How are U.S. Consumers Using General Purpose Reloadable Prepaid Cards?: Are They Being Used as Substitutes for Checking Accounts?

17 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2015

See all articles by Claire Greene

Claire Greene

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Oz Shy

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Date Written: 2015-06-01

Abstract

Owners of general purpose reloadable prepaid cards (GPR) who do not have checking accounts comprise 4.8 percent of U.S. adults, according to the 2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice. This report explores two important aspects of prepaid card use: Do owners of GPR prepaid cards who lack checking accounts use these cards differently than those who have checking accounts? Are these cards substituting for payment services that have traditionally been provided only via traditional checking accounts?

Keywords: prepaid cards, nonbank payment services, bank�like services, Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, Diary of Consumer Payment Choice

JEL Classification: G23

Suggested Citation

Greene, Claire and Shy, Oz, How are U.S. Consumers Using General Purpose Reloadable Prepaid Cards?: Are They Being Used as Substitutes for Checking Accounts? (2015-06-01). Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Data Reports No. 15-3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2675689

Claire Greene (Contact Author)

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ( email )

1000 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309-4470
United States

Oz Shy

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ( email )

1000 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309-4470
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.frbatlanta.org/research/economists/shy-oz.aspx?panel=1

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