There are 48 million American households who cannot, for a variety of reasons, hold a traditional banking account of any kind. Given your background in community service, I am sure that this comes as no surprise to you. Though we may not fully understand the hardships or reasoning as to why these individuals cannot maintain a traditional bank relationship, it is our mission at RushCard to give them the freedom and security to make payments, track day-to-day spending, build a positive credit file, and manage their monthly finances. Can you imagine walking out of a check cashing franchise onto the street with your paycheck, but not even your whole check since these services charge substantial fees, then managing and budgeting that cash without the proper tools? What if you couldn’t pay your bills online or even by check? How would you keep track of all of these fees?

Your representation of our fees is inaccurate and misleading. We offer our members the opportunity to choose a fee structure that best meets their needs. One plan is a “pay as you go” plan and the other is a fixed monthly fee plan that includes 2 free ATM withdrawals and unlimited free signature transactions. Your fees comparison unfairly and inaccurately combines fees from both of these plans. You also failed to mention that our Diamond RushCards have free activation with any direct deposit. Our fees are easily accessible and transparent to our members. You can view them at https://www.rushcard.com/whyrushcard/scheduleOfFees.aspx).

Since the RushCard is designed specifically for those who do not have access to a traditional bank account, it should not be compared to a traditional bank debit card. If you would like to view a comparison with our costs versus traditional banks and check cashing outlets you can do so at: https://www.rushcard.com/whyrushcard/comparison.aspx). As you pointed out, banks collected $38.5 billion in overdraft fees. What you did not point out is that only 14% of bank customers incurred 93% of that $38.5 billion. The average cost that each individual included in that 14% experiences is approximately $1,400.00 per year. So the free debit card you get when you enroll in a checking account isn’t really free after all. The 14% of bank customers that are being charged these outrageous fees need an alternative and that is what RushCard can offer, no NSF fees because you only spend what you have. Just one overdraft fee (averaging anywhere from $30-$35) is more than RushCard’s monthly fees.

One point I am sure we can both agree upon is the importance of educating others about managing their finances. When our customers login to their RushCard account they can utilize our online money manager (https://www.rushcard.com/featuresandbenefits/moneymgmt.aspx) to track spending, set goals, create a budget and much more. We want to empower our customers to build positive credit which can be accomplished through Rush Path to Credit (https://www.rushcard.com/featuresandbenefits/path.aspx) a free service offered to RushCard customers. In addition, we offer our members our FREE Prescription Discount Card that entitles anyone to discounts on regular prescription drugs.

Maybe I’m biased, but I don’t see how this is predatory,