BANK FREEDOM LEADS THE WAY IN PREPAID PRICING PRACTICES

When we developed the Bank Freedom pricing model in 2007 we based it on the principal that we wanted to provide a much needed service to underbanked consumers with a product that brings strong value to consumers with a fair and simple pricing plan. As visionaries we forecasted the future of prepaid. Being experienced entrepreneurs we looked into the past before developing our fee plan and based our fees and pricing plan on where we believed the prepaid market would stabilize.

Here is why we continue to lead the prepaid card industry in our pricing model:

1. We have never charged a “Card Issuance Fee” others charged $9.95
2. We have never charged a “Card Activation Fee” others charged $9.95
3. We have never charged a “Signature Card Fee” others charged $1.00
4. We have never charged a “Load Fee” others charged $2.00
5. We have never charged an Overdraft Fee
6. We waive our “Monthly Fee” with Minimum Deposits
7. We offer a Surcharge-Free ATM Network
8. We offer free Automated Voice Transactions
9. We offer free 24/7  “Live Customer Service”

BANK FREEDOM LEADS THE WAY IN PREPAID PRACTICES

Bank Freedom’s founder and CEO has over 30 years experience in finance and marketing. From the company’s inception and based on this experience, he has spearheaded marketing practices that fully disclose all of the benefits and costs associated with using our products. His marketing pen was pulled out often to scrutinize marketing materials frequently stating, “Just because a competitor is doing it and has been doing it for a while doesn’t make it right.”


Our CEO has also vehemently opposed and refused to allow the company to offer high cost loans and virtually unknown credit building products that other prepaid card companies seem to offer with impunity. He didn’t believe in these types of product offerings representations or that the cardholder would understand the costs associated or value of such product offerings. Our CEO has been quoted numerous times stating, “One day we will be on a Nationally Syndicated Television show regarding the prepaid debit card industry and we will be seen as the good guys who provide a much needed valuable product at a fair price with clear and transparent pricing. When that happens our company will go viral and we will be greatly rewarded for our integrity, hard work, and foresight.”

1. We offer a much needed product with robust features at highly competitive pricing
2. We educate our card holders “How to Avoid Fees” when using our card
3. We proudly display ALL our Fees and one click gets you there
4. We offer simplistic pricing and waive our Monthly Fee when deposit minimums are reached
5. We have never offered high interest “Loans or Advances” 
6. We refused to offer credit building products that don’t report to the Major Bureaus
7. We have an A rating with the Better Business Bureau

1. and 2. Card Issuance Fee & Card Activation Fee

There are several costs in acquiring customers including marketing, identification, and card production.

However, the cost to activate a card is very marginal due to this we have believed that charging a $9.95 fee for card activation and/or for card issuance would be taking advantage of cardholders and discouraging them from actually activating their card. We built our business model around issuing cards online for free with no card issuance and/or activation fee.

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3. Signature Transaction Fee

Prepaid card companies generally earn interchange and reimbursement fees, which include a base rate and transaction percentage from the merchant who is accepting their card for payment known as "Signature Interchange". At the present time we believe that transaction revenue is sufficient and we have never charged our cardholders for those transactions.

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4. Load Fees

When a cardholder needs to speak to a live agent with a question about their card we see that as an opportunity for our company to build a long term customer. We look at every call from a customer as a learning experience, not as a revenue stream to make $2.00 off of a confused or concerned customer. Customers are the greatest source of feedback regarding how to improve the quality of the product you are offering.

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5. Overdraft Fee:

We have never charged an Overdraft Fee.  While it is possible to overdraft a prepaid card, we have never charged for this.   Others have charged up to $10 overdraft fee for a prepaid card

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6. Monthly Maintenance Fee:

We prefer to not charge a fee for using our card so we waive our Monthly Maintenance Fee when minimum deposit criteria are met. However, if a cardholder decides to keep a card account open for infrequent usage, we then charge a $10.00 Monthly Maintenance Fee for our Bank Freedom Platinum Visa Prepaid Card to cover the cost and risk associated with keeping the card account open.   

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7. Surcharge Free-ATM Network :

We are one of the first prepaid card issuers to offer a Surcharge-Free ATM Network, which we offer to our Bank Freedom Card Programs.  We offer Surcharge-Free ATM Access through the MoneyPass^® ATM Network which has tens of thousands of locations where we absorb the Surcharge the ATM Owner charges to earn revenue.

8. Automated Voice Transactions:

We have always offered free Automated Transactions for checking card balances, transferring funds, and for listening to transaction history.  Others have charged up to $1.00 for this service and we have always elected to absorb these costs to provide convenience to our customers.

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9. Free 24/7  “Live Customer Service”

Many prepaid card companies have charged customers for contacting customer service.  We provide customer service for our cardholders for free and do not want to penalize our customers for contacting us about questions related to their card account or if they need assistance with their account.  We also provide 24/7 customer service for all customer inquiries.  Most prepaid card companies only provide 24/7 customer service only for cardholders that need to report their cards as lost or stolen.

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