PayPal Launches Prepaid PayPal My Cash Card

One of the more annoying things about PayPal and getting money into your account has always been the need to transfer money from your bank account. Bank account transfers have been the primary method of getting money into a PayPal account since the service launched. PayPal announced that it has now launched its first fully branded cash loading card.

The cards are called the PayPal My Cash Card and allow users to load their PayPal account using cash rather than having to mess with bank transfers. The cards will be sold at pharmacies and discount stores around the country including CVS, Rite Aid, Fred's, Dollar General, Family Dollar, and others are coming soon. The cards will be available in 30,000 locations across the United States.

PayPal plans to double that reach by 2013 to 60,000 retailers. To activate the card, the buyer would purchase the dollar amount they want to load with a card available in fixed amounts such as $20, $50, $100, and higher. Cards are available all the way up to $500 in value.

The user would purchase the card, pay the dollar amount at the retail location, and then go to PayPal and enter a pin number provided on the back of the card to access the money immediately in their PayPal account. Users can create a PayPal account during this process. PayPal charges $3.95 activation fee and users can load up to $500 per day to a maximum of $4000 per month. No credit check is required for the cards but users do have to provide a name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number to verify identity.

[via TechCrunch]