Payment Cards Center

The Payment Cards Center provides meaningful insights into developments in consumer credit and payments that are of interest not only to the Federal Reserve but also to the industry, other businesses, academia, policymakers, and the public at large. The center carries out its work through an agenda of research and analysis as well as forums and conferences that encourage dialogue incorporating industry, academic, and public-sector perspectives.

For information on all research on consumer credit and payments, go to our Program in Consumer Credit & Payments page.

What's new

April 2012

Discussion Paper Released: A Prepaid Case Study: Ready Credit’s General-Purpose & Transit-Fare Programs (616 KB, 25 pages)

Today, prepaid cards are used in dozens of payment applications. To examine the most recent developments, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia hosted a workshop on August 22, 2011. Leading the workshop was Tim Walsh, president and chief executive officer of Ready Credit Corporation, a firm that developed network-branded prepaid cards for use in transit-fare systems and also markets general-purpose, reloadable prepaid cards to consumers. Walsh discussed the unique opportunities and challenges associated with using prepaid cards for transit purposes. He described a model of customer acquisition that emphasizes direct advertising, high-quality call centers, and high rates of enrollment in direct deposit. Walsh compared and contrasted card usage patterns in his transit and general-purpose programs. He also described the importance of cost-effective messaging strategies that reduce program costs and teach customers how to reduce the fees they incur.

January 2012

Special Edition 2012 Update (341 KB, 8 pages)

To help guide you through the latest changes to the Payment Cards Center’s web pages, we are pleased to announce that we’ve published a special edition of Update newsletter. In this edition, you can view a screen shot highlighting the new web features.

October 2011

Fall 2011 Update

In this edition of Update we welcome two new employees to the center and say good-bye to two colleagues. We also introduce the Center Stage column. This column will feature work from center staff. Industry Specialist Susan Herbst-Murphy contributed the inaugural article by highlighting her July 2011 conference, Government Use of the Payment Cards System: Issuance, Acceptance, and Regulation. This issue of Update also features a number of PCC workshops and discussion papers, as well as works published by two of the center's visiting scholars.

Last update: April 11, 2012