As The Bancorp faces difficulties in prepaid, American Express wants to deepen its involvement with its prepaid customers — so much so that the company is giving $5 to Serve customers willing to verify their email addresses.

An Amex email this morning told recipients that information was needed from them. The recipients, Amex said, had begun but not completed applications for its Serve prepaid cards. Completing the registration, which requires logging into the Serve site and requesting an email verification link, will be rewarded with $5 if completed before the end of the month.

The email read:

Hello ———–,

Our records show that your American Express Serve^® Account setup is incomplete. This means you’re missing out on your benefits and features, like FREE Direct Deposit, FREE cash reloads at thousands of locations, and FREE ATM withdrawals at over 24,000 ATMs nationwide².

Please log into your Account now using your email address: ——————-, and request an email verification link to complete your Account setup. It’s an important step to ensure we can communicate with you and help protect your Account.

Plus, verify your email address by June 30th, and we’ll thank you with a $5 statement credit to your Account!

Remember, to start using your Account, you must activate your Card. Need help with Account setup or login? Contact us anytime for personal assistance at 1-800-954-0559.

Sincerely,
Your American Express Serve Team

Prepaid, when done right, can bring in big returns, as The Bancorp saw. Customers are so profitable that even $5 up front pays off, apparently.