These systems are widely used in America and are thought to be more efficient than the paper cheque system and they are basically a debit card that has the persons wages directly funded into their work account. It is also thought to be safer in the way they don’t have to carry around any cash as the card can be used to make purchases in many retail establishments. There are some questions you may want to ask about the programme if your boss decides to change the payroll system to a payroll card system, some of these questions include;
How financial stable are the company that hold your wages before you draw them out?
You want to ask your employer about the stability of the company holding your wages because not all payroll card systems are done through a bank. When discussing the stability of the firm you would need to establish how long the firm has been in business for, who are they backed by etc. This is because there have been instances in the past where payroll card programme companies have become bankrupt and employees of companies using those firms have lost wages as a result of this.
Do I get the protection with the card as I would with a checking account card?
This is not the case as of yet there are some companies where the Electronic Fund Transfer Act is applicable this means you can be refunded a certain amount or all of the funds removed from your account back in to it. It is a federal law after July 2007 so before then it may well be an idea to check if the accounts are protected by this act or if they offer any other kind of employee compensation if this does occur.
Are there any fees I will have to pay?
There are many different fees that can be payable by the employee when using a payroll card system. Some of these include;
- Monthly fees, these are paid to the card company but you want to know how much they are if there are any.
- Inactivity fee, this is a fee that you are charged if the card you have is inactive for a period of time but you would want to know how long you have before being charged.
- ATM charge, you may be charged for using an ATM with the card or it may be set so you have so many transactions before starting to be charged for them.
- Load fee, this is a charge you could face for having money put into the account.
Not all card companies have the same policies in regards to charges and also liability so it is wise to make sure you find out all you can from your employer.