Plastic Cash International LLC returned to its roots last week when it signed a brand-exclusive agreement with MasterCard Worldwide for its teen-oriented Myplash reloadable prepaid debit card. The card currently is Visa-branded but will relaunch this summer under the MasterCard brand. Myplash was MasterCard-branded when it debuted in 2005
This time around, the company is introducing an open-loop MasterCard-branded gift card consumers also may purchase and later upgrade to a reloadable card at no extra charge, according to Brian Newberry, CEO of Plastic Myplash.
“Offering a gift card can act like a starting point for those consumers who are not familiar with teen-focused reloadable cards,” Newberry tells PaymentsSource. “We’ve bridged a gap with a consumer who we might have otherwise lost out on.”
Myplash will have a different feel to it than it did under Visa, Newberry says. Though he declined to reveal specific details, Plastic Cash will offer cardholders the ability to customize the cards and offer some kind of mobile capability. Storm Lake, Iowa-based Metabank issues the cards. Galileo Processing Inc. processes the transactions.
Visa did not seem too concerned about losing Myplash, saying it “sees strong growth in our prepaid business [and] remains committed to delivering the best value to customers through our reliable, secure and efficient systems, which currently serve more than 10,000 programs in [more than 100] countries.”
Newberry expects a heavy marketing campaign that will include television ads, and Plastic Cash is on the verge of revealing a global initiative. “MasterCard is more aggressive in the teen market, and you really need to be that way at this point in time,” Newberry adds.
Newberry is referring to changes made to the credit market as a result of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that make it more difficult for consumers younger than 21 to secure a credit card. “[The law] is going to open up a big opportunity for [the companies] that are focusing on the teen market,” he says.
Plastic Cash first developed the concept for a teen-focused prepaid card when the company was a youth marketing agency almost 10 years ago. At the time, it handled marketing for Bank of America Corp.’s student checking account.
“Even back then, parents were upset with [card marketers] on college campuses pushing credit cards,” Newberry says. “Students were getting in credit card debt, and they really didn’t understand what that meant.”
Those concerns led to Newberry and his company “creating a products that’s cash-on-cash and that gives them the chance to learn financial responsibility.”
Plastic Cash has created loyalty with teenagers following two core approaches. First, the company has aligned itself with music artists and action sports athletes to give the card a “cool factor,” according to Newberry.
Plastic Cash will expand its roster of celebrities for the relaunch, and that “will offer teens more choices and ways to customize their cards so they appeal to their individual interests,” says Neil Dugan, MasterCard vice president of global prepaid product.
Plastic Cash’s second core approach is to develop a product teenagers easily understand. “We have to develop a product that talks to kids and not down at them,” Newberry say.
To accomplish that, Plastic Cash will provide cardholders with money-management tips on its Web site. Tips will include how teenagers can find ways around card fees. “We’ll suggest to them instead of going to the ATM and paying the [$1.95] withdrawal fee, ‘buy a pack of gum some place and get cash back,’” Newberry says.
Plastic Cash will change some of the card’s fees, including lowering the purchase price to below $10, Newberry says. The current price is $12.95. Other significant fees include separate $4.95 charges for reloads and monthly account maintenance.
