Individuals with little or no relationship to a financialinstitution find many of their financial needs can be met usingreloadable prepaid cards, according to a recent survey.
It found that 96% of unbanked users said the prepaid cards wereuseful, and 94% would recommend a reloadable prepaid card tosomeone else. The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, thebranded prepaid cards' association and the Center for FinancialServices Innovation, a nonprofit affiliate of ShoreBank Corp.,conducted the survey.
Underbanked consumers use cash, money orders and a mix of checkcashing, payday loans and other nontraditional arrangements tomanage their finances on a day-to-day basis. These consumers citeda wide range of benefits as reasons for the high satisfaction rateswith reloadable prepaid cards, including protection of funds if thecard is lost or stolen, security and budget control.
The also listed value compared to alternatives such as checkcashing locations, money orders or credit cards, andstraightforward pricing.
“Reloadable prepaid cards give consumers with little or no accessto credit or traditional financial services the ability to budget,spend and save like a mainstream consumer,” said Kirsten Trusko,NBPCA president and executive director.
“The survey results are encouraging and complement the growing bodyof industry research on why reloadable prepaid cards are becoming areliable option for many underbanked consumers,” said JenniferTescher, director of CFSI.
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