Ethos: "Be Your Own Bank"
Using the tagline "Be Your Own Bank", privately held Affinity Card Systems has announced the Ethos Visa Debit Card account claiming it is the first and only card of its kind for the financially underserved.
"ACS intends to provide an ethos branded Visa Debit Card Account to a financially underserved customer base," said Terry Lock, chief executive officer of ACS, "by offering branded cards through employers, staffing agencies, unions and government agencies that disburse funds. This revolutionary new tool can help provide the underserved with financial independence through low cost access to funds."
Employers favor debit card accounts because they eliminate the time and expense of cutting payroll checks. With the electronic transfers of funds, the money is available immediately on payday -- which makes the employee happy.
For the nation's estimated 22 million unbanked (people with no bank account) households, it is a means of managing money more effectively and securely. It is also a cost effective alternative to checking accounts since the monthly fee is about half of the monthly cost of a standard non-interest bearing checking account. Numerous studies show that the average checking account is overdrawn as much as nine times a year, at a cost of almost $22 per occurrence. Ethos virtually eliminates these charges as the account holder is only able to spend the funds available on the card.
Ethos eliminates the hassle of visiting a bank since the debit-account information is available 24/7 through a toll-free, automated telephone system or online.
Accountholders also enjoy fraud prevention tools including the ability to turn the card on and off from a touch-tone phone and to receive text messaging alerts for deposits, withdrawals and purchases. With these features and single purchase transaction enablement, they can now protect themselves from fraud better than any bank or credit card company ever could. These features provide appeal for all employees, whether previously unbanked or not.
This revolutionary technology has other benefits, too. It's a secure, more cost effective method of managing money for employers since it eliminates the average payroll processing cost of $2-4 dollars per check and puts an end to stolen checks and stop payment fees. The card also helps employees save money by doing away with check cashing fees. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, part of the U.S. Treasury Department, a typical unbanked consumer making basic transactions pays $270 a year at a check cashing service to cash two $400 paychecks a month and to pay five monthly bills using money orders.
The Ethos Visa debit cards themselves are issued by West Coast Bank.
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