Don’t let Congress block consumer protections for prepaid card users

If you use a prepaid card — and millions of you do — take heed because there’s an effort in Congress to block new rules that would give you the kind of federal protections afforded to debit and credit card users.

General-purpose prepaid cards are increasingly being used to make purchases, pay bills and get cash at ATMs. Government agencies and employers use the cards to direct deposit benefits or paychecks.

So the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a set of comprehensive rules to guarantee that prepaid cards come with a simple fee chart or give cardholders basic fraud protection.

Here are some specifics of the rules that, if not overturned, will go into effect in October:

■ Unauthorized charges are limited to just $50.

■ Financial institutions must investigate unauthorized or fraudulent charges. If fraud is found, the cardholder’s funds must be restored.

■ Cardholders get free and easy access to account information. Unless financial institutions send customers a periodic statement, they can’t charge for access to account information by telephone, online or in writing.

■ Fee information has to be upfront and clearer.

■ Companies must make sure that people can afford credit linked to the prepaid card. Consumers also get at least 21 days to repay the credit debt before they are charged a late fee.

Here’s why the new rules really matter and why you need to tell your Congress member to stop this nonsense.

Prepaid cards have become the go-to financial product for people who don’t have a banking relationship. About half of households that used the cards in 2015 were either unbanked or underbanked, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The National Consumer Law Center says unbanked prepaid cardholders are more likely to be female, disabled, young, unemployed or African-American and less likely to have a college or postgraduate degree.

Half of unbanked prepaid cardholders have household incomes under $25,000 a year, according to a report by the Pew Charitable Trust.

If people are using prepaid cards much like a credit or debit card, why shouldn’t they have similar protections?

Apparently Republicans in Congress don’t think prepaid cards deserve the same protections and are trying to impede the CFPB’s implementation of the new rules by steamrolling legislation.

Here’s one complaint that I just find ridiculous. Some critics argue that the fee disclosures are upfront and may force people to pay more attention to what they are being charged. And if this happens, people may opt to use prepaid cards in a way that will cost them money.

On this issue, it comes down to this: Opponents of the new rules object to helping people who can least afford a whole bunch of fees so that card companies can make more money off them. It’s an example of putting business interests first and the interests of the nation’s most financially vulnerable consumers last.