Form FR 3063b FR 3063b Government-Administered, General-Use Prepaid Card Survey

FR 3063b
OMB No. 7100-0343
Approval expires December 31, 2020

GOVERNMENT-ADMINISTERED,
GENERAL-USE PREPAID CARD SURVEY
Government Survey

Survey Period:
Calendar Year 2017

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General Instructions
About this Survey
The Board is required to report annually to the Congress on the prevalence of the use of general-use
prepaid cards in federal, state, or local government-administered payment programs, and the interchange
fees and cardholder fees charged with respect to the use of such general-use prepaid cards. [15 U.S.C.
1693o-2] The information requested in this survey will be used as input to this report.
Your Participation
To achieve the most reliable results, it is important that you respond completely and accurately. Please
leave no survey item blank.
The survey should be completed for each program administered within your jurisdiction. Sections I
through III should be repeated as many times as needed to provide the requested data on each program.
There are three possible ways to answer a numeric survey question:
Enter a Value: The actual numeric value of the data element.
Enter a Zero: When the calculated value equals zero. Please do not enter a non-numeric value,
e.g. “NA” or “NR,” when the value equals zero.
Enter “NR” (Not Reported): If your government agency engages in the activity of the type being
measured but you are unable to report a figure that reflects that activity.
Please do not enter “NA.”
If for any reason you cannot provide complete data or you have questions, please contact
Therese Ngo Bikoi at 202-785-6008 or e-mail [email protected] for assistance.
Please complete the survey by April 16, 2018.
Response Confidentiality and Burden
The Federal Reserve Board does not regard the individual organization information provided by each
respondent as confidential.
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to be 15 hours per response,
including the time to gather data in the required form and to review instructions and complete the
information collection. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Secretary, Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551, or via email to
[email protected]; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project
(7100-0343), Washington, D.C. 20503. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and an
organization (or a person) is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.

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Section I:

Government-Administered, General-Use
Prepaid Card Program Information

Please enter totals only for government-administered payment programs that disbursed funds to payment
recipients on general-use prepaid cards linked to U.S.-domiciled accounts in calendar year (CY) 2017.
Complete the survey for each individual program that your agency administers. If you are unable to
disaggregate values for a group of programs, note clearly in Section I the name of each program included in
your aggregate response, check all boxes that apply throughout the survey, and provide explanatory
descriptions where appropriate to fully answer all questions for each program included in that response.
Include:

All general-use prepaid cards (linked to U.S.-domiciled accounts) issued under programs
administered by a federal, state, or local government agency, except for the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP). The Board will collect cumulative data for the SNAP program directly
from the Food and Nutrition Service under the United States Department of Agriculture. Examples of
general-use prepaid cards issued under programs administered by a government agency include, but
are not limited to, cards issued under federal benefit programs (such as Social Security Administration,
Supplemental Security Income, and Veterans Administration), electronic benefit transfer programs
(such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and the energy assistance programs), payroll
programs, child support programs, reimbursement programs, disaster relief programs, and petty cash
programs.

1. Name of government-administered payment program(s) covered in this response
If this response covers more than one program, please separate each distinct program name with a semicolon (;)

Number
1a. Number of government-administered
payment program(s) covered in this response .

2. Sponsoring government agency
Government agency administering the general-use prepaid card program(s)

Name of agency/agencies

Jurisdiction of
agency/agencies
State/Local
[ ]

Federal
[ ]

3. Geographic area(s) in which the government-administered, general-use prepaid cards have been
issued (e.g., nationally, specific state(s), county/counties, municipality/municipalities).

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4. Card-issuing bank(s)

5. Type of government-administered payment program(s)
TANF
[ ]

WIC
[ ]

Veterans
Administration
[ ]

Unemployment
[ ]
Prisons/
Corrections
[ ]

Disaster Relief
[ ]

Payroll
[ ]

Child Support
[ ]

Disability
[ ]

Section 8
Housing
[ ]

Social
Security
[ ]

Supplemental
Security
Income
[ ]

Energy
Assistance
[ ]

Tax Refund
[ ]

Other
[ ]

If other, please specify:

Number of recipients receiving payments
Count each individual, household, or other category only once.

Number

6. All recipients receiving payments (by all payment methods, e.g., check,
ACH, prepaid card, etc.) as of December 31, 2017
6a. Recipients receiving payments on government-administered,
general-use prepaid cards as of December 31, 2017

Individual
[ ]

Please specify how recipients are counted:
Check only one.

Household
[ ]

If other, please specify:

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Other
[ ]

Section II:

Number of Cards
Number

1. Government-administered, general-use prepaid cards
outstanding as of December 31, 2017
1a.

Government-administered, general-use prepaid cards on which
cardholders receive benefits or payments from multiple
programs as of December 31, 2017

Please list all programs covered within this response for which 1a. applies:

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Section III:

Funds Disbursed to Payment Recipients

In instances where funds disbursed to a recipient are voided or returned:
When answering questions 1, 2a, and 2b, do not include funds that were
ultimately voided or returned to the government agency (or other fundng
entity). That is, report the value of funds ultimately retained by the recipients.
In comment box 2c, indicate that some funds disbursed to recipients were
ultimately voided or returned.
For WIC programs only: Report the value of items redeemed when answering
questions 1, 2a, and 2b.

Value ($)
1.

Funds disbursed to payment recipients by all
payment methods (check, ACH, prepaid card, etc.) in 2017

2.

Allocate “Funds disbursed to payment recipients by
all payment methods in 2017” between the following
categories:
2a + 2b = 1

2a.

Funds disbursed by government-administered,
general-use prepaid cards in 2017

2b.

Funds disbursed by all other payment methods than
government-administered, general-use prepaid cards in
2017

2c. Comments

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1:

Glossary of Terms
Cards outstanding: All active general-use prepaid cards in circulation on which funds may be
disbursed for the government administered payment program for which data are being reported. This
does not include cards in inventory or that are no longer eligible to receive benefit funds.
Government-administered payment program: A program is considered governmentadministered regardless of whether a federal, state, or local government agency operates the
program or outsources some or all functions to third parties so long as the program is operated on
behalf of the government agency. In addition, a program may be government-administered even if a
federal, state, or local government agency is not the source of funds for the program it administers.
For example, child support programs are government-administered programs even though a federal,
state, or local government agency is not the source of the funds. In addition, to the extent Health
Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts, and Health Reimbursement Arrangement accounts
are offered in connection with a person's employment and administered by or on behalf of a
government employer, such accounts are considered government-administered payment programs.
Jury duty payment programs administered by federal, state, or local governments, including courts,
are also considered government-administered payment programs. Further, local governmentadministered payment programs would include programs administered by tribal governments.
For the purposes of this survey, this definition includes, but is not limited to, federal benefit programs
(such as Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Income, and Veterans
Administration), electronic benefit transfer programs (such as Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families and the energy assistance programs), payroll programs, child support programs,
reimbursement programs, disaster relief programs, and petty cash programs.
While the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a government-administered
payment program, it should not be reported in this survey. The Board will collect cumulative data for
the SNAP program directly from the Food and Nutrition Service under the United States Department
of Agriculture.
General-use prepaid card: A card or other payment code or device that is (1) issued on a prepaid
basis in a specified amount, whether or not that amount may be increased or reloaded, in exchange
for payment and (2) redeemable upon presentation at multiple unaffiliated merchants for goods or
services. The funds related to these card programs may be loaded directly onto the card, into an
account associated with the card, or set aside in some other manner for the benefit of the cardholder.
Sponsoring government agency: Government agency administering a general-use prepaid card
program.
United States: The states, territories, and possessions of the U.S., the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.

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