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Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign has come under republican and media scrutiny for accepting prepaid cards, but one industry observer says the controversy shows that prepaid cards can give consumers access to all kinds of financial transactions. "This means that people who are unbanked are finding how prepaid cards can be used for political donations," says Judith Rinearson, partner at Bryan Cave LLP, a New York-based law firm. An article in the Washington Post on Tuesday described how the Obama campaign received untraceable donations through its Web site. A spokesperson from the Federal Elections Commission tells CardLine that it has no rules on whether prepaid cards can be accepted. The Republican National Committee distributed excerpts of the article through press releases on Wednesday, which quoted R. Rebecca Donatelli, who handles online contributions for the McCain campaign, describing herself as "flabbergasted" when she heard the Obama campaign accepts prepaid cards. Refusing to allow prepaid cards for donations could keep entire segments of the population from donating to candidates, such as those who receive government benefits or their payroll on prepaid cards, Rinearson says. "The government itself relies on prepaid cards," Rinearson says. "It seems weird to criticize a campaign for accepting prepaid cards when the government, both federal and states, use them for so many kinds of payments," Rinearson says. The Republican National Committee and McCain campaign did not return calls for comment. The Obama campaign sent an e-mail solicitation for a donation in response to a CardLine request for an interview made through a media-request form on its Web site.
