NCUA Says Payroll Cards OK

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA has formally ratified a previous informal opinion that federal credit unions can issue prepaid payroll cards on behalf of their members who wish to use them to pay employees. The NCUA said that issuing such cards is an allowed incidental power of the credit union. "FCUs may provide electronic financial services, which are defined as services, products, functions, or activities that an FCU is otherwise authorized to perform, provide, or deliver to its members but performed through electronic means," the NCUA wrote in an opinion letter issued September 9 to the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. "These services include ATMs and electronic fund transfers.. An FCU, therefore, may offer electronic stored value products, like a payroll card, to its member as a means for making disbursements to third-parties from the member's share draft account." Agency executives had previously offered the informal opinion that such cards would likely be allowed, but had not issued any formal decision on the topic.