Tax Refunds on Stored Value Cards

TurboTax (Intuit) and Rush Card (UniRush Financial Services) have announced an alliance that tax filers using TurboTax for the Web to receive their refunds in as little as 10 days and deposited either into a checking account or to a prepaid Rush Visa card.

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by Scott Loftesness

Philadelphia Fed Payment Card Center Announces New Publications

The Payment Card Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has announced two new publications:
The first, “ Prepaid Card Models: A Study in Diversity (PDF),” is based on a workshop led by Gary Palmer, chief operating officer and co-founder of WildCard Systems. During the workshop, Palmer described operational, economic, and regulatory complexities arising from the variety in prepaid business models developing in this payments category.

The second, “ The Laws, Regulations, and Industry Practices That Protect Consumers Who Use Electronic Payment Systems: ACH E-Checks and Prepaid Cards (PDF),” is an original research discussion paper by Mark Furletti of the PCC and Stephen Smith of the Bank's Legal Department. This paper, the second in a series of three, examines how users of ACH e-checks and prepaid cards are protected when they experience fraud, error, or a dispute with a merchant.

by Scott Loftesness

MasterCard Holds Stored Value Forum

MasterCard has announced that it is holding its third annual Stored Value Forum today and tomorrow. "Long gone are the days when prepaid was solely synonymous with long distance calls or store-bought gift certificates. Today prepaid cards are mainstream financial products applicable to virtually every type of transaction, in virtually every payment category, including consumer, business, and the public sector," said Ted Dargan, Vice President, Stored Value Team Lead for the Americas, MasterCard International.

"Prepaid cards can take on cash and checks where traditional credit or debit card programs may not fit the payment need. We estimate that the prepaid opportunity in the U.S. alone is more than $2.5 trillion."

$2.5 trillion is about what is currently spent annually in the US on Visa and MasterCard branded cards combined.

by Scott Loftesness