First Ever Consumer Service Fee Study Reveals that About 50% of Consumers Likely to Use Prepaid Reloadable Cards as Preferred Method of Payment.

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. (June 6, 2012) — According to the newly released Integrated Study on Service Fees compiled by Market Rates Insight, Inc. (MRI, http://www.marketratesinsight.com), nearly half of consumers surveyed are likely to adopt prepaid reloadable cards. The findings of the study indicate that 47 percent of consumers are likely to use prepaid reloadable cards for routine purchases, making prepaid reloadable cards one of the emerging lifestyle financial services that consumers are seeking from financial institutions. The results of the Study will be reviewed in greater detail in a webinar to be presented June 13 and 14.

The study results from more than 1500 bank customers and credit union members nationwide, shows that 47.1 percent of consumers would adopt prepaid reloadable cards if they were offered by financial institutions, and that they would be willing to pay, on average, $4.21 per month for the use of prepaid cards. This is just one of the newly identified lifestyle financial services that offer a new potential revenue source for banks and credit unions.

The Integrated Study on Service Fees shows that among consumers who are likely to use prepaid cards, 36.7 percent earn between $35,000 and $65,000 per year; 22.1 percent earn between $66,000 and $100,000 a year; and 14.8 percent earn over $100,000 per year. The study also found that 42.3 percent of consumers likely to use prepaid cards are baby boomers ranging in age between 47 and 66 years old.

“Our research shows that, contrary to common belief, prepaid cards are likely to be used by consumers at higher than average income level. In fact, our findings were recently validated by rollout of a prepaid card by one of the largest banks in the country,” said Dan Geller, Ph.D. Executive Vice President at Market Rates Insight. “The newly introduced prepaid card carries a monthly fee of $4.95, which, as our study indicates, did not encounter consumer resistance, unlike the recent backlash to proposed debit-card fees.”

The prepaid card findings are part of a comprehensive consumer research study which found that 67.1 percent of consumers are likely to use services such as credit score reporting services, identity theft alert services, mobile deposit services, person-to-person payment services, personalized couponing services, overdraft transfer services, and prepaid reloadable card services, if those services were offered by their financial institution. The common denominator between these services is that they can all be categorized as lifestyle financial services, financially-oriented services that have emerged over the last two decades due to advancement in technology and changes in personal lifestyle. Today, these services are becoming the norm because they support the emerging lifestyle needs of consumers such as mobility, time efficiency, digital identity protection, real-time alerts etc.

A summary of the findings from the first Integrated Study on Service Fees will be presented in a live information webinar to be presented June 13 at 11:00 ET and again June 14 at 3:00 ET. For more information, contact webinar@marketratesinsight.com.

The Integrated Study on Service Fees is available as a comprehensive report assessing all seven lifestyle financial services. Individual reports also are available for credit score services, identify theft protection, personalized couponing, prepaid reloadable cards, overdraft protection, personal money transfer, and mobile remote deposit capture. Each study features consumer research on preferences and perceived value, as well as demographic segmentation. For more information, contact Market Rates Insight at info@marketratesinsight.com.

About Market Rates Insight
For more than two decades, Market Rates Insight (MRI) has been helping clients price with precision by providing banks, thrifts, credit unions, and other financial institutions with comprehensive market intelligence on deposits, loans, and fees. MRI uses deposit surveys, mortgage and consumer loan surveys, fees and features studies, new product alerts, benchmarking and market share analysis to give subscribers the intelligence needed to strategically position products, optimize pricing and react to emerging trends. MRI’s products include web-enabled, customizable report programming, proprietary product research tools, searchable databases, market alerts, and online dashboards that aggregate key client data to provide real-time interactive views on how they rank against their specific competitors.

Market Rates Insight is located in San Anselmo, California. For more information, see http://www.marketratesinsight.com

Photos available upon request

For additional information contact:
Tom Woolf
Market Rates Insight
(415) 259-5638
tom.woolf@marketratesinsight.com