Prepaid Cards in the US, 9th Edition

Report Overview

Mobile wallets are a must for major prepaid card programs, regardless of card type 

Key themes covered in this report:

• Transformation of the general pupose reloadable prepaid card category Fintech
• Continued strong in general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards
• Prepaid cards remain vital for unbanked and underbanked consumers
• Major prepaid card issuers fly under the radar with high card volumes despite modest assets
   

Across major card types, prepaid cards are in growth mode. We estimate that total US prepaid card value will reach $642.1 billion in 2025, up an average of 10.5% annually since 2019. Prepaid cards remain vital for unbanked and underbanked consumers. However, factors such as mobile wallet ecosystems, restaurant loyalty programs, and HSA account growth expand the user base. This and much more is detailed in Prepaid Cards in the US, 9th Edition, which relies heavily on proprietary data trended back to 2019 to pinpoint competitive shifts, product innovation, and consumer preference changes.

More specifically, this report provides a market size and forecast for the prepaid card market, including trended payment value for open-loop and closed-loop prepaid cards, by card type, with growth opportunity analysis. It also assesses:

• Card growth by key segment, e.g., healthcare, government-administered, payroll, gift, general-purpose reloadable, and other segments
• Prepaid gift card trends, including purchasing behavior, distribution, usage rationales, foodservice analysis, loading and redemption behavior, and breakage income analysis
• Government-administered prepaid card trends, including revenue, disbursement values, payment values, and key players
• General-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid card trends, including their relationship to unbanked and underbanked consumers; threats from deconversion, debit account launch, and mobile wallet ecosystem growth; and current usage rationales
• Healthcare prepaid card trends, including HSA asset, withdrawal, and prepaid card payment value trends, as well as key players
• Payroll prepaid card trends, including EWA and instant payroll, as well as key players
• Prepaid card marketer and issuer strategies from major issuers such as The Bancorp, Green Dot, and Pathward Financial, including key relationships, performance metrics, and key account growth

Methodology

Consumer Survey Methodology

Primary research includes national online consumer surveys of US adults (age 18+) that Packaged Facts conducts on a regular basis to measure consumer purchasing patterns and attitudes for various products and services. These proprietary Packaged Facts surveys have a sample size of approximately 1,500, screened for response quality and are representative of the US population on the demographic measures of age, gender, geographic region, race/ethnicity, household income, and the presence/absence of children in the household.

Packaged Facts’ consumer analysis also draws on national consumer survey data licensed by MRI-Simmons. On a quarterly basis, Simmons releases 12-month aggregations of booklet-based survey results from a large and random sample (approximately 25,000 for each quarterly release) that accurately represents the US population. This database allows for historical trending and detailed consumer profiles across various demographic and psychographic measures as well as product and service categories. Results from the 12-month Fall 2021-2024 and Winter 2025 surveys are analyzed. Results from MRI’s predecessor survey—the MRI National Consumer Study—are also analyzed for Fall 2019-2020.