By Erica Sandberg at CreditCards.comThe next time you're due a rebate or refund, don't expect to receive a paper check. An increasing number of stores and manufacturers are opting to issue prepaid debit cards instead, and some consumers aren't happy about it.
Unlike checks, these cards cannot typically be exchanged for cash or deposited directly into the consumer's bank -- they have to be spent somewhere, which merchants love. That fondness led to about $4.24 billion being loaded on to rebate cards in 2008 -- a 53 percent increase over the previous year -- reports Mercator, an advisory firm that provides market research for the prepaid card industry. Experts say there's no slowdown in sight for this trend, whether consumers like it or not...
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