Bankrate.com releases annual prepaid fee survey

Monthly Service Fees

• Fifteen of the 24 cards (63 percent) charge a monthly service fee ranging from $3 to $9.95.
• Eight of the 15 cards that charge a monthly service fee offer a fee waiver or reduction, which is usually based upon how much money is automatically loaded onto the card.
• In total, two-thirds of the cards that Bankrate surveyed either have no monthly fee or offer a fee waiver.

Activation Fees

• Two-thirds of the cards are free of activation fees if purchased online. Fifty-four percent can be purchased in-person without an activation fee.
• The activation fees range from $2.99 to $14.95.

Reload Fees

• None of the issuers that Bankrate surveyed charge reload fees.

ATM Withdrawal Fees

• All 24 cards charge a fee to withdraw money from another institution's ATM; the fee ranges from $1.50 to $2.75 per transaction.
• Fifteen of the 24 cards have their own ATM networks. Ten of those 15 (67 percent) charge a withdrawal fee to in-network consumers that ranges from $1.50 to $2.75.

ATM Balance Inquiry Fees

• Thirteen of the 24 cards (54 percent) charge an ATM balance inquiry fee ranging from 45 cents to $1 regardless of which network the ATM belongs to.
• Of the remaining 11 cards, five charge balance inquiry fees only at some ATMs, four do not charge at all and the other two do not permit ATM balance inquiries.

PIN/Signature Point-of-Sale Fees

• Seventy-one percent (17 of 24 cards) do not charge for PIN-based point-of-sale transactions. Two cards do not permit PIN-based point-of-sale transactions. Among the five cards that charge this fee, it ranges from 49 cents to $2.
• Eighty-three percent (20 of 24) do not charge a signature-based point-of-sale fee. Among the four cards that charge this fee, the fee is either 95 cents or $1.

Monthly Statement Fees

• Fourteen of the 24 cards (58 percent) charge a monthly fee ranging from $1 to $5.95 for statements by mail. Thirty-three percent do not charge this fee and eight percent do not offer statements by mail. None of the 24 cards offer a statement that can be printed at an ATM.

Bill Payment Fees

• Ninety-two percent (22 of 24) do not charge a fee for any bill payments. One card charges a 99 cent fee for each bill payment and one charges a $1 fee for bills paid via paper checks.

Customer Service Fees

• Only 17 percent of the cards that Bankrate surveyed charge for all customer service calls, with $2 the most common fee. Eighty-three percent provide at least one free call per month and two-thirds never charge for telephone customer service.

Declined Transaction Fees

• Fifteen of 24 cards (63 percent) do not charge for declined transactions. Five cards (21 percent) charge between 25 cents and $1.95 for each declined transaction. Four charge only for transactions that are declined at an ATM; their fees are either $1 or $2.

Inactivity Fees

• These are only charged by 29 percent of the cards that Bankrate surveyed. The monthly inactivity fee ranges from$1.95 to $5.95 and typically does not begin until there have been at least 90 days without activity. The remaining 71 percent of cards do not charge an inactivity fee but may close the card after three to six months of inactivity.

Methodology: Bankrate.com surveyed 24 prepaid cards offered by prominent issuers from February 12-19, 2013.

Read more about trends and statistics.