According to The Banking Business Review, Western Union has introduced a new line of prepaid cards that have lower fees for its users. The card can be used anywhere, reloaded at any Western Union store and no monthly maintenance fees, purchase transaction fees or customer service fees. Read more here.
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We recently posted on our blog a POV from the Baltimore Sun that explains that prepaid cards might not be the best option for college students because of hidden fees. Today's post on the Baltimore Sun offers a different perspective on that opinion, mentioning that it unfairly portrayed the functions of a reloadable prepaid card.
In the post, the author specifies that credit cards can potentially carry the risk of debilitating debt for college students, if not used properly, and so prepaid cards are a much better option. ATM Fees and overdraft fees from debit cards are far more costly and expensive than prepaid card fees. Not to mention most of the fees on prepaid cards are dependent on the card holder's usage. What's your take on it?
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This article in The Paypers discusses how the prepaid general-purpose reloadable cards are expected to reach about 160 billion USD in Latin America by 2015. These mobile reloadable cards are usually connected to mobile and utility services that allows consumers to pay for electricity bills via SMS texting, the internet, and by other means. What are some companies that are beginning to take advantage of this trend?
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This article in Convenience Store News highlights how nFinanSe has lowered the price of its reloadable prepaid to $3 from $5.95, to match a change Walmart had previously announced of lowering its reloadable prepaid card to $3 from $8.94.
The goal, according to Jerry R. Welch, chairman and CEO of nFinanSe,is to encourage mass usage. It is estimated that the reloadable prepaid marketplace will double to $14 million by 2014.
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Washington Independent recently published an article that although mentioning that reloadable prepaid cards among the "unbanked" have grown tremendously the past two years according to market research from the Mercator Advisory Group, there are several downsides to using prepaid cards.
The article states that even though prepaid cards don't charge overdraft fees, they still remain expensive to use. Many card issuers can charge up to $10 a month on maintenance fees, not to mention fees for reloading the card and customer service fees. Prepaid cards at times can also incur cancellation fees, depending on the issuer.
So, are prepaid cards expensive in your opinion? What are your thoughts?
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MiCash has a new reloadable debit card that allows card holders to use the card in electronic purchases, pay bills, ATM cash withdraws, and transfer money internationally. It also allows them to transfer money card to card or card to cash worldwide for a flat fee.
Daniel Levinas, the President and CEO of MiCash, Inc. had this to say about the card:
"We utilize world class technology to provide fair-priced, value-added financial services, like our international money transfer service. This unique money remittance service provides immigrants with an affordable, safe and convenient way to send money to family in another country."
Read more here.
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ShopNPay announced that it's releasing five enhanced versions of their debit cards. Each card caters specifically to certain customers needs.
One of them is a general purpose reloadable card, the second is a loan card, the third a gift card and the fourth a remittance card geared at consumers interested in receiving money from abroad. The fifth new Sterling Bank card is a classic debit card which – like the four prepaid cards in the suite – can be used for purchases at over 70.000 Visa-accepting locations in the Philippines and over 29 million worldwide.
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In a recent study released about the usage of prepaid cards in the UK, they show that 60% of all customers had bought a prepaid card for another person within the last 12 months as well as 30% of consumers had bought a prepaid within the last six months. Of those who received prepaid cards, 50% were willing to reload their card. Read more about the study here.
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Visa announced that it will expand it's Visa Ready Link prepaid card benefits. Throughout the fall of 2008, participating ATMs with envelope deposits will become have the capabilities to recharge prepaid debit cards. This will provide a secure way to transfer the money from checks deposited to the prepaid cards.
Brian Triplett, Global Head of Prepaid Products at Visa Inc had this to say about the new service:
"By bringing Visa ReadyLink first to retailers and now offering advancements to make reload capabilities available at ATMs, we can provide a much safer and easier alternative for cardholders. We intend to continue to use the value of Visa's network to grow the prepaid category in ways that help our partners capture a greater share of cash and check spend."
Source: MarketWatch
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At Payments News, they report that Citi and GreenDot have formed a strategic alliance to issue general purpose gift cards and reloadable debit cards. With this alliance, GreenDot will have the opportunity to offer cobranded versions of these products to their customers. This will also allow them to further expand their national distribution of products. These new reloadable cards can be used wherever Visa or MasterCard is accepted and can be reloaded at any Green Dot Money Pack.
The CEO and founder of GreenDot, Steve Streit, had this to say about the new partnership:
“We are very proud to be working with Citi. They are a terrific organization with great retail partnerships. Citi and Green Dot share a common mission to provide core financial products and services to consumers through convenient retail locations. By combining the power of both companies, these important financial products and services will be more broadly accessible nationwide.”
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