Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office Requires Reforms in Florida’s Prepaid Debit Card Industry

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says her office has reached first-of-its-kind settlements requiring reforms to the business practices of five of the Sunshine State's largest prepaid debit card companies: Account Now Inc., First Data Corp., Green Dot Corp., Net Spend Corp., and Unirush LLC.

Following an investigation based on allegations that consumers were not clearly advised of fees and misled by claims that using the cards would build positive credit history, the settlements require the companies to provide clear and conspicuous notice of fees and prohibits them from making misleading claims about the ability of prepaid debit cards to build positive credit history.

The companies have also agreed to pay $115,000 to the Central Florida chapter of Junior Achievement, a charity that provides financial and job training to K-12 students.

The reforms we are requiring will protect consumers by providing them with the information they need in order to make sound financial decisions," Bondi says in her press release. "[A]nd they establish standard business practices among Floridas largest prepaid debit card companies."

The settlement agreements can be read at the links below:

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MMFD-93ZPGJ/$file/ACCOUNTNOW.pdf

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MMFD-93ZPHE/$file/First+Data.pdf

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MMFD-93ZPHX/$file/Green+Dot.pdf

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MMFD-93ZPJE/$file/Netspend.pdf

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MMFD-93ZPJZ/$file/Unirush.pdf