Key Federal Secured Card Has Hispanic Ties

MasterCard for Hispanics. The Maryland bank is working with SER-Jobs for Progress Inc., a Hispanic service organization based in Irving, Tex., to market the card. "You just have to look at the demographics to see that this is one of the fastest-growing market segments," said Tom Juranich, a Key Federal vice president, in explaining the new card. The SER MasterCard has a $35 annual fee and carries an 18.9% annual rate. Cardholders will receive a credit line equal to twice the amount of their deposit and earn a 25- to 31-day grace period. A formula combining the number of cards issued and the total volume charged to them will determine the financial contribution Key Federal gives SER as part of the affinity relationship. SER operates 140 programs in 81 cities throughout the United States. The organization's efforts include job referral, customized training, recruitment for Hispanic professionals, workplace literacy training, and corporate involvement in the community. Key Federal said the SER MasterCard will be supported with a national advertising campaign, with commercials running on the two national Hispanic television networks, Telemundo and Univision. Spanish-speaking employees at Key Federal's operations and processing center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will assist with statement inquiries, customer service, and collections. In May, Key Federal announced an affinity card program with Black Expo U.S.A. of Atlanta. The card, designed to promote black-owned businesses, carries the same annual fee and interest rate as the SER card. This followed Key Federal's issuance five years earlier of the American Black Colleges, or ABC card, set up to support the 115 black colleges and universities in the United States. Key Federal Savings Bank, headquartered in Owings Mills, Md., reported $224 million in assets as of Sept. 30. Its subsidiary, Key Operations Center Inc., based in Havre de Grace, Md., runs the bank's credit card program. Key Federal said it was awarded a license from MasterCard International to market the brand in Latin America recently, making it the only U.S. member to have such a license.