Credit and Debit Card Ratings

Chicago Introduces Transit Card With Prepaid Option

Prepaid debit cards are now – or at least soon will be – a constant presence on Chicago’s many buses and subway cars. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, September 9 was the official launch of the so-called Ventra card, a new way for Chicago’s thousands of commuters to pay their fares.

According to the article, written by Jon Hilkevitch, Ventra cards went on sale on September 9 at vending machines located throughout Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) stations as well as at stores like Walgreens and CVS. The plastic Ventra cards, which cost commuters $5 to purchase – although that amount is credited back for use in paying transit fares if an owner registers their card – are being heavily marketed as transit officials begin a push to retire the paper and plastic transit cards it has issued to riders over the past two decades. The move to plastic cards issued by Ventra – the Latin term for wind, a nod to Chicago’s designation as the Windy City – is expected to save the CTA $50 million over the next decade.

Understandably, much of the current media attention devoted to the Ventra cards centers on how Chicagoans can transition from using Chicago Card transit cards and other paper tickets to the new option; basically, riders have to wave the radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled over a reader as they enter a subway station or board a bus. Although of less immediate concern to riders of Chicago’s public transport system is a new option that allows Ventra card holders to also open a prepaid debit MasterCard account.

The new Ventra prepaid debit card is being promoted as a way for transit users to have one card that allows them to both ride the subway and make routine purchases. Like most prepaid cards, the new Ventra version has a host of fees, including a charge of $5 to replace a lost or stolen card, $4.95 to add cash to an account and a $2 monthly account maintenance fee. No doubt, the issuers of the Ventra prepaid debit card hope those who use it will have an easier time than some of the passengers who attempted to use the new fare card on the first day. According to another Chicago Tribune story, there were glitches and complaints aplenty.

Author: Chris Warren

  • Chicago Introduces Transit Card With Prepaid Option

    Chicago Introduces Transit Card With Prepaid Option

    Prepaid debit cards are now – or at least soon will be – a constant presence on Chicago’s many buses and subway cars. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, September 9 was the official launch of the so-called Ventra card, a new way for Chicago’s thousands of commuters to pay their fares.

    According to the article, written by Jon Hilkevitch, Ventra cards went on sale on September 9 at vending machines located throughout Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) stations as well as at stores like Walgreens and CVS. The plastic Ventra cards, which cost commuters $5 to purchase – although that amount is credited back for use in paying transit fares if an owner registers their card – are being heavily marketed as transit officials begin a push to retire the paper and plastic transit cards it has issued to riders over the past two decades. The move to plastic cards issued by Ventra – the Latin term for wind, a nod to Chicago’s designation as the Windy City – is expected to save the CTA $50 million over the next decade.

    Understandably, much of the current media attention devoted to the Ventra cards centers on how Chicagoans can transition from using Chicago Card transit cards and other paper tickets to the new option; basically, riders have to wave the radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled over a reader as they enter a subway station or board a bus. Although of less immediate concern to riders of Chicago’s public transport system is a new option that allows Ventra card holders to also open a prepaid debit MasterCard account.

    The new Ventra prepaid debit card is being promoted as a way for transit users to have one card that allows them to both ride the subway and make routine purchases. Like most prepaid cards, the new Ventra version has a host of fees, including a charge of $5 to replace a lost or stolen card, $4.95 to add cash to an account and a $2 monthly account maintenance fee. No doubt, the issuers of the Ventra prepaid debit card hope those who use it will have an easier time than some of the passengers who attempted to use the new fare card on the first day. According to another Chicago Tribune story, there were glitches and complaints aplenty.

  • Prepaid Debit Cards And Obamacare

    Prepaid Debit Cards And Obamacare

    Pretty much nothing has been uncontroversial about President Barack Obama’s health care reform law. From screams about so-called “death panels” to complaints that the new law, known officially as the Affordable Care Act, doesn’t cover enough people, reasoned debate and compromise has been basically non-existent since well before the bill was even introduced to Congress.

    And even though Republicans in the House of Representatives have voted dozens of times to repeal the law and efforts are still continuing to de-fund it, the Obama administration is feverishly working to get the health exchanges it creates up and running. As part of that effort, according to reports in Businessweek Magazine and The Wall Street Journal, the White House issued rules in late Aug. that declare that prepaid debit cards can be used by citizens to pay for their new health care plans.

    According to the Businessweek story by John Tozzi, the state exchanges that will begin opening in Oct. will be required to accept payment via not only prepaid debit cards but also checks, money orders and bank wire transfers. In a way, this shouldn’t be at all surprising. After all, the Affordable Care Act is aimed largely at helping low-income families to purchase health care. Even though these new entrants to the health care market will be aided with government subsidies to help afford their new plans, they will still need a way to pay for it. For an estimated 10 million U.S. households lacking a bank account, a regular check is not an option. And according to a Vanderbilt University study cited in the Businessweek article, nearly 30% of those eligible for health care subsidies do not have bank accounts.

    Enter prepaid debit cards, a product that the federal government is already quite familiar and comfortable with. Indeed, tax refunds and a host of different government benefits can already be deposited to a prepaid debit card account. Still, there is likely to be criticism of the use of prepaid debit cards in this instance, since so many of them come with high fees. Then again, would anybody really expect this aspect of Obamacare to be less controversial than all the rest?

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Credit and Debit Card Ratings