Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
Be careful
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ng-prepaid-cards-heavy-restrictions/94763686/
NEW YORK — More consumers who use prepaid debit cards will be able to spend more than their balance, starting in October 2017. But if that feature sounds very much like overdraft protection on a traditional checking account, well, there are some key differences.
The new rules, finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in October, will make prepaid debit cards even more like traditional checking accounts, but also will require customers who want overdraft protection to apply for it like a credit card.
Customers have generally not wanted the ability to overdraft a prepaid debit card, and only a small minority of prepaid card issuers offer overdraft as a feature. Consumer advocates say the CFPB's rules could make overdraft more common among prepaid debit card companies, but generally customers are against it.
Once a product whose only purpose was to function as a gift card, prepaid debit cards have become popular over the last 15 years for many Americans, who use them as an alternative to a traditional bank account. Roughly $65 billion was loaded onto prepaid cards in 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. That's more than double the amount loaded in 2009, only three years before. The amount loaded is expected to double again by 2018, according to the CFPB.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ng-prepaid-cards-heavy-restrictions/94763686/
NEW YORK — More consumers who use prepaid debit cards will be able to spend more than their balance, starting in October 2017. But if that feature sounds very much like overdraft protection on a traditional checking account, well, there are some key differences.
The new rules, finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in October, will make prepaid debit cards even more like traditional checking accounts, but also will require customers who want overdraft protection to apply for it like a credit card.
Customers have generally not wanted the ability to overdraft a prepaid debit card, and only a small minority of prepaid card issuers offer overdraft as a feature. Consumer advocates say the CFPB's rules could make overdraft more common among prepaid debit card companies, but generally customers are against it.
Once a product whose only purpose was to function as a gift card, prepaid debit cards have become popular over the last 15 years for many Americans, who use them as an alternative to a traditional bank account. Roughly $65 billion was loaded onto prepaid cards in 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. That's more than double the amount loaded in 2009, only three years before. The amount loaded is expected to double again by 2018, according to the CFPB.
