Pew’s Prepaid Cards Research Project builds awareness about the general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards marketplace including how and why consumers use them. While millions of Americans use these products every year, little is known about their impact. Pew aims to provide greater insight into the prepaid marketplace as a whole and examine the consumer protections that govern their use.
Why Prepaid Cards Matter
Prepaid cards may well reshape the landscape of how consumers manage their money, particularly when used as an alternative to traditional checking accounts. However, compared to ordinary debit and credit cards, prepaid cards contain few consumer protections. While analysts estimate that consumers loaded $28.6 billion on these cards in 2009, the industry is expected to top $200 billion by 2013, an increase of over 600 percent.
How We Conduct Our Work
The project works to assess the GPR prepaid card marketplace and examine business practices and consumer protections with objective research, including consumer surveys. It educates consumers and policy makers about these products and the options for their governance.
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The LATEST from the Project
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- Opinion
- Prepaid Cards Research Project
USA Today: Be Wary of Prepaid Card Protection
Policymakers can -- and should -- require prepaid card issuers to acquire FDIC insurance.
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- Infographic
- Prepaid Cards Research Project
Infographic: Risky Refunds
What are the risks when consumers receive their tax refund on a prepaid card? The use of general purpose reloadable prepaid cards has grown 600 percent since 2010, and Americans are expected to load over $200 billion on them this year, according to the Mercator Advisory Group. more
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- Media Coverage
- Prepaid Cards Research Project
Washington Post: American Express Prepaid Debit Cards Get FDIC Insurance
American Express announced Tuesday that its prepaid debit cards will now be backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the latest indication that a market once shunned by established financial institutions is gaining ground. The use of reloadable prepaid cards
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March 5, 2013
Imperfect Protection
General purpose reloadable prepaid cards have rapidly gained popularity. They allow consumers to direct deposit their paychecks and pay their bills online, just like a checking account. But unlike checking accounts that carry up to $250,000 in mandatory deposit insurance per customer, prepaid cards are not required to carry any at all.
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December 3, 2012
Paying for the Holidays
As the holiday shopping season takes off, consumers are turning to a variety of financial management tools. View our slideshow and learn more about Pew’s research on hidden bank fees, the growing use of prepaid debit cards, and the actual duration of payday loans that are marketed as two-week products.
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