prepaid debit cards

Walmart Adds Sweepstakes To Savings Program For Unbanked Customers

Walmart Adds Sweepstakes To Savings Program For Unbanked Customers

In other countries, prize-linked savings accounts are a popular vehicle used to encourage low-income people to build nest eggs. The premise is simple: saving money enters customers into a lottery, with relatively modest prizes. Since the accounts became legal in the U.S. in 2014, some banks have launched their own versions, and now Walmart and its prepaid debit cards are joining the party. [More]

Feds Accuse NetSpend Of Misleading Customers About Prepaid Debit Cards

Feds Accuse NetSpend Of Misleading Customers About Prepaid Debit Cards

NetSpend, one of the nation’s largest providers of prepaid debit cards, has been accused of violating federal law for allegedly misleading users into believing that funds loaded onto these cards will be available immediately, while some users say they had to wait weeks or were never able to access their funds. [More]

Lawmakers Want Answers On Walmart Prepaid Card Glitch That Left Thousands Without Funds

Lawmakers Want Answers On Walmart Prepaid Card Glitch That Left Thousands Without Funds

When a prepared credit card system goes down, millions of unbanked American lose their ability to access funds needed to pay bills, buy groceries, and make other purchases. This scenario was illustrated last month when customers using Walmart-branded Green Dot prepaid debit cards said they had been stranded without their funds for several days, and in some cases weeks. Now, a pair of lawmakers wants to understand the debacle better and work to prevent something similar from happening again.  [More]

frankieleon

Don’t Throw Away Prepaid Debit Cards After You Use Them To Make A Purchase

If you exhaust all the money on a prepaid debit card and have no intention of refilling it, your tendency is probably to simply discard the piece of plastic and move on with your life. But you may want to hold on to that card for a while, lest you have to jump through hoops if you return the purchase. [More]

emilybean

Starbucks Launching Prepaid Card That Lets Rewards Members Earn Loyalty Points

In a bid to lure more people to sign up for its loyalty program, Starbucks is launching a prepaid debit card soon that will let users rack up rewards “stars.” [More]

frankieleon

Choosing The Wrong Prepaid Debit Card Can Cost You Up To $500/Year In Fees

While prepaid debit cards have long been criticized for having too many fees (and for being less than transparent about those fees), the impact of those fees will largely depend on how you use a particular prepaid card. Choosing one that’s ill-suited to your needs could cost you hundreds of dollars a year in fees that you didn’t need to spend. [More]

Forcing McDonald’s Workers To Accept Wages On Debit Cards Not Okay In PA, Says Judge

Forcing McDonald’s Workers To Accept Wages On Debit Cards Not Okay In PA, Says Judge

Two years ago, a Pennsylvania woman sued her former employers at McDonald’s because they forced her and other workers to accept their wages on fee-laden prepaid debit cards. Though the fast food franchisee, who runs 16 McDonald’s, later changed this policy, the lawsuit continued to move forward, and last week a judge ruled against the franchisee’s claims that the debit card requirement was completely legal. [More]

Green Dot, the company that services Walmart MoneyCard accounts, says an investigation gives it reason to believe this may be a hoax.

Story Of The Returned $10,000 Walmart Debit Card May Be Hoax

Earlier today, we told you about the odd story of a man in Alabama who claimed to have found a Walmart prepaid debit card containing more than $10,000 on it, and who says he did the right thing by trying to return it to the store. However, the more we learn about this story the more questions come up. [More]

Green Dot, the company that services Walmart MoneyCard accounts, says an investigation gives it reason to believe this may be a hoax.

Man Returns $10,000 Walmart Debit Card To Store, Now It’s Gone Missing

UPDATE: Green Dot — the company that services the Walmart MoneyCard — tells Consumerist that its investigation of this story gives it reason to believe it may all be a hoax. More details on the questions and inconsistencies with the man’s story can be found HERE. [More]

Adam Fagen

New Prepaid Debit Card Rules Would Add Protections, Curb Overdraft Abuse

A growing number of America’s unbanked and under-banked consumers have been turning to prepaid debit cards as an alternative to checking accounts. Between 2003 and 2012, the total amount of money deposited annually onto these cards increased from $1 billion to $65 billion, and that amount is expected to near $100 million for 2014. But those cards often come with hefty fees and lack protections of other financial products. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking to make prepaid cards safer and lest costly with a new slate of proposed rules. [More]

Suze Orman And Magic Johnson Prepaid Cards Come To An End

Suze Orman And Magic Johnson Prepaid Cards Come To An End

Lending their names to a reloadable prepaid debit card might be a hot way for celebrities to make money and take up permanent residence in their fans’ wallets, but they’re also widely criticized for their high fees and taking advantage of unsophisticated consumers. Now the cards promoted by two big names who really should have known better, Magic Johnson and Suze Orman, are shutting down. [More]

People Still Falling For Fake IRS Phone Demand Scam

People Still Falling For Fake IRS Phone Demand Scam

Remember the scam that we kept hearing about during tax season, where victims received a phone call from a person pretending to represent the Internal Revenue Service who demanded immediate payment on a prepaid debit card? People just keep on falling for it. Yes, even now that most people have turned in their tax returns. [More]

More Consumers Open To Banking Without Traditional Banks

More Consumers Open To Banking Without Traditional Banks

Is the future of banking not at banks? That might not seem too unrealistic, what with the rise in prepaid debit cards and the high number of consumers who are unable to obtain traditional banking products. [More]

No Surprise Here: Prepaid Card Fees Vary Considerably

No Surprise Here: Prepaid Card Fees Vary Considerably

There is a prepaid debit card on the market to fit just about everyone’s needs. Consumers can choose from cards with celebrity faces on them to cards from their preferred wireless provider. While prepaid cards can be convenient, and often the only option for the unbanked, they can also be littered with fees that suck up all your hard-earned cash. [More]

Can Postal Service Stay Alive By Cashing Checks & Selling Prepaid Debit Cards?

Can Postal Service Stay Alive By Cashing Checks & Selling Prepaid Debit Cards?

The once-great US Postal Service continues to sink into obscurity and financial oblivion, a destiny that will probably not be saved by all the postage stamp price increases in the world. But could the USPS keep its head above water by offering the financial services that are generally reserved for run-down strip malls? [More]

Banks Are Cashing In With Brand-Name Prepaid Debit Cards

Banks Are Cashing In With Brand-Name Prepaid Debit Cards

Who needs an actual debit card when there are hordes of prepaid debit cards on the market? That’s a question you might have to ask yourself with more retailers (and at least one wireless provider) launching their own cards. But while the branding on the front of the card might be for a store, it’s the bank behind that card that is cashing in. [More]

Cyber-Criminals Steal $45 Million, Ship It Off In Suitcases Full Of Cash

Cyber-Criminals Steal $45 Million, Ship It Off In Suitcases Full Of Cash

Since the dawn of the connected computer age, criminals in movies have easily transferred massive amounts of stolen money via computer — often while an onscreen “transaction processing” bar slowly indicates the progress of the crime. But when real-life cyber-criminals want to pay off their ringleader, they apparently do so the old-fashioned way, with a suitcase full of cash sent on a bus. [More]