Some banks are more upbeat about Prepaid Cards than others, Survey reports.

• Position: MARKETING NEWS - Survey

PREPAID CARDS ARE ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENTS of the financial services industry, but banks have widely varying attitudes about the benefits of entering the market, according to a new study by Mercator Advisory Group and the ABA.

While banks that have offered the service are enthusiastic, many banks that have not yet jumped in are lackluster about the potential. Mercator observes that "banks in general need help with the evaluation process."

The study, entitled, "Prepaid Cards: A Survey of Bank Attitudes, Adoption Rates and Deployment Plans," asked banks of all sizes about their use or planned use of various prepaid financial services products such as general purpose reloadable (GPR) cards, gift cards and payroll cards.

Among banks that currently deploy prepaid products: 58 percent currently offer or plan to offer prepaid gift cards; 52 percent currently offer or plan to offer GPR cards; and 85 percent say they view current demand for prepaid products as favorable or highly favorable.

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