Tesco Clubcard Pay+ altertnative

caveman38

It's no surprise that after the Barclays takeover, TescoBank have announced that they are withdrawing this card from April 2026.
I have found this card invaluable in places that won't accept cash but can be risky carrying your usual debit card ie. swimming pool, where you leave valuables in a locker.
I would like open a similar type of card and would welcome recommendations from anyone that currently uses one.

la531983

Apologies if Im missing the point, but cant almost every card from every mainstream bank in the country be added to Google Pay or Apple Pay? Wont that do?

SysExJohn

The whole point of the pay+ clubcard was that you can top it up with a limited amount of money (what you might spend in a day or week, etc.) and then, if it's stolen it limits what the thief has access to. With the regular bank card they can steal the lot. I'm looking for a replacement too!

la531983

Ok, wont a pre paid Mastercard or Visa work then? Can these be added to Google or Apple Pay?

Or, simply have one proper card on Google/Apple Pay that has no overdraft limit, cant go into negative, and you top up from a seperate bank account. Easy enough.

caveman38

I don't use my phone for bank apps, although I see it as an option. Pay+ is a doddle. You charge it with say £25, put it in you sports bag and use it in tea rooms etc. If stolen you have no liabilities and can only lose what left on the balance. Perhaps similar to something you'd give your teenage son but I'm in my seventies and it fills my need. 

la531983

caveman38 said:

I don't use my phone for bank app

Unfortunately that is a "you" problem as far as the way the wind is blowing, sorry to be blunt lol.

Saying that though, a quick Google does confirm you can add prepaid Mastercards to Google Pay, maybe the same is true of Apple Pay and Visa cards too, so worth exploring, as you could buy minimal value ones.

osmarks

Surely you could just use a debit card from a different bank? You don't have liability for stolen cards anyway, so the main advantage would be having money while the bank investigates any theft, which a separate bank account would also work for.

flaneurs_lobster

Much like @caveman38 I use this as a free prepaid debit card for use where you don't want a "proper" debit card attached to a "proper" bank account exposed - mine sits with a tenner on it attached to a couple of Google accounts and my Amazon account.

Probably replace it with something like Zopa or Kroo debit card, accounts that don't allow overdrafts.

mouthwatering

Get yourself a Wise account and a Wise debit card. Add as much or as little GBP to the account and use the card as normal (not sure about Google Pay as I don't use that but is that even a requirement for you?).

You also get virtual debit cards (good for online shopping) and good international exchange rates but that's not the point ATM.

Cloudane

Just got the email myself, what a bummer, I was just getting used to that card after getting it about this time last year!

I like using it for "treat" money as it helps me with budgeting - I put a fixed amount onto it every Monday for spending in the pub, snacks, small treats for myself etc which makes it easier to fix my bigger monthly budget. 

Round-up is great, it feels like I'm spending £12 on a round when it's actually £11.25 or whatever, and it's usually added up to pay for a meal out by the time I'm ready to go for one.  The rest of what I have left goes into their main savings account as a "bigger treats" pot for things like weekends away, clothes, electronics.

It's all just money that I'm either spending or not at the end of the day but the ease of compartmentalising it helps in my mind.  I limit everyday treats more (which is good for my weight) as more goes into the "temporary savings" pot (which doesn't have or need any interest of note as it's short term).

Anything that's a top-up system, has round-up and works with Apple Pay (and preferably also Google Pay as I switch occasionally) is fine.  I can always shift the "temporary savings" pot elsewhere.

WillPS

caveman38 said:

It's no surprise that after the Barclays takeover, TescoBank have announced that they are withdrawing this card from April 2026.
I have found this card invaluable in places that won't accept cash but can be risky carrying your usual debit card ie. swimming pool, where you leave valuables in a locker.
I would like open a similar type of card and would welcome recommendations from anyone that currently uses one.

One man's opinion - if I take care to secure my debit card, and it gets nabbed - I expect the issuer to swallow that. The grounds for this are quite well set out, but less so with prepaid cards!

That aside, Starling offer a connected prepaid card:
https://www.starlingbank.com/features/connected-shopping-card/