Prepaid Debit Cards Services

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Mock USPS Prepaid Debit Card

According to a New York Times article, nearly 10 percent of Americans do not have bank accounts. These and other underbanked people may be taken advantage of by lenders, check cashing facilities, and pawnbrokers through excessive interest rates and fees. Fortunately, in this country, there are many options for consumers to choose, including prepaid debit cards.

What if the Postal Service explored partnering with prepaid debit card providers to sell prepaid debit cards at post offices, just as they are now sold at other retail outlets? While the Postal Service explored similar products in the past, the current economic climate calls for a reexamination of the product. The Postal Service’s current experience conducting financial transactions in the form of money orders and Dinero Seguro would aid in the introduction of prepaid debit card services. Offering the cards could create a new revenue stream for the Postal Service and earn interest on the cards’ float, the money residing in cardholder accounts. That money may be invested prior to its use by account holders. The Postal Service might also benefit from increased sales of other products due to an increase in store traffic.

Do you think the Postal Service should offer prepaid banking card services?

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The Postal Service has two core market advantages that would aid it in successfully offering prepaid debit cards. First, with the second-largest retail network in the country, the Postal Service could sell prepaid debit cards in areas with limited private sector retailers. Second, customers may be more likely to come to a Post Office to purchase prepaid debit card transactions because of their trust in the Postal Service brand.

Legal and regulatory constraints, however, currently prohibit the Postal Service from offering prepaid debit cards. Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the Postal Service cannot offer new nonpostal products. Private sector interests may also work to prevent the Postal Service from competing against them by offering this product.

Finally consider that given the robust variety of financial institutions already in this country, the Postal Service should evaluate whether offering prepaid banking card services would provide valuable options to customers while making a profit for itself. What do you think? Why did you answer yes or no to the poll question?

This topic is hosted by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC).

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Permalink | Comments (38) | Apr 5, 2010

 

 

38 Responses to “Prepaid Debit Cards Services”

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  1. 38
    Doug Says:
    July 1st, 2010 at 9:28 pm

    The Postal Service should concentrate on delivering mail, not thinking up ways to compete with the private sector.

  2. 37
    Valentin L Calaycay Says:
    May 18th, 2010 at 10:32 am

    please allow direct depodit

    thank you

  3. 36
    Valentin L Calaycay Says:
    May 18th, 2010 at 10:29 am

    please allow direct dposir if fed bens

  4. 35
    nick Says:
    April 29th, 2010 at 10:18 am

    Well honestly, I believe that the post office is a definitive reflection upon how our economy is going to have to change with the times. Even though they are a government funded source of transportation and packaging, they have been effected just as harshly.

    What they ought to do, in my opinion of course, is to just raise prices on large load packaging such as the ones in crates or larger-than-a-man sized packages. This would circulate money through the post office and force companies, if they cant pay, to send their business towards smaller businesses which would stimulate the economy further I think.

    Again though, this is just in my opinion.

  5. 34
    Dawn Says:
    April 27th, 2010 at 5:20 pm

    WOW, ITS AMAZING TO SEE HOW MUCH SOME PEOPLE THINK THEY KNOW HOW THE POST OFFICE IS RAN. I AM A CARRIER, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THAT IT IS EASY SHAME ON YOU, WE DO GO THROUGH SOME TOUGH TIMES. WHEN THERE IS 6 INCHES OR MORE OF SNOW ON THE GROUND. I HAVE SEEN CARRIERS OUT TIL 7:00 AT NITE TRYING TO DELIVER YOUR MAIL, BECAUSE U COME FIRST AND WE WANT TO GET CUSTOMERS MEDICATION ETC..OUT TO U. LETS THINK PEOPLE!

  6. 33
    JOSEPH Says:
    April 27th, 2010 at 11:26 am

    I think for the US Post Office to survive it have to charge a fee of one cent for every e-mail and one cent for every text message sent online. The fee will be collected by the online providing company and pay to the Postal Service. I am a retired letter carrier and will hate to see the US Post office fail.

  7. 32
    Ann Says:
    April 27th, 2010 at 10:11 am

    1. Deliver on fewer days
    2. Fuel efficient vehicles are often NOT a cost savings over the price/lifetime of a vehicle. But if you HAVE to replace a vehicle, then get a more fuel efficient one.
    3. Give up part of the market. Let UPS and FEDEX deliver the larger packages. USPS doesn’t need to waste fuel delivering anything over 25 lbs.
    4. Utilize opt-in email alerts to customers who can come & get their mail instead of home delivery.
    5. Utilize opt in Scan-to-email for certain types of mail.
    6. Place excess fees on junk mail. It just clogs up the system and recipients don’t want it anyway.
    7. Attrition – offer early retirement and don’t replace positions.
    8. More automated customer tools. Fewer man-hours are needed if you use ATM style customer service. We have one (just one!) of these in our area and they are GREAT. They are open 24×7, whereas the employees are only there 8 hours a day and work too slowly!
    9. Centralized pick up and drop off. I like my own mailbox, but grouping them by street is more efficient, and I don’t mind walking half a block if it means that ONE mailman can now service 3 times as many houses in the same time period.
    10. Get rid of the unions! They were once great and necessary, but now they are killing America. Normalize pay and benefits and if the unions strike, fire them & hire new blood. There are TONS of unemployed people who would love to do those jobs!

  8. 31
    kfwd2f Says:
    April 27th, 2010 at 4:45 am

    OK this is going to sound like a complaint session from me. As a dedicated employee for 10 years I have seen a lot just in my office alone.

    first: Someone needs to come in and evaluate offices WITHOUT ANYONE, even the Postmaster, knowing that this is happening. For what the ex-coworkers were getting paid, they were not doing the job. The Postmaster was not doing a very good job either, and you should see his desk…

    second: When re-evaluating things, whether it be bulk mailings or how to make things more efficient in the production area, get the employees involved that have done the particular job for years. We have great employees there that want to express their opinion and ideas but are never heard..

    third: Again, the pay. Come on people, the union has helped to over-pay employees and upper management drastically. The mail carriers are out in the rain, sleet, and snow and DO deserve higher pay, and no I was not a carrier. I have done supervisory, clerk, window clerk, and OIC.

    fourth: I worked as an OIC and seen what was brought in and paid out in a month. Cut the hours in these small offices or float Postmasters to do 2 offices. They can handle it in these small communities.

    I do not want to see the Post Office go down, but mismanagement of money is the biggest problem.

    I hope that someone reads this. If they do and are a member of the Postal Regulatory Commission, you can find ut who I am by looking at my logon ID.

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