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Many parents, for example, use prepaid cards to Better pricing is a must. Most
fund children's allowances and help teach them prepaid cards carry monthly and/or
cash-load fees that range upwards
money management. Also, many millennials, of $5 – a turnoff to price-sensitive
having come of age during and after the Great consumers. The Bluebird card carries
no monthly fees, and cash loads are
Recession and often burdened with college loan free at any Walmart – two reasons
repayments, either aren't being offered or prefer I've held onto mine for six years and
counting.
to avoid credit cards. A few words on gift cards

Gift cards aren't just an unimagina-
tive gifting option; they've become an
integral part of the retail payments
mix. Among shoppers surveyed in
2015 by Blackhawk Network Hold-
ings Inc., 48 percent had used gift
cards in the past year. What's more,
87 percent gave merchant-specific
prepaid cards high marks for conve-
nience; just 82 percent said the same
thing about traditional debit cards.

Savvy retailers are realizing they can
drive more sales by offering private-
label prepaid cards, their own and
those of others. In Maryland, where
I live, regional grocer Giant Eagle
operates a loyalty program that
offers discounts to participants on
groceries and gas for every dollar
spent in its stores and at its pumps.
To sweeten the pot, Giant Eagle
carries a plethora of private-label
gift cards.

So whenever I'm planning a
shopping spree I stop at Giant Eagle
first for the necessary prepaid cards.
And, I assure you, I'm not alone. As
a result I've been averaging about
three free tanks of gas a year. It's a
sweet loyalty play. Programs like
this can be a boon for issuers and
will drive continued consumer
adoption of prepaid cards.

Patti Murphy is Senior Editor of The Green
Sheet and President of ProScribes Inc. Email
her at patti@greensheet.com.

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