Prepaid cards a new way to bank?

Prepaid cards a new way to bank?:
They carry fees, few protections, but reloadable cards are the hot financial product

You see them in almost every checkout line display, propped next to phone cards, iTunes cards and Olive Garden gift cards, emblazoned with the familiar Visa and MasterCard logos. But the reloadable prepaid cards with names such as Green Dot and NetSpend are much more than just another option for gift-giving. For a growing number of Americans, they're a new way to bank.

The appeal of prepaid cards
Analysts say the prepaid cards are one of the consumer banking industry's hottest new products. In 2009, $124.6 billion was loaded onto all types of prepaid cards, up 61 percent from 2008, according to Mercator Advisory Group. Just for open-loop cards -- those that can be used anywhere -- it projects transactions will soar to $308 billion in 2012.