In the wake of a report by the National Consumer Law Center that raised concerns over fees charged on unemployment prepaid cards, Mississippi’s Department of Employment Security says that its cards are a success. The Mississippi cards help customers receive their money more quickly and save the State money by reducing the staff and work needed to distribute benefits via paper checks, department representatives say.
With little or no complaints from customers for the Department of Human Services, the cards mean big savings and a way to get out of the check writing business….
At the Department of Employment Security, the savings are even higher at more than a million dollars of taxpayer money each year.
Mississippi says that it has been contacted by other states who want to use it as a model to design their own programs. As states look at these programs, they must always keep in mind that proper program design can go a long way to realizing benefits for the state and the benefits recipients. Prepaid is a competitive market with a large number of players, so it should be possible to find an entity that can create a program that meets a state’s prepaid specifications.
Read the complete story at: http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=14733350
Find the NCLC report at: http://www.nclc.org/issues/unemployment-compensation-prepaid-cards.html