Is it time to part ways your bank? There are more options than ever for people looking for a different kind of banking …
prepaid debit card
Can Companies Like Walmart and Google Provide a Better Banking Experience Than Actual Banks?
It was a busy Monday for banking news, with one big company rolling out a new prepaid card and another behemoth launching a small business loan program. There’s just one thing that makes this a little bit weird: Neither of the …
America to Banks: We’re Just Not That Into You
The number of Americans who have cut the cord with mainstream banking has risen by 821,000 households in just two years, a newly released survey finds. One in 12 households or 8.3% are unbanked, while another roughly 20% are what researchers call “underbanked.” We’re ostensibly well into economic recovery, so why are more of us telling …
Which Cost Less: Checking Accounts Or Prepaid Debit Cards?
Unless you’re a whiz at managing your money, a checking account is going to cost you more than a prepaid debit card, a new report concludes. And if you do a really poor job handling your personal finances, you could end up paying …
The Dumbest Way Ever to Get Your Identity Stolen
Facepalm, as the kids would say. Even if you’re a relative newcomer to the Internet, there are probably some things you would consider unsafe to do — such as, oh, posting a picture of your credit or debit card for all the world …
The Growing Debate Over Prepaid Debit Cards
At an event in Durham, N.C. on Wednesday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray announced that the agency is “decid[ing] how we should go about regulating prepaid cards to better protect consumers and to provide clear rules for prepaid providers.”
The rapidly growing prepaid market is attracting both banks and …
So Does Kim Kardashian Endorse Any Products That Aren’t Dubious?
Celebrity endorsements rarely make much sense. Despite what Hulk Hogan and Troy Aikman have said, for instance, it’s foolish to pay double the retail price for a TV from Rent-A-Center. Even so, the endorsement-crazed “famous for …
Should You Get a Prepaid Debit Card?
There’s no question anymore: Prepaid debit cards have shifted from the fringe to the mainstream. The tipping point was Tuesday, when JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a pilot program to launch a prepaid debit card called Liquid. …
Should Colleges Earn Money From Prepaid Student Debit Cards?
Prepaid debit cards are becoming the de facto debit cards for a growing number of people these days. This is partially because issuers are promoting the heck out of them and partially because people, especially younger people, view them as preferable to a traditional bank account. As a result, a small number of colleges are experimenting …
Big Banks Elbow In On Check Cashing, Payday Lending, and Other Fringe Financial Businesses
Conventional wisdom has been that low-income people are better served by mainstream financial institutions than by check cashing storefronts, payday lenders and other providers of fringe financial products. But now, that wisdom …
Prepaid Debit Cards: The Lesser of Two Evils?
“I’d take the $3.95 any day over the $35 overdrafting or for some other fees.”
This statement, from a focus group participant, neatly sums up America’s evolving attitude prepaid debit cards. We don’t like the fees, but we like banks even less — and trust providers of prepaid cards more than we trust mainstream banks, according to …
AmEx Gives Prepaid Card Users a Chance to ‘Graduate’ to a Regular Charge Card
Prepaid debit cards catch a lot of flak for being loaded with fees, but that’s not even our biggest beef with them: When people use prepaid debit in lieu of credit cards, they’re not building a credit history, which strands them on the fringes of the financial mainstream. When Suze Orman came out with her prepaid debit card, she said she …
