First Data Corp. of Denver will issue payroll cards on the Discover network, the companies said Monday.
Money Network, a division of First Data, will run the program, which will include issuing the cards, processing, and customer service.
"First Data opens up a much broader market to promote and offer these cards," said Leslie Beyers, a spokeswoman for Discover Financial Services LLC, the Riverwoods, Ill., unit set to spin off from Morgan Stanley at the end of this month.
The agreement announced Monday is an extension of one in which Discover had allowed First Data to acquire merchants for the card company, a task that Discover previously handled on its own.
Discover has offered payroll cards for about a year with a handful of issuers, including West Suburban Bank of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., Palm Desert Bank in California, and nFinanSe Inc. of Bradenton, Fla.
Mark Herrington, the president of Money Network, said that the payroll market has been growing in the high double digits over the last 12 to 18 months.
