Product: Payroll Card
Company: BB&T Corp.

Employers may never have to cut another paycheck again; employees may never have to make a mad dash to the bank on a Friday afternoon, thanks to prepaid payroll cards.

Over the past few years, prepaid cards, issued by both banks and retailers, have exploded among consumers and in the payments industry. Companies now issue everything from single store gift certificates to food stamps on plastic. Paychecks are included in this wide array of offerings. North Carolina-based financial services company BB&T Corp. last month announced the introduction of its payroll card.

Described as cheaper, safer and more reliable than the traditional paper payroll check, the card allows employers to pay their workers by loading funds onto a reloadable debit card. Money can be added using the standard ACH direct debit process.

Workforces on this system can use the Visa-branded card at merchants and ATMs around the world. Benefits included with the card include 24-hour customer service; phone and Internet access to balance and transaction information; FDIC insurance; and "Regulation E" fraud protection.

BB&T designed its payroll card to meet the needs of the growing number of "unbanked" employees. The product is ideal for those people without checking accounts. However, it also is an excellent and safe payroll method for any employee.

"The BB&T Payroll Card provides our corporate clients with a reliable cost-effective alternative to paper payroll checks," said Scott Qualls, BB&T's Deposit Access Products Manager. "It is ideal for situations when employees either do not qualify or do not want a checking account.

"Employers can provide their workforce with the positive benefit of a more convenient, safer and less expensive method for receiving their pay versus traditional paper checks. The new BB&T Payroll Card truly is the safer, smarter way to pay and be paid."

BB&T Corp.
800-226-5228
www.bbandt.com