MasterCard Readies TV Push for Prepaid

According to Maria Aspan of Bank Technology News,

MasterCard Inc. is preparing to address what many prepaid card executives call the niche's No. 1 problem: consumer awareness.

The Purchase, N.Y., payments network is planning to unveil a consumer advertising campaign this spring, including television commercials, to promote reloadable prepaid cards to a larger audience.

Will this heavy direct to consumer advertising work for MasterCard or has the public already been inundated with offers for payment cards? What will be interesting is to see how the public reacts to payment cards that don't have APR, late fees and potentially negative connotations for the consumer's credit report. We'd like to hear your thoughts on MasterCard's plan.

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FTC crackdown on prepaid calling cards: $2.25 million fine

According to Credit.com, several major prepaid calling card companies have agreed to pay $2.25 million as part of a settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges. The companies were accused of misleading consumers about the number of minutes they were purchasing with their calling cards. The settlement resolves charges brought by the FTC last May against Alternatel, Inc.; Voice Prepaid, Inc.; G.F.G. Enterprises, LLC, also known as Mystic Prepaid; Voice Distributors, Inc.; Telecom Express, Inc.; and their principals, Nickolas Gulakos, Moses Greenfield, Lucas Friedlander, and Frank Wendorff. According to this article and the news about prepaid calling cards, what are some brands that you use or suggest others use? How can consumers protect themselves from fraud?

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New Deal in Branded Prepaid Cards

Prepaid Card Holding, will now be offering a branded prepaid card with these benefits: no money loading fees, no monthly fee, no card insurance fee, and no card activation fee. It will be released through one of the company's subsidiaries as noted in this news article. Bruce Berman from Prepaid Card Holding had this to say regarding the new deal:

"Prepaid cards are in their infancy right now and a few years from now as this industry matures we will be known as the company that has always given the consumer a fair shake. I can look any of our cardholders in the eye and know we delivered them a much needed product at a fair price."

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