I just saw this on yahoo. It makes sense but then it also makes me nervous
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/techbit_plastic_wages;_ylt=AhriHQJE97rlhsdccp...

i have auto deposit. saves paper.

yea true but what are the fees like if there are any? I mean I cant really afford to pay out fees to keep my pay from disapeering

I get my cheque direct deposited, and there's no fee for it, but I know some people can have problems with that. They could have no bank account, or have a bank account in the overdraft and need the cash, etc. But to have this card would probably benefit people who didn't have the use of a chequing account, because they could use a machine to withdraw rather than a shady cheque-cashing place.
Also, I WOULD find it shady if the company was doing it to track employee spending or something. But most people will just get the cash off the card and put it in their own accounts.

My paycheck is direct deposited into my checking account and there are no fees to do it. It's much more convenient as I get payed on the 1st and 15th and if I got a paper check, i wouldn't be able to deposit it until the next day.
I think it's a neat idea for those who don't have a bank account to get a debit card that has their pay on it.

My hubby had the debit card pay and when the resturaunt closed the last few bucks/cents whatever it was on the card were unable to be reached, not because it closed but because finding something for x-amount was impossible. Direct deposit on the other hand is great.
Plus, there aren't really barriers to having a bank account- are there? And most banks offer a debit account with a checking account as a rule.

Sure there are barriers to having a bank account. Not having ID, having previous overdrawn bank accounts...

I knew someone could help me out there! I had considered the ID thing but I know some banks are offering credit cards to undocumented immigrants so I assumed banking was available too, but I guess I left out the aspect of place- i.e. it may be possible in high pop. border areas and not rural Ohio (which is odd as I've spent most my life in rural Ohio).
I still like paper better due to the fact that I can recieve all of my check and I don't have to pay to take out cash (the fees at most ATM's were not waived on hubby's card which ment taking out money cost at least $1.50 which we all know adds up). Also the need for people who can't bank and want a card can mostly be filled by pre-paids right? I'm pretty sure you can get those sans ID, but IDK for sure.

I hate cheques. They always confuse me and make it so that we can't access all our money. Generally, we aren't around when the bank is open, so we put the cheque in the bank machine and then our account hold some or all of our money for up to 10 business days (which according to our bank only Mon-Thurs are business days).
SO gets his cheque direct deposited. There's no fees or anything. He had to jump through a ton of hoops and we had to go to about 4 different banks before he could open his own bank account, though, due to no ID and bad credit (yea, some banks actually do a credit cheque to open up a checking account, does that even make sense...we need to make sure you haven't not paid any of your bills in order for you to let us hold onto your money).
The good thing about getting paid on a prepaid card is that it works just like a cc, you can shop online or over the phone, you can pay your bills with a simple phone call. Especially good for people who have bad/no credit and couldn't afford a deposit for a secured credit card. A possible drawback if you're partnered and both partners need access to the money, only the person who's paycheque it is could use it.