If George Lopez sponsors a prepaid card but no one writes about it in the press, did it really happen?

When a celebrity endorses a prepaid card, it generates suspicion and skepticism. Prepaid card marketing firms continue to ignore the trend.

When Suze Orman announced that she was going to attach her name to a new prepaid card, the reaction by the press ignored the card’s rock-bottom pricing and focused instead on questions surrounding the integrity of her relationship to a financial product. It mattered little that the Approved Card, if used with direct deposit, can be far less expensive than for a low-wealth consumer than most bank checking accounts. What mattered was that Suze was a trusted advisor to mainstream America.

National media never paid much attention to prepaid before the celebrity endorsement. Last year’s failed partnership between a small Minnesota community development financial institution and Kim Kardashian was just about the first time that prepaid made it onto the national media consciousness. It generated some well-deserved criticism because it was so expensive. The card charged an account opening fee of $59! The attention given to that card created collateral damage for other players. It smudged the reputation of the product, but it suddenly framed the prepaid card through one perspective – that it cost too much. Few people know much about prepaid, but one of the few things that many can tell you is that the Kim Kardashian card was too expensive.

Given that evidence, why doesn’t anyone notice that George Lopez has his own tie in with a prepaid card? Let me say that it would probably be good news if more people learned about the Mango Card. The Mango Card is a great card. It does not cost much and it provides a clear pathway to a host of other important financial products.

There is one other exemption from the standard backlash against prepaid cards associated with celebrities. Russell Simmons, the co-founder of the Def Jam record label, has a financial tie to the Rush Card. Some of the Rush Cards are far more expensive than the Approved Card.

According to a report published yesterday, Rush Card owner Russell Simmons says his prepaid debit card will soon have a cash advance feature.

The advance will give customers who have enrolled their card in direct deposit the ability to draw cash two days ahead of their next scheduled paycheck or payment.

A spokesperson from Rush says that the service is free of a fee. Rush is going to extend the payment solely on the faith that customers with an existing direct deposit enrollment will have another coming in 48 hours.

The Rush Card is issued by Bancorp Bank. Since customer service at Rush only answers questions if you have an existing card, it is not possible to know the origin of this advance. It may be Bancorp, a different bank, or a non-bank financial institution.

I continue to find evidence that there is a fundamental shift going on in how low-income consumers access the payments system.  Earlier, I wrote at length about MetaBank and their prepaid debit card/line of credit platform developed in conjunction with NetSpend. I made some headway learning about the Emerald Advance and the Emerald Advance line of credit, both from Block.

Later, I made mention of the RushCard – a similiar product issued with funds from Bancorp Bank and M&T Bank.

Today, I see that Bancorp Bank (TBBK) has struck again.  Let’s look at their Eufora Card.  Eufora aims at the segment (more…)