10/02/2010 -
In yet another reason business should add prepaid card processing to their merchant services, payment processing research firm Mercator Advisory Group reported Tuesday that prepaid cards are gaining popularity as a payroll option.An increasing number of companies are giving employees the choice between having their paychecks deposited into a checking account or given to them in the form of a prepaid card - a strategy that has already emerged as relatively successful for the companies that have implemented it, said the report.
"Employers can experience high rates of card penetration (as high as 70 percent in some cases) or even eliminate paper checks altogether when program participation is mandated," said Patricia Hewitt, director of Mercator Advisory Group's debit service. "We would anticipate that this will change as the industry settles into a more electronic-friendly regulatory environment."
Prepaid cards are mainly aimed at the large population of "unbanked" consumers who do not have access to a checking or savings account. Therefore, the trend of prepaid payroll cards can increase the buying power of this sizable demographic, spending which can go on to benefit merchants that accept prepaid cards.
