Cash Cards

Rockie

Does anyone have any experience with financial institutions that have "cash cards" for employees who are unable to obtain a checking account?

We have a mandated direct deposit, but often have individuals who cannot obtain a checking account for various reasons. This cash card allows them to withdraw (free) from their savings accounts...a certain number of times a month.

cthr

I don't have any experience with those types of cards, but some payroll providers offer them. Also, I believe that you cannot mandate direct deposit in SC. It is voluntary on the part of the employee.

Rockie

You can mandate direct deposit in South Carolina as long as the employee can get at least one free withdrawal from the institution per pay period.

Shadowfax

Isn't this a great country? EE gives his labor and toil to ER in exchange for the ER's right to give the EE's wage to a third party, who, in its own best interests wants to keep all, or at least as much of EE's wage as it can for itself. When did we all buy in to this crap?

cthr

Rocky,

You may want to check your state law again. I am looking at a payroll legal alert regarding state law for direct deposit and it states that South Carolina is VOLUNTARY, the employee recieves a pay statement and is allowed one free withdrawal.

TN HR

To answer the original question, yes, I have some experience with cash cards. I don't like them. We, too, have a mandatory direct deposit program in place. Unfortunately, some EE's are not bankable and therefore we had to look at cash cards as an option.

In my opinion, the problem with the cards is that the companies that issue them are looking for a profit (unlike a regular bank ATM card which is offered as a value-added service to you, the bank's customer).

In our case, employees get one free draw per week, however, they have no network ATM's, so the technically "free" draw is only free from the card's standpoint since they still get the ATM owner's fee deducted.

Anything above and beyond this draw is outrageous. Even POS transactions carry a fee.

I am working with a local credit union to remedy this and make heavily-restricted savings only accounts available to all employees, regrdless of credit check. I suggest you look at these cards only as a last resort.

Gene

Dutch2

Even if the ee is not "credit worthly" of a checking account, they may still be able to open a savings account at a local bank or other such institution. The Direct deposit can go to a savings account same as a checking account. The ee then must make a withdrawal(s) to obtain their wages.