Legislation has been proposed in the US Senate that would demand more detailed fee disclosures for prepaid debit cards.
Senator Mark Warner, who introduced the Prepaid Card Disclosure Bill of 2014, said that the massive growth in prepaid card usage should be matched by greater consumer protection measures.
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He said: "Greater transparency of fees in a consistent way will empower consumers to make more informed decisions before purchasing or using one of these prepaid products.
"These reloadable cards are popular as gifts, and many parents send their children off to college with them.
"As they become more prevalent in our economy, it just makes sense that consumers should have access to the same information that we require with gift cards and most major credit cards."
The senator said that consumers are often confused by the appearance of the cards, similar to that of regular credit cards.
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By GlobalDataHe added that cards often carry the logos of the major card networks without the same consumer protections as credit cards and have an entirely different set of fees.
The bill would allow fee disclosure through QR codes or bar codes used with smartphones and would require cards to carry a freephone number customers could call for fee information.
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