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Blackhawk Network, the nation's largest third-party provider of prepaid gift cards based on locations, has signed a distribution deal with Plastic Cash International LLC, the developer and marketer of the Visa-branded Myplash prepaid card, the companies announced today. MetaBank of Storm Lake, Iowa, issues the Myplash cards. Starting today, Myplash cards will be available for purchase and loading at 1,550 Safeway Inc.-owned stores in the United States, including Safeway, Vons, Pavillions, Dominicks, Randall's, Tom Thumb and Genuardi's & Carrs stores. Plastic Cash charges $12.95 for the card and $4.95 for the reload, Meghan Fintland, a Blackhawk Network spokesperson, tells ATM&Debit News, a CardLine sister publication. Blackhawk, a subsidiary of Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway, will display the cards in its gift card mall, an in-store card display area. Consumers also can purchase cards online. Plastic Cash has designed card marketing around teenagers and young adults, who can choose from a variety of sleeves or skins that include images of rock and movie stars, athletes and bands, Fintland says. Plastic Cash also is marketing the card to parents. "Parents can transfer funds from their card to their teenager's card," Fintland says. The maximum balance an adult can have in a Myplash card account is $4,000; teens' card accounts can hold up to $2,000, Fintland says. Reloads can range from a minimum of $20 to a maximum of $500. The card also is designed to enable parents to go online to monitor their teen's spending.
