5 Drivers of Growth for Prepaid Cards
Call it the Year of the Prepaid Card.
It is estimated that prepaid purchase volume will top $150 billion this year and is expected to grow $45 billion over the next five years, according to Javelin Research & Strategy. Between 2009 and 2012 consumer use of prepaid cards grew 71%.
So what is driving all this growth? Why is it the Year of the Prepaid Card? Bank Innovation identified five key adoption drivers, and the cards that exemplify those features.
1. Low fees
Bluebird from Walmart and American Express
Bluebird has energized the prepaid space and has been busily adding features, including checking — which requires users first obtaining an 8-digit verification code — and FDIC insurance of funds. But the real differentiator for Bluebird is its clean and minimal fee structure. There are no monthly fees, no annual fees, and no inactivity fees. The card can be reloaded for free at Walmart and includes a $2 ATM fee, which is waived with direct deposit. In other words, low fees rule.
2. Transparent fee structure
Chase Liquid
Banks have stepped into the prepaid space and their products are often stellar, but suffer from a lack of marketing mojo, according to Javelin’s report. JPMorgan Chase’s Liquid card was singled out by the Javelin report as offering a strong model of fee transparency. The card’s page spells out the fees to inform customers up front, before they acquire the card. The card offers lower fees than Chase’s Total Checking product. Chase is the largest card issuer in the United States, and Liquid cardholders benefit from that economy of scale. There are no fees for replacement cards or activating the account.
3. Widespread fee-free ATM network
Green Dot
Green Dot, the granddaddy of the prepaid space, offers 40,000 fee-free ATM locations, and cards themselves are available at 60,000 retail locations. For nonbank prepaid cards, ATMs and retail locations are crucial for account inquiries and reloading cards. The monthly fee for Green Dot cards is waived with direct deposit of $1000 or more a month, as well as 30 transactions per month.
4. Integrated account access
Fifth Third Access 360°
Fifth Third Bank, the Cincinnati-based bank, entered the prepaid space in 2012 with its Access 360° card and quickly picked up an award from Paybefore.com that saluted the bank for its exemplary customer service. The integration of prepaid account holders into existing service systems provides customers with an “enhanced customer service experience,” according to Paybefore. The card’s monthly service fee of $7 is reduced to $4 with monthly deposits totaling $500. Fifth Third has 2,400 ATMs.
5. Links with savings
PayPal
PayPal’s prepaid MasterCard goes a bit above and beyond by offering a linked savings account with 5% APY. The card also offers rewards on purchases, which is a much more common feature of credit cards, rather than prepaid cards. Reloading is available through the NetSpend network. Funds are FDIC-insured through The Bancorp. Linking the card to a PayPal account — and there are 125 million PayPal accounts — may sweeten the deal for digital natives.
