George Lopez Endorses Prepaid Card

Comedian and actor George Lopez on Wednesday became the latest celebrity to embrace the prepaid card business, through an endorsement deal with Mango Financial Inc.

The prepaid card company said Wednesday that Lopez has signed a multiyear marketing partnership to promote Mango's products.

The growing prepaid industry is rife with celebrities promoting the cards, which are generally used by young, poor, immigrant or other underbanked consumers. Lopez's deal with Mango comes less than a month after personal finance guru Suze Orman introduced her Approved card.

Orman and other celebrities who market their own cards have come under fire, in part due to the high fees some of them charge. Music mogul Russell Simmons has often faced that criticism over his own RushCard. The reality television personalities known as the Kardashian sisters also had a short-lived card that was cancelled after an uproar over its high fees.

Mango's prepaid card charges $5 per month, $2 for ATM withdrawals and 50 cents for ATM balance inquiries and mobile money transfers, according to the company's website.

Lopez's endorsement of Mango may help the company gain more prominence — and customers — among U.S. Hispanics, who make up several million of the so-called underbanked consumers who use prepaid cards and other alternative financial services. Mango noted in its press release that Lopez has been named one of Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America.