According to new survey data from TD Bank Hispanics note that their finances are in a safer place when using reloadable prepaid cards – the majority (75 percent) of Hispanics surveyed feel extremely or very secure about their personal and financial information when using a reloadable prepaid card.
TD Bank’s survey, which polled 189 Hispanic consumers nationwide, sought to understand the use and perceptions of reloadable prepaid cards.
“This survey demonstrates the interesting role that reloadable prepaid cards play in helping the Hispanic community manage their finances,” said Tami Farrow, SVP, Head of Retail Deposit Payments, TD Bank. “These cards have all of the payment flexibility of a debit card, the added control of not being able to overspend, and protection from lost or stolen cards. It is a win-win for the consumer.”
Online Shopping Leads Prepaid Card Behavior
Hispanics enjoy using reloadable and prepaid cards for a variety of reasons. The top benefits they cite include that it’s good for online purchases (77 percent), it’s convenient (65 percent) and it prevents overdraft (62 percent).
Among Hispanics who do not use a reloadable prepaid card, the top three benefits they identify with using one include keeping personal information private (71 percent), making online purchases (65 percent) and preventing overdraft (53 percent).
Hispanics also use their reloadable cards for a variety of reasons – these are the top five reported in the survey:
- Online shopping (65 percent)
- Day-to-day in-store purchases (61 percent)
- Fun shopping/discretionary spending (61 percent)
- Online bill payment (55 percent)
- Emergencies (34 percent)
“Hispanic consumers who use reloadable prepaid cards find them great for online shopping and day-to-day purchases, which is in line with what we’ve found across the board with this survey,” Farrow said. The Hispanic population was part of a larger 1,300 nation-wide consumer survey.
Preferences and Usage
The survey found that 20 percent of Hispanics have used a reloadable prepaid card in the past two to three years, and more than half of those who have never used a reloadable card (53 percent) would consider using one. More than half of Hispanics surveyed (52 percent) have reloaded their prepaid card two to five times, followed by 23 percent who have reloaded six to 10 times, and 11 percent who reloaded just one time after the initial amount was loaded on the card. One third of Hispanic respondents (31 percent) reported recently loading $21 to $50 onto their card.
When asked about where they acquired their last reloadable prepaid card, only 11 percent of Hispanics said they obtained it at a bank or financial institution; but of those, 72 percent went to a bank or financial institution for the card because it felt more secure.
The majority purchased their cards at big box retailers such as Walmart or Target (34 percent) or convenience stores (25 percent). In fact, most of the Hispanics without a prepaid card would prefer to acquire one at a big box store such as Walmart or Target (62 percent), compared with a bank/financial institution (34 percent) or a convenience store (11 percent).
Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of Hispanics said they are willing to pay up to $5 per month to maintain and use a reloadable prepaid card.