ST. LOUIS-Issuing a debit card to high school students can help maintain ties with youth once they graduate, but branding the card with the school's image makes the plastic even stickier.
That's what Gateway Metro FCU has discovered and after introducing a branded debit card at a local high school where, in the first 30 days, 45 students and some faculty members have the card.
"We think it's a good start," said CEO Larry Pixley, who hopes that 25% of the school's 1,200 students will have the card by the end of this school year.
The branded card is a new addition to the youth savings program GMFCU has in place at Gateway Technical Institution High School. The school placed "Jag City"-the name of the high school branch of Gateway Metro-on the card. The school's mascot is the jaguar, which is also shown on the plastic.
Last year 13 of 17 high school seniors at Gateway Technical Institution kept the youth account after they graduated, shared Pixley, who said at the end of this year Gateway Metro will begin tracking how many youth keep the debit card as they move on. Pixley thinks it will be a significant number. "Credit unions often think of having branded cards for colleges, so why not high school? In St. Louis people are always asking where you went to high school. We think a lot of students are proud of their schools."
Gateway has recently added instant issuance capabilities, which is one of the reasons the credit union instituted the card at Gateway Technical Institution. Gateway Metro, which is focused on youth programs and offers a 10% Youth CD (Credit union Journal, Feb. 21, 2011), also has a branch in local Trinity High School and is waiting for faculty approval to get a branded debit card there.
"I don't know why more credit unions don't do this," said Pixley, who noted the CU will begin focusing on freshman for the savings program. "We really want to see how many freshman we get. You get students at that age and you can talk to them for four years as opposed to one if you get them a senior."
