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Net Pay: The Pay of the Future

A colleague recently shared with me an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled "Tamer Charge Cards for These Tougher Times." I was immediately reminded of an SNL skit that pretty much sums up my personal philosophy toward money: “Don’t Buy Stuff You Can’t Afford.”

It probably helps explain why I am so passionate about my job. I think net pay cards – for personal or commercial use – are the only way to go. A payment instrument (cash, check, embossed plastic) shouldn’t provide access to money an individual or organization doesn’t really have in the first place. A payment instrument should offer convenience.

For consumers, the convenience may simply be an electronic from of payment and consolidated billing instead of cash, check, and receipt tracking. For commercial customers, convenience is provided through an electronic form of payment as well, but with the added benefit to manage multiple users under a consolidated account utilizing purchasing controls and account management tools.

More and more, I see financial products offering consumers the benefits that commercial payment vehicles have provided for businesses for years. Take, for instance, prepaid cards that parents give to their children. These cards provide parents with the ability to control the amounts their children spend, much like not-to-exceed spend thresholds commercial customers can assign to individual cards assigned to employees.