Comments on: Unemployment Benefits Debit Cards, Emerald Cards, and Fees

By: kathy

kathy — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:52:49 +0000

my brother who died 6/22/09, account was always short, called#. had preauthorizations of 29.95 daily from 6/15 to 6/19, and those of only 10 last transactions, what is a preauthorization settlement and preauthorization transaction, tried to call pa umemploymentd (didn’t know) then card debit card unable to get through to any live person

By: My Journey

My Journey — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:06:30 +0000

Considering Roger’s points, why wouldn’t you not worry about all that nickel and dime garbage and just have it directly deposited into your checking account?

By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:57:08 +0000

Hunh, being from PA and currently getting unemployment, I feel I should comment. Currently, PA only offers two options for unemployment disbursement, applying the funds to the debit card or direct depositing them into a bank account. There’s no option to get a paper check any more, regardless of your desire.

As for the fees and other expenses, they are all laid out on a form that comes with the debit card (the card was actually attached to it), in both English and Spanish. This paperwork also has the activation number for the debit card on it, so they’d be pretty hard to miss. While I agree that some of the fees could nickel and dime your benefits away, the unemployment people allow you to do many things (make purchases, withdraw the money from select ATMs, ALL counter withdraws, etc.) without any fees at all.

As for who makes money from the card fees (Sandy’s comment #2), the card is a MasterCard Debit card issued by Comerica Bank. The free ATM withdraws are offered by PNC and Wachovia. I’d imagine that most of the fee money goes to one (or more) of those four companies, rather than to the state. (Although, obviously any out of network ATM fees would go to the out of network bank.)

And, just as an aside, I’m getting my benefits directly deposited into my checking account; it’s made it easier to transfer to my ING account and allowed me to completely bypass these fees.

By: Tax Refund Anticipation Loans: A Bad Idea : Bizzia

Tax Refund Anticipation Loans: A Bad Idea : Bizzia — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:33:12 +0000

[...] watch out for is the “convenience” of a debit card. Some tax prep companies are offering debit cards to go along with the tax refund anticipation loan. These debit cards come with their own additional fees. Per-transaction fees can be between $1.50 [...]

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:04:33 +0000

I have to disagree with the point that those fees are evil on the unemployment card. If you’ve been laid off, the last thing you want to worry about is the state nickel and diming you to death! Banks don’t charge those stupid little fees on the debit card. You get charged for using another bank’s ATM – whether withdrawing or checking a balance – but beyond that, it’s pretty much free to use a debit card, even as a cash advance. The better option is, of course, to wait for the check. But these cards are supposed to be cheaper for the state, so I don’t understand the need to charge the little fees.

@ Llama Money – There are people who still don’t have accounts and part of it is because a.) they don’t have a SSN or ITIN to open the account with, or b.) they’re on chexsystems or Telecheck for account abuse with another bank and no one will open an account for them. Even in 2009, there are reasons people don’t have checking accounts. But, there are some people who simply choose not to have one and I think that’s kind of strange. It does make life easier and saves you from PAYING to cash checks, so in that respect I completely agree with you!

By: Mrs. Money

Mrs. Money — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:07:40 +0000

If you go into the bank and use the card for a cash advance (any debit card linked to a bank account) usually you don’t get charged any fees. It’s crazy how the fees on prepaid debit cards can eat up balances!

By: ZemoG

ZemoG — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:07:55 +0000

I have The Emerald Card from H&R Block. I took the card because I can load more money if I want to use it, after my refund is gone. I use it as a debit card and get cash back from time to time at the cashier. It is my emergency funds. I only paid $29. 95 extra for the card. They took the pre fees out of my refund. It was very convenience.

By: Llama Money

Llama Money — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:49:55 +0000

Just out of curiosity, in the year two thousand and nine, who in the bloody heck doesn’t have a bank account? I just can’t see that as a valid positive when it comes to these types of cards. If you don’t have a bank account, get one. Takes about 4 minutes, and it’s free. And then there are no funky card fees to be worried about.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Just a quick addition to the post. The Emerald Card at H&R Block can also be used to put your refund on it. It’s not just for the loans. So, if you do not have a bank account, it can be a good thing. I do agree with you on the loans though. They are a ripoff!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:56:13 +0000

Getting your unemployment on a debit card seems so counterintuitive to me. I w0nder who is making the money from the fees on those cards. Is it the state? Is it some third party? If the state is making the money then it in fact is much like another tax and that’s very sneaky indeed.

I hope that people read those disclosures and know what they’re getting into when they sign up for those cards. It’s NEVER free.