Millennials Are Happy With Prepaid Cards, According To New Study

As the largest demographic in the US workforce, the opinions of Millennials are a big deal.There are over 29 million Millennials in US alone that want their pay loaded onto a prepaid paycard. 

B&C Media, LLC has recently released a survey covering millennials’ use of prepaid cards. Results include millennials’ overall happiness with prepaid, their views on benefits and fees, how and why they use prepaid cards, and more.

First and foremost, the survey demonstrates that, regardless of how and where Millennials use prepaid cards, they’re happy to do so. Millennials have a positive view of prepaid, and use prepaid for both purchases and other banking functions. And prepaid isn’t just appealing to the underbanked, this is across the board, for all Millennials. See the results below.

Millennials Are Happy With Prepaid Cards Overall

• 83 percent of respondents are happy or satisfied with prepaid cards overall
• Over 60 percent of respondents described their cards as “more useful than expected.”
• 23 percent percent said prepaid met their expectations and did not disappoint.

Millennials Are Happy With Prepaid Card Fees

The vast majority say prepaid cards met or exceeded their expectations on fees.

• When asked about fees, over 80 percent are happy or satisfied with their card’s fees
• 53 percent said that their card’s fees met expectations
• 30 percent said the fees or were lower than expected

Use of Other Financial Products Among Millennial Prepaid Card Users

Millennials that use prepaid cards are not using them exclusively.

• Over 80 percent have a checking account in addition to their prepaid card.
• 34 percent have a credit card in addition to their prepaid card
• Only 18 percent said they had neither a checking account nor a credit card.

Millennials Choose Prepaid Over Bank Accounts

• Among the 20 percent that do not have checking accounts, 38 percent were concerned about not wanting to maintain a minimum balance
• 33 percent choose prepaid over checking accounts to avoid overdraft fees
• Prepaid debit cards can help users avoid overdraft fees, and they don’t require a minimum balance.

Millennials Choose Prepaid Over Credit Cards

• Of the 64 percent of Millennials who don’t have credit cards, the majority of those surveyed did not have one by choice, not because they couldn’t qualify for one.
• 47 percent don’t have a credit card because they did not want to spend more than they have
• 42 percent don’t have a credit card because they want to avoid the debt

Important Features Of Prepaid Cards To Millennials

The features deemed most important to Millennials are:

• 41% online safety
• 40% easy to pay bills
• 38% convenience in making purchases
• 38% direct deposit
• 36% doesn’t require a minimum balance
• 35% easy to quality
• 35% avoids overdraft fees
• 30% avoids debt/overspending
• 30% convenient to get cash
• 23% useful for budgeting
• 23% less expensive than checking
• 22% avoids check cashing fees

How Millennials Use Their Prepaid Cards

• Almost all respondents–over 98 percent–use their prepaid cards to make purchases.
• 40 percent of prepaid card users with checking and 39 percent of users with both a checking account and credit card made 11 or more purchases per month with their prepaid card.
• Most millennials use both ATM and cash back at the point-of-sale to access cash from their prepaid cards.
• 73 percent of prepaid card users get cash at ATMs using their cards.
• 72 percent of prepaid card users get cash back at the register
• Nearly 50 percent of respondents use their prepaid card for three or more ATM withdrawals per month.

How Millennials Add Funds To Their Prepaid Cards

Millennials are using a variety of different methods to add money to their prepaid cards.

• 48 percent use direct deposit to add funds to their prepaid cards
• 47 percent use bank transfers to add funds to their prepaid cards
• 70 percent of millennials load cash to add money to their prepaid cards
• Among those that load cash through a reload service, 61 percent are loading cash 3 or more times per month.

Where Millennials Are Selecting and Purchasing Prepaid Cards

• 42 percent of millennials purchase their cards online.
• 29 percent purchase their cards in stores.
• 18 percent got their cards at a bank.
• 6 percent reported buying their cards at payday lenders.
• 4.5 percent got their cards from their employer

It’s time to offer a better consumer and employee experience. Forget about issuing rewards or payments via cheque. Prepaid payments are the way to reward channel partners and employees for meeting sales goals, andfor rewarding customers who make purchases. Combine that with the ability to monetize your payment program and everyone wins.