Others report that they were issued refund checks that bounced or that check cashers refused to honor

• Posted on 17/02/2022
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Instant Tax Service, founded by Fesum Ogbazion, is another small chain with a history. In 2010, when Instant Tax lost the ability to make RALs after Santa Barbara Bank & Trust was barred from making RALs by its regulators, some franchisees failed to inform their customers, leading to angry crowds for which one franchisee even called the police.

The RushCard is issued by Bancorp Bank

This year, Instant Tax Service experienced problems similar to Mo’ Money Taxes. Some consumers complained that Instant Tax had filed their returns without the consumers’ permission. Instant Tax Service defended itself by claiming that the checks were issued by Tax Tree, LLC, and had bad check sequencing numbers that were to blame for the cashing problems. However, Tax Tree, LLC appears to be a related entity to Instant Tax Service. Registrations with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office for both companies show Fesum Ogbazion’s signature as a representative or manager.

River City Bank partners with several software providers, including ACA, ATX, Drake, efile Interchange, OLTPro, TaxACT, ProSystem fx Suite, TaxSlayer, Taxware Systems, TaxWise, Versicom Communications, and

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group is the former Pacific Capital Bancorp RAL unit that was spun off after that bank was ordered to cease making RALs by the Office of Comptroller of Currency. SBTPG’s offerings for 2012 include a RAC product that it calls a “Refund Transfer,” as well as a state Refund Transfer program.

River City Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, was formerly a RAL lending bank but decided to exit the business last year when the FDIC notified the bank that making RALs without the Debt Indicator was “unsafe and unsound.” River City still provides a RAC product.

Taxpayers who use a River City RAC can get their money on a prepaid card issued at the preparer’s office, by direct deposit to their personal bank account, or via a check printed in the tax preparer’s office. The prepaid card sold by River City Bank is from Futura Card Services, which pays a commission of up to $12 per customer to tax preparers who sell the card. The Futura Card http://www.onedayloan.net/payday-loans-nj is issued by First California Bank. In addition to the commissions for selling prepaid cards, tax preparers can earn up to $4 for every funded RAC.

Refund Advantage is the tax products division of Ohio Valley Bank, another RAL lending bank that decided to exit the business last year when the FDIC notified the bank that making RALs without the Debt Indicator was “unsafe and unsound.” Refund Advantage still offers RACs, and is integrated into tax software programs including Intuit, OLTPro, TaxSlayer, TaxWise, Taxware Systems, Thomson Reuters, pdptax, Profit Developers, Incl Service Bureau, , QRTaxPro, SaxTax, and . Refund Advantage claims that it can be used with any tax software and permits the refund to be delivered via a prepaid card product. The program claims that there are “no hidden monthly or setup charges for the card.”

Advent sells the “Refund Deposit,” a RAC for federal and state refunds, with tax preparation and other fees deducted from the refund proceeds. Net refunds are disbursed on a “Get It” prepaid debit card issued at the time of tax preparation, an ACH deposit to the taxpayer’s existing bank account, or a check printed at the tax office. AdventFinancial’s Settlement Products are integrated into many software providers, including CrossLink Software (Petz), DRAKE Software, OLT, Pro Tax Ware, TaxACT, TaxSlayer, Taxware Systems, and TaxWise.

Another prepaid card that pitches tax time offerings is the RushCard offered by Russell Simmons, founder of a prominent hip-hop music label. The RushCard website urges consumers to take the card’s routing number, account number, and account type for the card when having taxes prepared. It even notes which lines on the tax form to use in entering the information. While there is a maximum $5,000 load amount for direct deposit to the card, that does not apply to tax refunds.