Stop Banks and Financial Institutions From Charging Debit Card Fees To The Unemployed

Stop Banks and Financial Institutions From Charging Debit Card Fees To The Unemployed

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Banking and Financial Institutions, Wells Fargo, EPPICard.

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The State of Florida, Agency for Workforce Innovation along with New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Indiana and Iowa has implemented a convenient electronic payment option for the unemployed to receiving Unemployment Insurance payments using a prepaid Visa Debit Card deemed “a better way to receive your Unemployment Insurance payments.” These states choose to use the EPPICard system to administer unemployment insurance benefits.

EPPICard is an electronic funds transfer card making payments to citizens for a variety of purposes. Instead of states mailing unemployment benefit checks, they simply have the option to deposit funds in the citizen's EPPICard account. The card is used like a Visa credit card at retail locations, and at ATMs. The Eppicard is similar to an ATM card and is used by many state and local agencies to distribute unemployment benefits and other social payments. The unemployed have immediate access to Unemployment Insurance payments are electronically loaded to your EPPICard, deposits are posted on EPPICard the day after payment is received and processed.

In a bad economy financial institutions have explored and exploited the unemployed with fees on unemployment benefits. The State of Florida has contracted EPPICard with Wells Fargo in South Florida to administer its unemployment benefits on which the state deposits the funds. To withdraw immediate cash from ATMs from unemployment benefits, the unemployed uses EPPICard Visa Debit Card through Wells Fargo. ATM withdrawals from Wells Fargo are free of charge. But not all Wells Fargo Banks are accessible or located in the proximity of ones surrounding area.

Using any ATM outside of Wells Fargo, EPPICard requires a surcharge fees associated with other ATMs, EPPICard will allow other banks ATMs to apply a surcharge fee to use their ATM. Generally the fee is a $3.00 charge. EPPICard will apply an additional surcharge $2.25 per transaction for ATM cash withdrawals what they call “out of network” locations. These fees are unavoidable. The unemployed has been hit with a $5.25 fee per ATM transaction.

Additional fees EPPICard charges, $2.25 per transaction for ATM cash withdrawals at "out-of-network" locations, $4.00 for each replacement card issued, after initial card replacement and one free replacement per year, $14.50 for expedited card delivery. Expedited delivery is a two business day delivery or 3 day delivery for selected by United State Postal locations, $1.50 for a Funds Transfer via phone, $2.25 for each International ATM cash withdrawals conducted outside the USA and $0.50 for each Customer Service Live Operator call via toll free number after five free per month. All surcharged fees hitting the unemployed.

EPPICard provides access to more than 425,000 nationwide ATMs and over a million around the world available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. EPPICard does not provide any or all of its nationally participating located ATMs but will apply a surcharge if unemployment transactions are withdrawn from any of these locations.

Banks and financial institution are silently finding ways to continue to extract another source of fees against Americans. Now member FDIC insured banks and EPPICard are applying a surcharge fee to unemployed unwaged unemployment benefits on the jobless who depend upon EPPICard the banks prepaid debit cards to tap their benefits. EPPICard and other financial firms have secured contracts to provide access to public benefits in 41 states. These contracts typically allow banks to collect unlimited fees from merchants and consumers.

Bank of America recently aborted plans to charge ordinary banking customers $5 a month in banking fee to use their debit cards in the face of a national outcry. Now these banks have figured out how to turn widespread unemployment into a profit by charging unemployment benefits with fees for their profit margin ripping off millions of out of work Americans through administering their benefits for bigger revenue. The unemployed are being charged unnecessary fees for using the EPPICard for cash withdrawal.

Please join me in telling Wells Fargo and EPPICard to stop charging a debit card fee to the unemployed. Sign my petition making all financial institutions put an end to extreme and unwarranted unemployment benefits bank fees on debit cards to turn a profit.


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Sincerely,

Michael Coker
Founder
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