Prepaid Mastercard currency conversion

Ebe_Scrooge

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I've never used one of these cards before.

My son has just returned from America where he was doing some work over the summer holidays.  The company he was working for paid him by way of putting USD onto a prepaid Mastercard each week.  He's just returned home, and has about 900 USD left on the card.

How can he turn that into GBP?  Can he just buy stuff using it, and he'll be hit with an FX fee each time?  If he goes into his own bank, will they be able to just convert it and pay it straight into his ordinary account?  Or some other way?  He really just wants the cheapest way of getting all the money off the card and into his bank account.

DullGreyGuy

Most likely options are to use it for spending or withdraw cash via an ATM. Both could incur FX fees/adverse exchange rates but he'd need to look at the T&Cs of the card to workout which are lower. 

eDicky

It might have been better to withdraw cash USD from the card by ATM before returning home, then exchange the cash to GBP. Although a bureau would charge a stiff margin, the pound is cheap right now.

It's almost certain that a non-USD fee and/or exchange markup will be involved in using the card in UK, check the terms.

If the card is in his own name it should be possible to use it to add money to the USD balance of a Revolut account, which can then be converted to GBP at perfect interbank rate (weekdays) then sent to a UK bank account. If the card is somehow registered to his employer it won't be possible.

Ebe_Scrooge

Thanks for the replies.  Yes, the card is in his name, and is "disposable" as it were, he was only there on a "temporary/short-term work" visa.  Once he's got the cash off it it'll be binned.  Will have a look into the options suggested, thanks again.