SHREWSBURY, Mass.—Is interest in prepaid cards waning?
Possibly, according to a new report that indicates the trend established over the five-year period between 2012 and 2016, where U.S. consumers purchased more prepaid cards in each year than they did in the year before, has been broken.
According to the latest 2017 Mercator Advisory Group data, in 2016 the percentage of U.S. adults who bought prepaid cards dropped from 63% in 2015 to 56%, 24/7 Wall St reported.
The most popular type of card was retailer-specific, but even there the percentage of adult purchasers fell from 45% in 2016 to 38% in 2017. Sales of prepaid cards fell in all eight categories tracked for the annual survey: retailer-specific cards, general purpose reloadable cards, general purpose non-reloadable cards, gift cards for online services, prepaid mobile phone (virtual) cards, long distance phone cards and transit cards, 24/7 Wall St said.
What growth there has been in prepaid has been from the young adults, particularly 25- to 34-year-olds, mobile-enabled users, high-income earners and Hispanics. However, the report notes, these segments are also among the most likely to have shied away from prepaid this year, 24/7 Wall St noted.