This has got to be the most laughable report I have seen.  The Gerson Lehman Group recently released a study that claims that prepaid cards are more cost effective than a checking account.  They compare a checking account, at $300-$400 in annual fees to a prepaid card with $150-$250 per year in fees.  I am guessing they chose a specific financial scenario that made the cards look more beneficial.

The other big things they left out:

A checking account builds a credit history, prepaid cards not so much
A checking account, you know, allows you to write checks
There are many many checking accounts that have NO fees
Checking accounts are safer and include FDIC backing
Inability to reject unauthorized charges on prepaid debit cards

But don’t just listen to me, read Consumers Union’s assessment of prepaid card.