Precisely. I say this over and over and over. People with lower incomes pay more depending on where they live. Example: Why is that on my side of town gas can be 3-5 cents less expensive than on the South/West side? Ditto for grocery prices, and there are many other examples. Those pennies add up when you are on the edge.

Infuritating. The working poor cannot get a break. :mad:

Last holiday season, the Salvation Army in our area used this type of card for paid bell ringers. More people than they could hire signed-up for the employment opportunity.

This is the first ive heard of this payroll option. Does anyone know why an employer would prefer to pay their employees this way? It seems like it'd be more expensive than traditional payroll services but I'm probably wrong.

We have the option to pay by Pay card but the employees have to provide the card for themselves. We prefer that the employees are on some stort of direct deposit whether it be pay card or traditional checking. No checks to sign, and we mail the checks (or stubs for direct deposit), so we don't have to worry about the employees receiving them on time.

Pay cards work the same way as direct deposit is far is payroll fees and such.

Pay cards are used for lots of reasons.... companies can simply upload the wages to the card. No printing. No mailing. No checks getting lost or being stolen & cashed by someone else, etc. Cuts down on a lot of problems, but it does create others. Many companies have tried to go entirely to direct deposit, but a lot of people (maybe working here undocumented or those in poverty) simply do not have checking accounts.

the IRS also uses these cards for refunds to people who do not have checking/savings accounts and for SS recipients without them as well. It's a huge savings to not send paper checks. Our FHC also requires all the House Corp employees to have a checking/savings account or use a similar debit card for payroll.

For those without a bank account, this is robbery, but at least it's not also the rape that the check cashing places are. I wonder if these accounts can help a person establish credit. I've worked with people who got paid in cash and spent it all by Monday. For that person at least his money isnt cash in his pocket waiting to get mugged. Still, there should be an alternative.

Undocumented people can get paycards. The ones you pick up at the retail stores don't require personal information.

In North Carolina, you can legally require everyone on your payroll to be direct deposit. I'm sure there are other states as well, but most of my HR experience is from NC.

I only have a personal working knowledge of the banking industry, but I *thought* it was easier to get an account at a credit union vs. a bank.

Also, personally I'm all for direct deposit - faster, easier to manage, and safer, IMO.

You have to be a "member" of a certain group in order to use a CU, though (ex. teacher's union, service member, etc). It may be easier than getting accounts at the big banks, but not necessarily easy. Also, many people who choose not to get accounts do so because they don't trust financial institutions.

I have always seen the option to get money on a prepaid card, but never a requirement.

True and true.

I didn't know about getting your salary on a prepaid card until this thread. :o

Yep. After all the stuff that happened with banks recently, there was a huge increase in the number of folks using prepaid debit cards. I still find it weird that a company would force someone to use them, though.