And so it begins… Excerpt: For these largely hourly workers, paper paychecks and even direct deposit have been replaced by prepaid cards issued by their employers. Employees can use these cards, which work like debit cards, at an A.T.M. to withdraw their pay. But in the overwhelming majority of cases, using the card involves a fee. And those fees can quickly add up: one provider, for example, charges $1.75 to make a withdrawal from most A.T.M.’s, $2.95 for a paper statement and $6 to replace a card. Some users even have to pay $7 inactivity fees for not using their cards. These fees can take such a big bite out of paychecks that some employees end up making less than the minimum wage once the charges are taken into account, according to interviews with consumer lawyers, employees, and state and federal regulators. Devonte Yates, 21, who earns $7.25 an hour working a drive-through station at a McDonald’s in Milwaukee, says he spends $40 to $50 a month on fees associated with his JPMorgan Chase payroll card. “It’s pretty bad,” he said. “There’s a fee for literally everything you do.” Many employees say they have no choice but to use the cards: some companies no longer offer common payroll options like ordinary checks or direct deposit. nytimes/2013/07/01/business/as-pay-cards-replace-paychecks-bank-fees-hurt-workers.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 01:38:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015