Walmart money cards

[ahall]

If you use walmart money card for employer direct deposit-can that be garnished like a bank account? I'm in NC-They can't garnish wages, but can get to bank accounts. Does anyone know the answer? Does anyone have a better idea of how to do direct deposit for your paycheck?

[nokia123]

i would like to know the answer to that also.

[Flamingo]

Your safest option is to request your employer for a paper check. The problem requesting a paper check from an employer that pushes direct deposit is that it indicates avoidance of garnishment or other financial problems but they have to supply a papercheck if requested.

[MSbklawyer]

A Wal-Mart money card is a form of bank account. It can be garnished just like any other bank account. IF the card had your name on it or IF it had your social security number attached to it, then a writ of garnishment to GEMB would attach any money in that account. But those are BIG IFs. IF you get my drift.

[catleg]

Your best bet is to bank way out of state at an online internet bank.
And then change it up every 2-3 months in case any crafty collections lawyer gets a hold of that information through a "subpoena" of your employer (asking them where you are getting direct deposited to), phone company (asking them how you pay your bill).

You would think that nobody would reveal such things, but I found a collection file attached to a BK case which suggested that a creditors lawyer tried to track down a debtors bank account by "subpoena"ing verizon to ask how the debtor paid his bill, and then "subpoena"d the credit card bank to find out any payment accounts used for that credit card. I put "subpoena" in quotes cause it's basically a law office invoking the name of some court to send a nasty letter to some big company, I'm amazed this gets results, makes you realize those little privacy policies you get in the mail are just so much junk.

[treehugger1]

Hmmm,

I might beg to differ on the "bank account." I doubt that many prepaid accounts are considered bank accounts under the Federal Reserve Board's regulations E or DD. In fact, Cap1's debit card specifically states the card is not an account under the FRB's E or DD. It is my understanding that the debit card is no different than cash. There may be a depository account that holds the money accessed by the debit card, but I don't think that depository account is yours.

I think it would be a bit hard to "garnish" a debit card. Almost all debit card agreements I have seen refer to the cards as "not constituting a bank account." How would anyone get a bank account number to garnish, if the "bank account" was not yours?

I'm just thinking out loud. I do believe we will someday see some regulations related to pre-paid debit cards, but so far the regs seem pretty lax and with the exception of fees, they fit many consumer's mode of operation.

Amid all of the unknowns associated with the account "details" of some prepaid cards, the money is generally insured by the FDIC. Strange as it may seem.

[WhatMoney]

I know this has been brought up before. PayPal is one "debit card" that claims they will respond to legal orders on your account. I don't think you need an account number to garnish any account. The account name and address is usually enough for an institution to find you with a search. The first step in any bank levy is to pay the bank for a search for your assets (costs $10 in Oregon). There may be some risk in identifying a depositor without the social security number however, eg father-son both with same name living at same address.

Most state laws require a garnishment to be made in the same state as the debt is held. That means the lawsuit would need to be transfered to the state that holds the indirect debit card bank account before the garnishment order was obeyed. This is why out-of-state banks with no locations in your area provide some protection. Most debit money cards identify which institution handles their card. You would need your judgment domesticated in the state of the holding institution, extra work for the judgment holder.

[catleg]

I wonder what the legal definition of a bank account is. Probably it is something to do with the federal reserve since a bank account would have reserve requirements associated with it.

On the other hand they may treat it like a "gift card". Just becomes a liability of the issuer, governed by an "agreement" or contract of some kind.

I would think that a reloadable gift card starts to look awfully much like a bank account, probably triggering Patriot Act implications. (that other Federal law).

But maybe the law on garnishments hasn't caught up with the gift card craze.

Things that make you go "hmmm".

[ryan]

I think this whole area of debit cards from non-banks is an unsettled matter.

I looked into Walmart money cards. hard to tell what they are. They say they the money deposited is insured by a federal insurance agency - can;t remember who. But the card is actually issued by, I believe, GEbank?

...They also say they will request personal information to open a 'permanent' card but do not specifically mention SS#....so more investigation is needed.

[jacko]

I have a Wal Mart money card. The account is under my moms name and I have a courtesy card in my name.

[Flamingo]

Long ago this was brought up as someone was worried about a PayPal account falling in this scenario (i.e., can funds get taken out of a PayPal account). Online with PayPal and other debit cards or "custodial" accounts (that isi what they are, including PayPal), there, or in paperwork that you received with the account, is a description in legality of what the card/account actually is. They are "custodial" accounts...meaning the funds are held in custody for your use which means you have access to them in an account held by somebody else, as simple as I can explain it. Still confused by it all? Call the customer service number in your paperwork, ask for the Legal Department of the company (in this case, Wal-Mart) and ask.

[frogger]

I looked into Walmart money cards. hard to tell what they are. They say they the money deposited is insured by a federal insurance agency - can;t remember who. But the card is actually issued by, I believe, GEbank?

...They also say they will request personal information to open a 'permanent' card but do not specifically mention SS#....so more investigation is needed.

Walmart is GE Money Bank. They do officially require a SSN on the permanent card application.

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[GoingDown]

I think that clears it up.

I still use my wal-mart money card for convenience, and I have had no problems with it being garnished yet, but I never put more money in it than I need to pay bills online immediately after I get home from wal-mart. I do not leave much money in it ever.

I think with most creditors, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and so they usually won't end up finding these accounts.

Never put more money in any account than you can afford to lose if you have a judgment against you.

[WhatMoney]

Here's another old thread (2008) where levy of debit card funds was discussed. (At least we know today the SS debit card is safe.)
Same conclusions back then (and from four posters from this thread):

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...ghlight=paypal