For some employers, paycards have become a convenient and
cost-effective alternate method to pay their workers, and for
employees to have fast and easy access to their wages. Even direct
deposit, for all the administrative ease it provides, is often less
attractive than paycards for employees whose banks have a mandatory
deposit holding period before wages can be accessed. As a
consequence, the move to paying employees with a paycard system is
gaining traction, and appears to be growing in popularity among
employers and employees alike.
A paycard system functions similarly to a
bank debit card, except it does not require an employee to have a
personal bank account from which he or she draws funds. Instead, an
employer funds an account linked to an employee's specifically
issued paycard, and on every payday the funds paid to the employee
are immediately accessible for access through any ATM terminal or
debit card pay station. This gives employees the freedom to take
