A recent survey of merchant attitudes toward prepaid cards found that more than half are interested in accepting the cards as an alternative form of payment.
The survey, conducted by Ridgewood, N.J.-based consultancy Carmody & Bloom Inc., also found that interest in prepaid cards increases with the number of locations operated by the merchant organization.
Supermarkets and gas stations are more interested than drug stores, fast food restaurants, movie theaters, and other merchants with typical transactions of under $20, according to the survey.
The most important prepaid card benefits, according to the surveyed merchants, are reduced cash handling and fewer opportunities for theft by employees.
The nationwide survey of 384 merchants, conducted by telephone, also found that merchants prefer to pay a fixed transaction fee, rather than a daily fee, or a percent of the ticket amount.
