Chattanooga, Tenn., Nov. 2, 2009 -- TransCard (www.transcard.com )—a leading provider of electronic-payment and prepaid debit card solutions branded with MasterCard®, Discover®, STAR and PULSE associations—and University National Bank have signed a card program sponsorship agreement. The two companies will work together on prepaid programs and extend prepaid products and mobile bank accounts to those individuals who are normally beyond the reach of conventional financial institutions.
University National Bank was the first bank in Minnesota to be certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)—an honor bestowed by the U.S. Treasury on fewer than 60 financial institutions across the nation. The bank focuses on financial services in the urban core, including specific initiatives targeted to the unbanked and underbanked. The bank’s mobile banking platform, provided by mobē inc., allows the bank to bring a large suite of financial services to a largely underserved market segment. The bank offers a Socially Responsible Deposit Fund (SRDF), which puts money to work in low- and moderate-income communities through the bank’s provision of loans to support small businesses, affordable housing development and non-profit organizations in these communities. University National Bank’s mission to be “The Leader in Improving Our Urban Community” dovetails with TransCard’s corporate values.
“Primarily, TransCard serves those individuals who are disenfranchised from traditional financial institutions, such as the under- and unbanked,” says Jerry Uffner, President of TransCard. “With University National Bank as a partner, we have chosen a financial institution that thinks outside of the box regarding how to customize products that meet the needs of those who have historically been left out. We can now reach a wider, more diverse audience of people who can use prepaid cards to manage their money more cost effectively.”
Prepaid cards are also a green payment solution that helps clients eliminate paper payments. TransCard’s all-electronic business model reduces the need to print paper checks, mail them, and distribute them across the country as well as decreases the waste produced by paper checks and paper pay stubs. In fact, according to payitgreen.org, if a 1,000-employee company moved to a 100% electronic system, eliminating paper bills, statements and paystubs—in one year, 889 square feet of forest would be preserved from being destroyed and 6,477 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions would be prevented.
“TransCard and University National Bank have an organic synergy regarding concerns about underserved communities and the plight of our planet,” says Craig Fuller, TransCard’s CEO. “Our companies both value responsible entrepreneurship—allowing our collaboration to open up avenues of opportunity to those in need while positively impacting the environment. Our corporate visions could not be more perfectly aligned.”
University National Bank agrees that with TransCard, the two companies provide multiple, diverse opportunities to those who have been ignored by mainstream financial institutions.
“We are continually looking for new technologies and new offerings that we can take to the communities we serve,” says Jim Conrad, University National Bank President. “University National Bank, with the help of its partners mobē inc. and TransCard, is pleased to offer safe, convenient and affordable financial services to a largely underserved market.”
About University National Bank
University National Bank is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission to be the “Leader in Improving Our Urban Community.” The bank focuses its lending in the urban core of Minneapolis and Saint Paul and offers deposit customers a Socially Responsible Deposit Fund (SRDF) option. When customers choose to participate in the SRDF, it offers them the chance to be an agent of change in our community. These deposits help fuel University National Bank’s support of affordable housing, small business development and community services offered through not-for-profit organizations.
For more information, visit www.universitybank.com .
About TransCard
TransCard (www.transcard.com ) provides custom, turnkey prepaid programs for corporate, non-profit and government organizations. TransCard is one of a few privately held core processors in the world, providing prepaid debit card solutions branded with MasterCard®, Discover®, STAR and PULSE associations. The company specializes in providing on-demand, customized, turnkey prepaid programs for clients using a sophisticated proprietary technology platform that was built in-house to meet the unique needs of clients in the prepaid space. Along with the most robust suite of value-added cardholder benefits—including mobile banking, online bill pay, free credit scores and a Personal Financial Management tool that budgets, tracks spending and has customizable widgets—in prepaid, TransCard offers 24/7/365, live, bilingual customer service and a check-free online account accessed through an easy-to-use website.
TransCard differentiates itself in the prepaid card industry by offering compliant solutions, real value, proprietary technology, mobile card management and stability. Its products include paycards, financial institution stored-value processing, gift reward cards, fleet services and retail program management. TransCard handles nearly $2 billion in electronic transactions annually and was featured as a “10 to Watch” by Intele-Card News.
The company was recently named as a 2009 Paybefore Awards Best-in-Category Winner for the Best Corporate-Funded Prepaid Card and the CEO, Craig Fuller, was recognized as one of the top five Rising Stars of Prepaid by Paybefore magazine—a respected prepaid industry publication.
Source: Company press release.
