Business customers of PayPal may have recently received a notice in the mail that they will be getting a surprise PayPal debit card from the company. No actions would have been taken by these customers that would have triggered this notice. PayPal has simply decided that you (the customer) need one. You just didn’t know you needed one, that’s all.
It’s better to just do something and ask for forgiveness later, right? That seems to be the case in this marketing technique. The company is working with a backward technique to send customers these cards and then ask if they want them or not.
They are doing it by sending a letter in the mail that announces that a card will soon be mailed to them. The customer then has to ask for the card not to be sent out if they don’t want it (an opt-out vs opt-in method). If they miss this letter in the mail or trash it, then they will soon receive a debit card in the mail (surprise!), as they never said they “didn’t” want the card. There is no option to “not receive the card if you don’t respond at all” to help cushion the confusion any.
Although the card is unsolicited, the technique is completely ok with related laws. That’s because it is a debit card vs a credit card and related to business account holders.
“A financial institution may issue an unsolicited access device (such as the combination of a debit card and PIN) if the institution’s ATM system has been programmed not to accept the access device until after the consumer requests and the institution validates the device.” — Consumer Finance Protection Bureau / US
This isn’t the first time PayPal has sent out these letters. In fact, we have seen comments from readers going back as far as the first half of last year (possibly later as far as we know). So PayPal has been working behind this method for quite a few months already.
It really just comes down to how this will rub customers (the right way, or the wrong way). Every day we are surrounded by things that are unsolicited and forced into our hands. From the stores that we visit or the streets that we drive down, to the various communications we receive or browse each day (ie, text messages, emails, social media, physical mail, brochures or business cards shoved into the weatherstripping of our front doors, etc). It is just another curve ball thrown your way to surprise your senses.
Usually, in these situations, it is best to annually send out an email or letter to customers reminding them that they have access to the option of requesting a debit card or other form of service offered by an institution. Sneakily sending them the service without it being first requested is a bit under the belt for many. So this may not rub well with many of their customers.
What do you think? Feel free to share below in the comments. Have you received one of these letters? What was your initial reaction to the message? Do you think this is a wise or friendly practice?
