Increasingly, national retailers are adopting a new way to pay employees: payroll cards. In the last several years, some national employers like Walgreen’s, McDonald’s and Wal-Mart have begun paying employees with payroll cards instead of cash or check.
Similar to debit cards, payroll cards have many of the benefits of other A.T.M.-compatible cards. Like debit cards, payroll cards may be used to purchase items online. Employees can check their account balance with a few clicks of a mouse or touches on a screen. And by holding digital currency rather than a check, unbanked employees avoid the fees of a check cashing service.
Of course, as with debit cards, payroll cards have detriments, too. If a cardholder uses an out-of-network A.T.M., they may face a different set of fees. Also, payroll cards can be inconvenient for people who need ready cash for a variety of purposes; it can be difficult to know how much to withdraw at the A.T.M.
But what is most important at the moment is not just the virtues and drawbacks of payroll cards. It’s whether these employers received the consent of their employees before dramatically altering the way they compensated their workers. That’s the question that some state attorneys general want to answer. It’s a question you may want to answer, too.
If you’re facing financial distress in part because of the difficulties of managing your payroll card, you may consider discussing that with an attorney from the dedicated firm of Fears Nachawati. With years of experiencing handling consumer claims and consumer bankruptcies, we’re prepared to help you consider whether you have valuable claims with respect to your payroll card. Let us advise you. Contact us today for your free consultation.