Product: Ethos Visa Debit Card Account
Company: Affinity Card Systems Inc.

In the world of financial products, prepaid debit cards are the hottest thing since sliced bread. There is practically no consumer segment in which they do not fill a need, and the electronic transactions industry finds them to be a very useful tool in advancing the cashless society.

The largest niche that prepaid debit has carved is perhaps among the millions of individuals without a bank account, i.e., the unbanked. (At a recent Financial DNA conference, the unbanked population was estimated to be about 50 million.)

Prepaid debit cards enable people to use plastic at the POS and make cash withdrawals from ATMs.

Other benefits: The cards are useful in helping young people and students learn much-needed financial management skills. They also serve as an alternative to payroll checks and credit cards (one can't spend more than is on the card).

A new entry to the prepaid debit card space is the Visa-branded ethos Debit Card Account from Affinity Card Systems Inc.

This particular prepaid debit option is being marketed to unbanked individuals; it's also being marketed to companies for payroll services.

Cardholders save money by eliminating the possibility of overdraws, which are estimated to occur as much as nine times per year at a typical cost of $22.

Also, the monthly fee for using the product is about half that for the average checking account.

Using the ethos Debit Card Account as an alternative to payroll checks is beneficial for employers and employees.

It eliminates the costs of processing and cutting the checks, which can cost $2 - $4 per check. Employees receive their money instantly through direct deposit.

Employees also will stop wasting money on check cashing fees. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said these fees are about $270 per person, per year.

By 2006 payroll cards will be in the hands of 3.8 million workers. Over half of these, said research firm Celent Communications, will be unbanked.

Each ethos Debit Card Account is individually FDIC-insured and provides accountholders convenient 24-hour-a-day access to money through ATM networks and more than 32 million retail locations worldwide that accept Visa.

The product is as secure as any other plastic payment product. Using all of Visa's fraud and security protections, the card can be activated or deactivated with a phone call. Cardholders can receive text messages alerting them to deposits, withdrawals and purchases.

Affinity Card Systems makes the product available through its national network of sales reps who offer the card to employers, unions, and staffing and government agencies.

Affinity Card Systems Inc.
888-693-8467
www.my-ethos.com