Letter to the FDIC Stored Valued Cards

Individuals are being asked to accept stored value cards to receive payments of essential funds. Stored value cards are increasingly offered to low- and moderate-wage workers as a way to receive and even hold funds such as wages, emergency payments, tax refunds, private child support collected through a government agency, and other important household funds. These cards are also being marketed directly to individuals as a substitute for a bank account. Deposit insurance is one of several issues that must be addressed to make the stored value card a valuable stepping stone into the banking system, rather than a high risk, inferior product.