The Risks and Rewards of Payroll Cards
Martha C. WhiteMartha C. White RSS Feed
Dec 17th 2010 at 9:00AM
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Filed under: Banking, Extracurriculars, Career
a woman swipes a card into a machine - payroll cardsThe era of receiving a paper paycheck is rapidly becoming as distant as the days when we relied on landlines for all our communication needs. To make things easier on workers -- and save a bundle on administrative costs in the process -- companies increasingly have been relying on electronic payment methods. Many workers now are paid via direct deposit to a checking or savings account.
But for those who don't have, can't get or don't want a traditional deposit account, the option increasingly comes down to a single choice: a payroll card, which is a reloadable debit card onto which a worker's funds are loaded. According to the nonprofit organization Consumers Union, nearly $16 billion was loaded onto payroll cards in 2007, and it's very likely that the numbers have climbed since then.
"With the advent of technology surrounding gift cards and prepaid cellphones becoming so prevalent, individuals are more comfortable accepting payroll cards," says Bob Howe, former CEO of payroll card company Directo. These cards can be helpful in that they're safer than carrying around potentially hundreds of dollars in cash and may help users avoid as much as a 3% fee charged by a check-cashing storefront. But they're not perfect, and the legal gray area in which they exist has some consumer watchdogs worried.
Sean Panizzi, branch manager at Teamtemps Personnel Staffing in Valdosta, Ga., says payroll cards were a lifesaver at his business, which employs around 700 temporary staffers who work for clients in several Southeastern states. Paper checks got lost in the mail or were sent to the wrong addresses, and they sometimes needed to be canceled, reissued and overnighted -- at considerable expense -- when a client submitted the temp worker's hours incorrectly. About a year ago, Teamtemps started offering the Global Cash Card, issued by MasterCard, to workers who didn't opt for direct deposit. Panizzi says that workers loved the option, so much so that about 50% of them now opt for the cards.
Panizzi's company did a few things right when it started issuing payroll cards, according to the consumer advocates we consulted. First, Teamtemps scouted out a card that even those without access to a bank could use without paying hefty fees. This was a crucial step in picking a card provider, Panizzi says, since the company has many employees in rural areas who would need to rely on ATMs to access their cash. (One problem with both prepaid and reloadable debit cards is that there can be high fees for users who want to withdraw cash.) Teamtemps also got information about the card translated into Spanish so workers who didn't have English as a primary language wouldn't struggle to understand how the card worked.
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