Prepaid Debit Cards

Banks are becoming more creative to increase fee revenue. The billions of dollars that were lost in the new regulations brought about by the financial crisis are hard to return in an industry that has limited products. JP Morgan Chase became the newest bank to start selling prepaid debit cards following in the footsteps of US Bancorp, BB&T, and Regions Financial. This comes as banks face strong criticism following plans to initiate monthly fees for debit cards.

Prepaid debit cards are targeting the consumers who don’t have the financial means to pay monthly checking account fees. The new Chase card has a $4.95 monthly fee which is effectively a 50%+ discount from monthly checking account fees. The debit card can be used as debit or credit for purchases and can also be used to pay bills. Customers can even have their paychecks direct deposited to the card. They can also use it at Chase ATMs or at their teller lines. There are no loading fees, although we all know other fees may apply.