Serve from American Express is a reloadable prepaid card that is targeting the growing market of unbanked and underbanked consumers.
The program underwent a mini-makeover earlier this year when it partnered with Chegg, and is getting a fresher facelift.
Serve is now giving cardholders a chance to buy and load money to their cards in stores. Until now, cardholders would have to sign up online for an account to have a card shipped to their home.
Starting in November, Serve applicants will be able to purchase and load their cards at over 14,000 CVS and 7-Eleven locations. By the end of the year, American Express says that they will have the cards available at over 20,000 stores across the country, including Family Dollar, Walgreens and Office Depot.
Serve is also changing their fee structure. The current program requires a fee of up to $3.99 per load. Cardholders will now be able to purchase cards for $2.95 and not pay any fee to load money to their accounts. But there will be a $1 monthly charge on the account; previously, there was no monthly fee. This fee is waived for direct deposits of $500 or more a month.
