How Do I Cancel My Green Dot Credit Card?

By Nicky LaMarco

Overview

If you have ever taken advantage of a prepaid Green Dot Credit Card from Visa, you may want to make sure that you correctly cancel it after you have used your balance unless you plan on reloading it. This is because like other typical credit cards, if your card is stolen or found by somebody other than yourself you place yourself at risk for identity theft or other types of fraud. This can happen even after your balance is zero since they may be able to use the card to garnish your personal information such as your social security number and other private information. Therefore, it is important that you cancel your card even after you have used the balance if you do not plan on using it any longer.

How Do I Cancel My Green Dot Credit Card?

Step 1

Keep note of the day that you have used up your remaining balance. Your account will stay active for up to 60 days after it has a zero balance. After 60 days, your account will be automatically erased. Note: There is a liquidation fee for completely expunging your records before the 60-day period is over, so it may be in your best interest to simply hold onto the card for this amount of time after the card reaches zero. Also, you cannot return your card for a refund, so use your balance and then let the card expire.
Step 2

Call the Green Dot customer service line at (877) 434-3578 and ask for your account to be expunged unless you plan on holding onto it safely for 60 days.

Step 3

Slice the plastic. If you decide not to pay the liquidation fee and have your account and your information purged from the Green Dot Visa system, you need to make sure that when you dispose of it your information is not available to any other person. Visa suggests slicing the card into pieces in a trash barrel and disposing of the pieces in two separate trash bags to avoid any potential problems no matter how minuscule the chance.
Step 4

If the reason that you want to cancel your card is because you think it may be lost or stolen, you need to immediately file a claim so that you can stop any unauthorized purchases before they occur. To do this, call (877) 434-3578 and your card will be canceled and a new card will be issued to you and linked to your account.

Skill: Easy
Tip: Remember that the card and your information will only expire 60 days after you have reached a balance of zero dollars on your card. Even if you have only a few cents remaining, your account and information will stay active for 1 year after you opened the account, leaving you vulnerable to identity theft and other misuses of your information if you do not properly secure, cancel or dispose of your card.

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