What is a prepaid card?
A prepaid card is a card that you use to access money that is loaded onto the card in advance. There are different types of prepaid cards. With most cards, you can spend the money on the card for daily expenses or withdraw cash from an ATM. You can also choose to have your income directly deposited on most cards.
Choose the right card for your situation
Not all prepaid cards are the same. Each card has its own set of rules and fees.
Know your rights
Do you know whether you can get your money back if your card or funds are lost or stolen? Only some prepaid cards now give you that protection. And did you know that your employer can’t force you to use a payroll card to receive your wages?
Understand the fees you will pay
Most prepaid cards charge fees to maintain your account, make purchases and withdrawals. There are other fees as well.
Note about prepaid accounts
Some prepaid accounts, such as online or mobile accounts, do not give you a physical card. For simplicity, we use the word “prepaid card” on this page to refer to both prepaid cards and prepaid accounts that do not use a physical card. Our new regulation will apply to all prepaid accounts, both those that use physical cards and those that do not.
What we are doing to help
We work to help consumers make sound financial choices to meet their own life goals. We also write rules to ensure consumers are treated fairly by financial service providers. The CFPB recently issued a rule that will help ensure that consumers can make informed decisions when choosing and using prepaid cards and will better protect consumers’ funds in prepaid cards in case of errors, loss, or theft. This new prepaid card rule will become effective on October 1, 2017.