amount of money abroad and withdraw at any time from a cash machine wherever you may be. Reduces the consequences of being robbed as with chip and pin technology the provider can simply send you another one if you lose it or it is stolen. Can also be topped up anywhere and if you run out of cash while in a foreign country you can even get someone back home to top up your card giving you instant access to fresh funds. This makes them especially for parents to give to their children when they go abroad.

4. Eliminates the need to carry large sums of cash around. Going to make a large purchase and wary of carrying cash in case of theft? Take a prepaid credit card instead and save yourself the worry.

Prepaid credit cards are great and its easy to see why they have become so popular in the last few years. They offer unparalleled convenience, easy application and are available to everyone. The are also surprisingly cheap which makes a change from the usual products which are available form the large lenders.