Card Hub, a gift card comparison web site, has released its 2014 prepaid cards report and found that on average fees are up. Where Card Hub gets it right is in acknowledging that the fees paid by cardholders depend upon how they use the card to a very large extent.
Prepaid cards can be a great tool for a lot of people as they are safer than cash and offer no overdraft fees, no bounced checks and guaranteed approval. However, the cost of prepaid cards varies greatly, depending on a customer’s usage and unfortunately, according to a 2014 Pew study, only 32% of consumers compared the terms and fees before choosing a card, while most simply selected a card while in a store. In light of prepaid cards ever-growing role in the personal finance landscape, at CardHub.com we conducted our annual report evaluating the monthly cost of 26 popular prepaid cards based on their fees and features.
Card Hub evaluated the 26 cards in the light of four use cases and then sent its evaluations to the “issuers” of the cards, by which is seems to mean the program managers, rather than the financial institutions. The report provides an interesting snapshot of the current GPR market and provides a good collection of information all in one place.
Overview by Ben Jackson, Director, Prepaid Advisory Services
To read the full story, go Card Hub.