Every April, we celebrate National Financial Capability Month. This is an opportunity for people to work on improving their financial prospects so they can be prepared when disaster strikes. Given the unprecedented challenges we are all facing this spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is more important now than ever to make sure people are as financially capable as they can be.

The Direct Express® program offers cardholders access to its integrated financial capability program, PayPerks. The PayPerks webpage is a great resource for explaining the program, learning how it works, and for using the tools it offers.

Rather than us telling you how effective and beneficial the PayPerks program is to improving cardholders’ financial capability, we thought it’d be better to hear from the cardholders in their own words (lightly edited for clarity), speaking about the PayPerks program, and the value cardholders get from using it.

With PayPerks, it kind of just lays it all out there.  You can pick the topic that you need help with and you scroll through [the tutorials].  And – and it’s kind of a game – [there’s] also a quiz at the end.  [It] reassures you that day that you’ve gathered all the information and you know, what you’ve read, you know.  And it’s rewarding also, it’s fun. Cardholder H

I would have never known some of the things that I know now.  Like I said, I was a shopaholic.  I would have never known how to manage my money… Sitting down every month budgeting and making sure that…once my bills are paid that I do have money left over for emergencies…you never know what might happen in the future.  That’s important now. –Cardholder S

Wow!! I was pleasantly surprised with the experience. Glad that somebody out there figured out a way to help all of us on federal benefits learn more about the benefits/etc. of our Direct Express® Mastercard®. I actually learned some stuff that I didn’t know. Great way to help us become better informed consumers. Thanks! Cardholder R

I’ve learned how to effectively use my card. My favorite tutorials are regarding interest rates. Cardholder M

PayPerks really helps to understand and know everything there is to know about the Direct Express® debit card. I have also saved so much more money in fees then all my other prepaid cards. Cardholder T

I just want to thank [PayPerks] for helping me, [teaching me about] paying my bills, protecting me from theft of my Direct Express® card. And making judgmental calls on somethings that may hinder, harm my reputation. You’re the best. Cardholder A

It’s an awesome program … I love the questionnaires. It’s like doing a small reading quiz in school, made me feel young again! I like it, keeps the brain thinking. We all need this.  Cardholder S

And finally, we have an extended response from Cardholder W:

My favorite tutorials were: “Food Smarts”, “Privacy & Security”, and “My Card: Using It”. “Food Smarts” completely changed the way I read food labels and understand nutrition! In the sub-category: ‘Be A Food Label Detective’, I learned that there is a substantial difference between what I USED to think a serving size was, and what I was actually eating.

In the Category “My Card: Using It” there are 3 sub-categories that really stand out to me and make a definite impact on my life with my current situation: ‘Know & Avoid Surcharge Fees’, ‘Swap Cash for Your Card’, and ‘Split the Bill’. The first sub-category allows me to actually avoid surcharge fees, and then go on to SAVE THAT MONEY in a jar or the bank! I have not had many expenses I could eliminate from my life, but after learning this technique, I did! I decided that the actual money I used to give away as fees and surcharges, I now save! What a Blessing!

In ‘Swap Cash for Your Card’ I learned how to get cash back from a register, and I did not know how to do that before taking this tutorial! If not for this technique, I would be required to go to another store, or a bank, or an ATM (and possibly get MORE fees) and get money from there. Getting cash this way saves me a massive amount of headache, time and gasoline! It allows me to get back home to my family sooner too. I still do not believe how easy it is!

The Direct Express® PayPerks team is constantly seeking feedback from PayPerks users and continuously developing and fielding new content, modules and information. To hear more directly from Direct Express® cardholders, please watch our cardholder videos beginning here.

SOURCE: PayPerks