NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Suze Orman, American personal finance icon, best-selling author and Emmy-award-winning television host, launched The Approved Prepaid MasterCard®.  The Approved Card™ isn't just another financial product or a normal prepaid card.  It's the start of a financial revolution to enable Americans to empower themselves.  Orman, the longtime financial crusader, is inviting consumers to join her "PEOPLE FIRST" movement  with her Approved Card.   Suze didn't just endorse this card – SHE CREATED IT from the ground up to change the way people think about and use their cash. Here is what people are saying about The Approved Card in the first 24 hours since Suze's big announcement:

"The answer, in a nutshell: it's the best prepaid card out there."  [Reuters, "Suze Orman goes prepaid," January 9, 2012]

"Here's hoping that she succeeds in her credit mission — and that other media personalities like Dave Ramsey and Jim Cramer put the heat on companies in other high-fee, low-service industries and make them sweat, too."  [New York Times, "TV Adviser on Money Offers Card," January 9, 2012]

"…its fees are in line with the better cards in the marketplace."  [Consumer Reports, "Suze Orman comes out with her own prepaid debit card," January 9, 2012]

"As with almost everything in this Approved card, it's a step in the right direction.  I approve!" [FORBES.com, "You Suze, You Don't Lose: Approval for the Approved Card," January, 10, 2012] 

"Yet for the millions of Americans who cannot afford or simply don't use traditional branch banking, the card offers a viable alternative to that other form of plastic -- namely a credit card. Approved also comes at a time when credit card companies are ramping up offers to spur consumer spending again." [Huffington Post, "Suze Orman Defends Prepaid Card As 'Just Another Financial Tool,'" January 9, 2012]

"Ms. Orman seeks to broaden the debit card market by charging low fees and offering new services."  [New York Times, "TV Adviser on Money Offers Card," January 9, 2012]

"So if you have some other prepaid debit card, close it, and get this one instead. It's clearly better."  [Reuters, "Suze Orman goes prepaid," January 9, 2012]

"And the Approved Card offers a couple of perks not usually associated with prepaid cards." [TIME Moneyland, "Suze Orman's New Prepaid Debit Card," January 10, 2012]

"People seeking alternatives may well find what they are looking for in prepaid cards."  [New York Times, "TV Adviser on Money Offers Card," January 9, 2012]

"And when you compare its fees and terms to controversial cards like the Kardashian Kard… it does look pretty good."  [CNN Money, "Suze Orman launches new prepaid card," January 9, 2012]

"Personal finance media personality Suze Orman is thinking big."  [Associated Press, "Credit score focus of new celeb-backed debit card," January 9, 2012]

"If Orman's experiment is successful, this new type of score could be a game-changer for the estimated 60 million Americans who do most or all of their personal business in cash or with cash alternatives like prepaid cards."  [Associated Press, "Credit score focus of new celeb-backed debit card," January 9, 2012]

"Suze Orman is a force in the personal finance business."  [American Public Media Marketplace, "Suze Orman introduces prepaid debit card," January 9, 2012]

"In addition to the normal things a prepaid card can do, the Approved Card also gets you extra services."  [AOL Daily Finance, "Money Guru Suze Orman Pushes Her Own Brand of Plastic," January 9, 2012]

"…you can say goodbye to exorbitant overdraft fees that most banks charge."  [AOL Daily Finance, "Money Guru Suze Orman Pushes Her Own Brand of Plastic," January 9, 2012]

"…Orman clearly has her finger on the pulse of the American public."  [AOL Daily Finance, "Money Guru Suze Orman Pushes Her Own Brand of Plastic," January 9, 2012]

"…the Approved Card is a step forward in an industry that has been fraught with peril for consumers for years."  [AOL Daily Finance, "Money Guru Suze Orman Pushes Her Own Brand of Plastic," January 9, 2012]

"Orman is dead-on about the importance of these scores. Credit scores influence job applications, car insurance premiums, and the likelihood of needing to put down a deposit to get your utilities hooked up. The credit score is a gatekeeper to opportunity." [Bank Talk Blog, "Suze Orman Moves Into Prepaid Cards," January 9, 2012]

"Suze has clearly been dreaming of a digital cash world, one where you can only spend the cash you have, but without being tethered to the obvious limitations of physical cash.  This is a powerful vision, really, especially prescient given the current financial crisis." [FORBES.com, "You Suze, You Don't Lose: Approval for the Approved Card," January, 10, 2012]  

For more information, go to www.theapprovedcard.com

SOURCE The Approved Card