How Millennials are Not Banking

Often when people think of prepaid card holders, the unbanked and underbanked of America, they think of lower income households. It’s a long-held belief that to save you have to rely on traditional banking, but millennials are looking to disrupt the system. In fact, according to Business Insider, the two youngest adult generations in the US accounted for 80% of prepaid card owners in August 2013. This has led to an increase in prepaid card issuers in recent years offering consumers more choices, meaning it’s easier to find the best prepaid card for your lifestyle.

According to the article, younger unbanked and underbanked consumers say they’re turning to prepaid cards over traditional bank accounts and credit cards because they want to avoid debt and interest charges. Some of them though have prepaid cards in addition to their bank accounts. Some Netspend cardholders choose to have both as well for security reasons – they will use their prepaid cards when shopping online or over the phone and only load as much as they plan on spending in order to keep the money in their other bank accounts safe from potential thieves.

Read the full story and see more takeaways from the prepaid card study at BusinessInsider.com.