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Prepaid Debit Cards Come With Fistful of Fees

Making a Prepaid Card Your Transaction ChoicePrepaid debit cards are among the most controversial financial products.

Celebrities endorse them. Many consumer advocates revile them. But there's no denying they're incredibly popular.Americans made more than 5 billion transactions on prepaid debit cards in 2010, and that volume shows no sign of slowing, says Madeline Aufseeser, a senior analyst at Aite Group in Boston."It has grown across the board," she says. "This is a now a mainstream product."While prepaid debit cards come in a variety of flavors, which include single-use gift cards and payroll cards, general-purpose reloadable, or GPR, cards are the ones designed to bridge the gap between cash and a full-on checking account or credit card. Users can load money on general-purpose cards by using direct deposit or by loading cash or checks at retail locations, with services such as Green Dot's $4.95 MoneyPak.After that, the card can be used like any other debit card. However, unlike a t...

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