American prepaid card users are the leading users of mobile payments, a new study finds. According to packaged facts, publisher of "Prepaid and Gift Cards in the U.S., 4th Edition," this underscores the need for mobile-forward prepaid card program strategies that emphasize cardholder connection to a wide array of features and a broad financial services ecosystem.

"Thanks to the evolution of online and mobile technology, it's apparent that card loyalty is not garnered from the card itself, but from the features that increasingly surround it, meaning the widening ecosystem through which the cardholder can engage easily with financial services products, services and educational tools," said Packaged Facts research director David Sprinkle.  

Prepaid card marketers should keep in mind that smartphone penetration is actually higher among groups underrepresented by traditional banking products and services, the study says.

Roughly 89 percent of consumers from underbanked households have a smartphone; even two-thirds (64 percent) of consumers from unbanked households have one. 

In addition, younger adults (age 18–34) do more card shopping and have a wider variety of cards in their wallet, the Packaged Facts study finds. The firm estimates that prepaid cardholders age 18–34 carry an average of 2.3 prepaid cards in their wallets.

While direct deposit clearly influences cardholder retention, it is not enough to keep these cardholders engaged, the study claims. Mobile-forward platforms with millennial-era options such as P2P and bill payment will invariably create a longer-lasting relationship with members of the 18-34 age group.