UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. - Western Union Financial Services Inc. said it win begin marketing a Mastercard to customers who are wining to open a deposit account as security.
The card win be issued by Associates National Bank of Delaware, a Ford Motor Co. affiliate. Western Union is a unit of New Valley Corp.
Applications will have to be accompanied by money orders, cashier's checks, or personal checks for $250 to $5,000, which will be deposited in Citicorp's Citibank (Delaware) to back the cards' credit lines.
The escrow accounts will initially pay 4.5% interest. The card will carry a $45 annual fee and a finance charge of prime plus 12.9 points, or 18.9% now.
Western Union said its 18,000 agents will participate in marketing and promotions for the card, geared for people "who do not have a banking relationship or credit history, or who have had difficulty maintaining credit in the past," said Dan D'Agostino, senior vice president.
