Originally posted by treehugger1
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What I hate is having to wait at a gas station while the person in front of me goes inside to pay cash then has to go back in for change after they pump their gas. Sometimes we just have to remind ourselves to slow down and relax. Just because technology allows everything to go faster, doesn't mean everything has to be fast. -
Recent Prepaid and Cash Cards
During the past 12 - 18 months more and more large financial institutions have made debit cards available. For folks who are worried about bank accounts, have chexsystem issues, etc., there are now very good options for non-deposit type of accounts. I noticed that Chase now has Lliquid," American Express has "Serve," US Bank has a prepaid account, etc. Almost all of these do not perform credit or chexsystem checks and they are considerably cheaper than the independent prepaid cards that came out several years ago. Many of us stated a few years ago that prepaid debit cards would eventually bleed over to the bigger financial institutions. Many of these accounts specifically state that these are non-deposit accounts (such as traditional checking and/or savings.)
It appears that the "card" is just a transfer vehicle for money that is deposited in some mystical pooled account. With the big institutions now involved, one can mystically have 10's of thousands of available dollars lying around at their disposal without having the money in a "deposit account."
I wonder how long it will be before the financial institutions have to report these VISA/MC account numbers and non-deposit dollars to other federal and state tax entities. Currently, there does not appear to be much regulation related to these prepaid debit cards. Yet, it appears that the money is FDIC insured. I wonder how they work this, if you do not have a deposit account specifically tied to your name. Does the "pooled" account have FDIC insurance?
My daughter, nieces, and nephews, all in their 20's and 30's, don't even know if they have a bank account. They don't even go into a bank. They could not tell you their account numbers if you asked. It seems the only time they ever need their account number is to set up a direct deposit. Everything else they now do through mobile apps, atm machines, etc. It makes sense that the traditional concept of bank account will become less and less important as the big financial institutions continue to nudge us away from brick-and-mortar banking.
I have to admit that even I now get frustrated when I have to wait for some person in front of me to write a check for groceries or prescriptions. Jeez. LOL
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