Occupy Wall Street rages against the financial industry but that's not getting in the way of the movement utilizing a bank to launch the Occupy Card.
From CNN:
The corporate greed-fighting movement, Occupy Wall Street, is now joining in on the prepaid card craze with plans to launch the Occupy Card.Oh, good grief.
An offshoot of the movement, the Occupy Money Cooperative, is currently raising money to launch the card.
An Occupy Card may seem strange, since Occupy Wall Street has been protesting the financial industry for years now. But the group said the card will "start to fix the inequities in the present financial services system" by providing a low-cost cashless option for people who want to stay outside of the traditional banking system.
That said, the card will still be issued through a bank -- although Occupy hasn't disclosed which one yet. That way, the card can be insured through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. so cardholders' money will be safe if the venture falls apart.
Occupy says it will keep costs low by funding its operations through interchange fees, which are charged to merchants each time a consumer makes a purchase using a debit or credit card. And every cardholder will become a member of the cooperative, meaning they will share in any profits and help make strategic decisions about the group.
"People who are unbanked, underbanked, and even just angry-banked will all benefit from using the Card because it is a better and more affordable product," the Occupy Money Cooperative's website states.No one is paying attention to the Occupy movement. There are more pressing issues, such as the alleged government shutdown and the ObamaCare debacle.
So far, the group has raised just $6,000 of its $900,000 goal through social media. If the full amount isn't raised over the next few months, donors will get their money back -- although the co-op says it may keep a small percentage for the costs it has already incurred.
Prepaid debit cards are notoriously laden with fees. And while some of the Occupy Card fees will beat those of the high-cost celebrity prepaid cards out there, it still carries its fair share of charges.
Still, this card idea is crazy.
Occupy hates banks but wants to issue a card through a bank, and stick people with fees. Go figure.
"[T]he group has raised just $6,000 of its $900,000 goal through social media."
Yeah, things don't look too good for the Occupy Card.
Actually, I'm surprised the group has raised that much.
