Skip to main content

Expanding financial access: Why prepaid cards are a valuable addition to your credit union’s product portfolio


by Crystina Duran, Envisant

Experts are predicting the prepaid card market will be valued at more than $10.5 trillion globally by 2027 as usage continues to increase (World Metrics). This data reveals the ongoing relevance of prepaid cards and points to their increasing value as part of a credit union’s portfolio. Prepaid cards hold a strong position in financial wellness and inclusion that makes them ideal for building trust, growing a credit union’s market, and strengthening member relationships while diversifying revenue streams.

Grow member trust while supporting financial wellness

Prepaid cards are well-known as valuable tools that support financial wellness. They are a popular tool for budgeting. Among cardholders, 54% use prepaid cards to help them budget and 66% use them to avoid overspending (Pew Trusts). Prepaid cards also offer many other features that help build trust and support financial wellness.

  • Convenience and security: Prepaid cards with advanced protections against fraud are much safer to use than cash. They also aren’t tied to the cardholder’s checking account, so this information stays secure while cardholders enjoy the flexibility of being able to shop online or where cash isn’t accepted.
  • Real-time purchase tracking: Prepaid cards give users the ability to easily track their day-to-day purchases so they can better review their expenses and spending habits to plan and manage their budgets more effectively.
  • Cost-effective: Prepaid cards don’t have interest rates or overdraft fees so cardholders have fewer unplanned expenses to interfere with their budgeting.
  • Direct deposit: This prepaid card feature offers fast, direct access to paycheck funds, providing a better alternative to expensive check-cashing services.
  • In-app and online card management: These digital options for card management help cardholders have more control over their funds by providing them easy access to their accounts at any time. Cardholders can monitor transactions, budget, freeze compromised cards, set up fraud alerts, and more.

Grow your credit union through financial inclusion and literacy

Prepaid cards play a key role in promoting financial inclusion, both by offering underserved communities a means of participating in the digital economy and by helping them gain a stronger financial position through easier budgeting. Credit unions can encourage cardholders to make the most of prepaid cards as a financial wellness tool through educational offerings like workshops or informative handouts that increase financial literacy. When combined with proactive efforts from credit unions, prepaid cards can help grow financially strong members who are empowered to take advantage of other financial services available through their credit unions.

Strengthening member relationships and diversifying revenue streams

Prepaid cards, especially reloadable cards, can serve as a valuable tool for business growth. These accessible budgeting tools can help attract new members, foster loyalty among existing members, and provide an ongoing income for credit unions.

Conclusion

Prepaid cards thus provide a unique opportunity for credit unions to grow through advancing financial inclusion and member financial well-being. By taking proactive steps to help cardholders make the most of prepaid tools, credit unions can effectively implement prepaid cards as a key component of their product portfolio to support member and credit union success.

To learn more about how Envisant, an award-winning CUSO, can help your credit union develop a prepaid card program to support financial wellness, visit https://www.envisant.com/solutions/prepaid/ or contact the Envisant sales department at 1-800-942-7124.

Comments

Post a Comment

Please no profanity or political comments.

Popular posts from this blog

Effective January 1, 2026 - Credit Union Succession Planning

  First Responder Credit Union Academy www. NCOFCU .org   Effective January 1, 2026 This  statement  from current NCUA Chairman Todd M. Harper states that “this final rule on succession planning establishes a way for the NCUA to address one of the most common causes for unplanned and unforced credit union mergers. It also ensures that smaller institutions remain the cornerstone of ...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Federal Reserve Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-1/2 to 3‑3/4 percent

  Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement For release at 2:00 p.m. EST Share Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September. More recent indicators are consistent with these developments. Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated. The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment rose in recent months. In support of its goals and in light of the shift in the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-1/2 to 3‑3/4 percent. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Credit Union Profits Climb 21% As Margins Widen, NCUA Reports

  If you don't read anything else, read this:  Performance By Asset Category WASHINGTON—Federally insured credit unions posted a sharp rebound in profitability through the third quarter of 2025, with net income up 21% year over year to an annualized $19.1 billion, according to new NCUA data. The increase—one of the strongest gains across the agency’s quarterly metrics—came as institutions benefited from rising interest income, wider net interest margins, and relatively stable credit costs. The NCUA reported that Q3 data show interest income climbed 7.6% over the period while the systemwide net interest margin expanded nearly 13%, helping credit unions absorb higher operating expenses and modest increases in loan-loss provisioning. The earnings surge outpaced the credit union system’s 3.7% asset growth and came amid a mixed lending environment in which residential mortgage balances rose sharply, but auto lending weakened. The industry’s aggregate net worth ratio also im...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Fed’s Powell: Strong hiring could force further rate hikes

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that if the U.S. job market further strengthens in the coming months or inflation readings accelerate, the Fed might have to raise its benchmark interest rate higher than it now projects. Powell’s remarks followed the government’s blockbuster report last week that employers added 517,000 jobs in January , nearly double December’s gain. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 53 years, 3.4%. “The reality is if we continue to get strong labor market reports or higher inflation reports, it might be the case that we have to raise rates more” than is now expected, Powell said in remarks to the Economic Club of Washington. Though price pressures are easing and Powell said he envisions a “significant” decline in inflation this year, he cautioned that so far the central bank is seeing only “the very early stages of disinflation. It has a long way to go.” Even as the Fed has raised r...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sunday Reading - Lake Manly Returns

  Lake Manly Returns   An ancient lake has  reemerged in California's Death Valley National Park following record rainfall this year.  Between 128,000 and 186,000 years ago, meltwater from ice covering the Sierra Nevada fed rivers that emptied into Badwater Basin, North America’s lowest point at 282 feet below sea level. The steady flow sustained Lake Manly, nearly 100 miles long and roughly 600 feet deep. The lake disappeared as Death Valley evolved into the driest place in North America , with some areas receiving under two inches of rain annually. This year, however, the park received 2.41 inches between September and November, marking its wettest autumn on record and triggering the temporary return of a shorter, shallower Lake Manly.  Above-average rainfall periodically brings Lake Manly back, including in 2023 when Hurricane Hilary dumped 2.2 inches of rain on a single August day, allowing visi...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sunday Reading - What happened at Pearl Harbor?

    What happened at Pearl Harbor? On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii ( watch visualization ). The strike marked the culmination of a decade of rising tensions as Japan expanded its empire   across East Asia and the Pacific. With its industrial capacity unable to match the United States in a long-term war, Japanese leaders opted for a preemptive blow designed to cripple American naval power.   The attack—which permanently sank three American ships, damaged 15 more, and killed 2,403 Americans—was a tactical success but a strategic failure. Japanese forces did not hit the base’s oil reserves, submarine facilities, or repair yards, all of which proved crucial in the months that followed. The US Navy ultimately refloated all but three damaged ships, returning many to combat . Pearl Harbor was the deadliest attack on US ...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Fed to Keep Rates Higher Even Longer; CU Economists Still See Chance for Cuts Soon

CU trade economists think another good inflation report or two might convince the Fed to lower rates twice this year. By Jim DuPlessis | June 12, 2024 at 04:11 PM Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon. The Fed kicked the can down the road Wednesday, keeping rates at their current high level and signaling that it will take more time in reducing them. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ended its two-day meeting Wednesday with a decision to maintain the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.50%. Its projection report showed half of FOMC members expect the rate to fall to 5.1% by year's end, indicating one 25-basis-point rate cut this year. In March, the median expectation was for two rate cuts. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said half of members expect rates will fall to 3.1% by end of 2026. The FOMC's four remaining meetings this year are July 30-31, Sept. 17-18, N...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sheehans Consulting LLC - "We only have one goal in mind!"

We have one goal in mind: “What is best for you? We achieve strategic initiatives, develop products, optimize profitability and productivity through best practices, and make our firm a strong asset for professional services.  With over 30 years of experience in public administration, credit union, and association management, I have developed a solid track record in leadership and development.  Please visit us at https://www.sheehansconsultingllc.com/ to learn more about what we can do for you.   _________________________________________ Check out some of NCOFCU's additional features: First Responder Credit Union Academy Financial Literacy Podcasts YouTube Mini's Blog Job Board
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

NCUA promises flexibility in examinations and the flexibility to prudently adjust or alter member loan terms

In an effort to help members through the coronavirus crisis, the NCUA will give credit unions the flexibility to prudently adjust or alter member loan terms and will not subject those decisions to “examiner criticism,” agency Chairman Rodney Hood said Monday. Hood, in a letter to credit unions , outlined the steps the agency is taking to address the health emergency. Those steps include requiring all agency staff to work offsite through March 30. All examination work will be conducted offsite as well, the agency said. “A credit union’s efforts to work with members in communities under stress may contribute to the strength and recovery of these communities,” Hood wrote in outlining steps that credit unions may take to help members. Those steps include: Waiving ATM fees and increasing ATM daily cash withdrawal limits. Waiving overdraft fees. Waiving early withdrawal penalties in time deposits. Easing restrictions on cashing out-of-state and non-members checks. Easing credit terms f...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

NCUA"s new video module provides best practices for merging

The three-part video module provided by NCUA, available online   here , examines current trends in mergers, when a credit union board should consider a merger and how to negotiate a merger agreement that best serves the credit union’s interests. Every credit union should discuss the possibilities of a future merger in their strategic planning.
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»