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.
Loading ...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).
42 Comments
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I don’t think the Postal Service should waste its limited energy on such endeavors. This specific initiative lacks the scale to justify the attention/effort. Importantly, it is not consistent with the Postal Service’s core competencies and/or allowed mandate. it behooves the postal Service to fiocus its energy on other initiatives that have scale and are more consistent with its mandate.
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What’s the big differance in a prepaid debit card and offering money orders? IT’s a great idea and would probibly sell like hot cakes, I have bank accounts and I would love one as a backup, in case I lost my regular card, perfect as a gift, excellent for travel
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With one clerk at the window and a line out the door, I don’t know if the Postal Service should introduce one more product to sell at the window that has nothing to do with its “core competencies and/or allowed manadate”(as the humble overserver brilliantly pointed out).
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At this point in the game, the Postal Service should explore any new revenue stream that is identified. First class mail is declining and who knows when business mail will recover, and even if it does, it may not recover to its previous levels. To exclude any new thoughts on what the Postal Service can do next is a disservice to the 600,000 postal service employees and 240 million customers they serve.
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Funny thing you ask about pre-paid debit cards:
Currently the Department of Posts, India, is inviting proposals from eligible firms for a Pre-Paid Card Project. Here a link to their RFP (Request for Proposal) document:
http://www.indiapost.gov.in/pdf/RFP_Pre-Paid_Card_Project.pdf
Regards
http://postalsanity.com
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Great idea. let’s do it.
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Sure why not, it replaces a cash and guarantees
delivery with a litany of legal terms and conditions.
Not sure if the aka “Visa”, aka “BofA”, aka “MC”, (Eagle) brand shown in the picture has the same link to the Federal Reserve though? It seems logical.
Actually, folks who use other than cash in their
current postal transactions probably don’t know, or
simply are not aware, of the contractual terms their credit card companies provide them with on current postal transactions?
I’ve always been impressed with the implications associated with the act of simply affixing a stamp to a letter. We have an ex-state representative in my district who found this out.
Now that legal responsibility has been extended to the
card holder’s terms and conditions acceptance there of.
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I am currently looking for a good prepaid debit card and there are a lot of them out there. thanks for the information, I think the postal service would be an ok idea, it might help boost up there revenue.
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good idea.
better idea, lower managers pay and cut managers in half. when you now have a ratio of one eas person/manager to each craft worker you will NEVER have any money!
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Good Idea
The Treasury’s plan to switch millions of people who receive Social Security and other federal benefits from paper checks to electronic payments should have the Postal Service handle this activity for people without bank accounts.
As you know, this is going to further reduce mail volume, but working with the Treasury, it could help bring more customers to the post office and increase walk-in revenue??
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Shut it down and allow private competition.
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Do like other forms of Local State & Federal Governments. Sub-contract it out to a qualified bonded Courier Services(UPS/FedEx, etc.). Just like the turnpike toll-plaza system in Florida is no longer DOT, it’s a private firm. Federal Buildings & County buildings use private security firms like Wackenhut & the list goes on. They pay one fee per contract & keeps people working & saves them money.
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Cut out Saturday mail delivery … Who really needs mail on Saturday… It will save billions and you will not get many people who object…
Also you could cut out several post offices… In Verona Beach for one,, their is a post office only 2000 feet away in the town of Sylvan Beach… zip code 13162…. How stupid it that… they could have one and save millions alone… thank you..
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Cut out Saturday mail. Eliminate most junk mail.
A2.
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Stop paying your employees so much! If it comes to cutting cost this could bring it down, if they don’t like it bring in people who will work for less. I know a lot of people who need jobs. As for taking away saturday delivery, that would be horrible I think it’s great to have delivery on saturday especially when you really need a package that can’t be there on friday.
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have the people that sort it deliver the mail also, they seem to have too much time on there hands anyway.
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Close it on Monday instead of Saturday.Saturday is the only day working class customers paying cash can go.Or open from 12-7.
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Back again,
Sell lottery tickets online
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YES STOP HIRING PEOPLE THAT CAN NOT DRIVE, JUST LIKE THE ONE THAT PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF MY DAUGHTER AND GRANDCHILDREN AND ENDANGERED THEIR LIVES. THEY ALSO REFUSE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBLITY FOR IT.WE HAVE TO HAVE INSURNCE BY LAW AND YOU DON’T!!!!!!!!
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The postal service is losinng billions because it is not effiecnt,pays employees to much-employees are to lazy because hey are overpaid and protected by regulations that the public does not have!When a for profit service is ran in this manner it will never be profitable.
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