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
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