PayPal Steps Up Prepaid Game With My Cash Card Launch

PayPal is continuing its march towards “fifth network” status, and the latest sphere of the payments industry it’s targeting is the prepaid segment.

PayPal announce the launch of its PayPal My Cash Card Yesterday, which will allow users to add funds to their PayPal accounts using cash. The move puts them in direct competition with services such as Walmart’s “pay with cash” option, as well as newcomers such as Dwolla, as TechCrunch notes.

My Cash Card is designed to target the U.S.’s growing underbanked population, which would be unable or unwilling to add to PayPal accounts through the traditional bank transfer method. Through the My Cash Card systems, PayPal users can buy cards at local retailers, and then add funds to their online accounts via the PIN number provided on each My Cash Card. Card holders have to provide PayPal with their name, address, date of birth and Social Security Number, but do not have to submit to a credit check.

The My Cash Cards will be sold at 30,000 locations across the U.S., with plans to double the number of locations by 2013. Cards will be sold in denominations of $20, $50 and $100 dollars, and consumers can add up to $500 per day and $4,000 per month. Users must pay a $3.95 activation fee to use the service.

PayPal worked with InComm, a company that specializes in prepaid card and services, in order to launch the My Cash Card service.

To read more about PayPal’s My Cash Card, read the TechCrunch breakdown here.