JPay Prison Kiosks
Prisons are finally getting a high-tech upgrade to wherever. Prison kiosk and prison tablets that are basically micropayment driven via “virtual stamps”.
Jpay tablet
The only hitch: everything comes at a cost, including emails, which require a paid virtual “stamp” to go through to recipients. Stamp pricing varies depending on the prison, but each one costs about the same as a physical stamp.
Source: www.businessinsider.com
The company’s various services are now offered at over 1,200 facilities in 34 states, ranging from low-security outfits to supermax prisons. In 2014, inmates sent over 14.2 million emails and 650,000 mobile payments through JPay’s systems. Over 40,000 JP4 Android tablets — the most up-to-date JPay tablet at the time — were purchased.
JPAY allow prisoners to access various services, such as money transfer, email, video calls, music, and education. They are operated by JPay, which provides correctional technology solutions in 21 states. The kiosks charge fees for each service, which are paid by virtual stamps that prisoners or their families can buy. Prison authorities also monitor the kiosks and have accessibility features for prisoners with special needs123. Some critics argue that they exploit prisoners and their families by charging high fees and limiting their communication options4. However, they claim that its kiosks improve prisoners’ quality of life and rehabilitation.
More information
- Corrections – ACA Trade Show Wrap(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Solutions Tablet Kiosk(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Financial Kiosk(Opens in a new browser tab)
Resource Links
News
- Founder Ryan Shapiro Indicted for Securities Fraud: Ryan Shapiro was charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud in federal court in Boston on January 6, 2022. He allegedly used insider information to profit from the stock market on three occasions, along with his friend and hedge fund manager Kris Bortnovsky and another co-defendant. They made a total of $4.28 million from their illegal trades1.
- CFPB Hits JPay with $6 Million in Fines and Restitution Over Fee-Heavy “Debit Release Cards”: JPay agreed to pay $6 million in fines and restitution to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on October 19, 2021, after its prepaid debit cards were found to have taken unfair advantage of some 1.2 million prisoners who were issued one since 2011. The cards charged fees for accessing the money that prisoners were owed, and JPay failed to provide them with a cardholder agreement or an alternative option to receive their funds. The CFPB ruled that JPay violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E2.
- The CFPB’s enforcement order against prison profiteer JPay, explained: The Prison Policy Initiative, a non-profit organization that advocates for criminal justice reform, published a blog post on October 28, 2021, explaining why the CFPB’s order against JPay is a victory for prisoners and their families. The post argues that JPay’s debit cards are part of a larger system of exploitation and extraction that targets people in prison and their loved ones, and that the CFPB’s action is a rare example of government oversight and accountability in the prison industry3.