Once the realm of on-campus soliciting and poorly made flash banners, branded, pre-paid debit cards have now infiltrated video games thank to EA Sports.

The reloadable prepaid debit card enables users to receive a percent back from every purchase at thousands of brick-and-mortar and online retailers to redeem points (“EA SPORTS Rewards Points”) that can be used to purchase select EA SPORTS game titles. What titles? Well that remains to be seen at present. They say it’s a way for them to give back to the community, but is it? Or is it a way to get you to buy more of their games?

The Visa-branded EA SPORTS prepaid card is reloadable and funds can be allocated from a payroll direct deposit, checking account, another prepaid card or at thousands of GreenDot and Western Union retail locations nationwide including Wal-Mart, CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven, and Radio Shack. The EA SPORTS DebitSmart Visa Prepaid Card can be used to make purchases at more than 20 million locations where Visa prepaid cards are accepted and have access to millions of ATM’s worldwide.

EA SPORTS prepaid cardholders can earn “EA SPORTS Reward Points” at over 26,000 community brick-and-mortar retailers including Macy’s, Barnes and Noble, Sunglass Hut, Office Max, Papa John’s and Coldstone, more than 700 online retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, Netflix, Apple iTunes, Gap, and Toys ‘R’ Us and at select grocery and convenience stores. Cardholders can then redeem their “Game Cash’ at the EA SPORTS store by visiting www.EASPORTSrewards.com.

Enrollment can be done online or over the phone by calling 877-732-7114 for the EA SPORTS DebitSmart Visa Prepaid Card.

It’s strange that you would take money from your bank account, which probably has a debit card, and transfer it to another card where you have no true account. It sounds like they’re then taking the money you don’t spend right away and either earning interest on it or loaning it out to make money for them I mean, that’s how banks work generally.