Remember waiting in line for your
financial aid check? After this hour-plus
inconvenience came a visit to the bank or cashier’s
office, and then a trip to the student bookstore with
a pocket full of cash.
Here’s a different scenario: All
of your funds are loaded onto a stored value card that
you receive in the mail or pick up at the financial
aid office. Done.
This was the goal of EduCard,
which supplies colleges and universities with
reloadable, prepaid debit cards for dispersing student
financial aid and payroll. To do this, EduCard sought
the services of Metavante, which provided prepaid
debit card processing, card personalization and
fulfillment, 24/7 cardholder phone support, and
Internet account access.
Metavante’s wide range of start-to-finish prepaid
debit options also included debit cards branded with
the Visa® logo. With Metavante by its side,
EduCard had the tools to change how students manage
expenses.
“With thousands of universities
printing millions of checks and loading billions of
dollars onto checks, we wanted to tap into that
market,” said Michael Mattos, founder of EduCard. “We
presented our ideas to a lot of universities and the
response was overwhelming.”
why metavante?
“We knew that the back-end
processor would be the most important piece, so we did
a lot of research to make sure we chose a good one,”
said Mattos. “Credibility was important, but the
system had to work 100 percent of the time. We looked
for an organization that was extremely reliable,
established, and that had a good reputation. We talked
with many banks and processors and couldn’t have found
a stronger partner in the industry than Metavante.”
EduCard
decided on an open-loop architecture. Mattos
explained, “With the technology and development
of prepaid card applications and the number of current
closed-loop applications out there, we wanted to stand
out by giving students more options, so we chose an
open-loop architecture.
“Scalability was also very
important,” said Mattos. “With Metavante doing the
heavy lifting, our systems are in place and our
infrastructure is positioned
to support as many universities and issue as many
cards as needed. If there are 100 million students in
the United States, we’re confident that we can issue
100 million cards on Metavante’s platform, because we
know it works.”
cards benefit students and parents
As EduCard continues to grow and
serve more students, each student can benefit from
this prepaid card solution. Students receive Visa®-branded
cards that can be utilized at 30 million merchants,
one million ATMs, and even online. Financial aid
deposits are secure and automatic, check-cashing
expenses are eliminated, and funds are available
immediately. The cards provide manageability to
commonly hectic student lifestyles.
In addition, parents can be
involved in their student’s spending. If given access
by students, parents can monitor student cards, add
money to the accounts, or initiate a reoccurring
transfer of funds. “The cards have been very well
received by students and parents,” said Mattos. “We
call all cardholders and help them activate their
cards, answer any questions they have, and explain
rewards and discounts.”
why universities are taking notice
For universities across the
nation, these prepaid cards are not only a free
service, they’re a money-saving and promotional
benefit. Eliminating the need for printed checks, the
EduCard solution saves universities approximately
three dollars per check. Plus, debit cards are printed
with each university’s logo, identifying the
university impact on the community by creating
awareness of student buying power.
“We can also supply universities
with generic reports indicating where their students
spend money, whether it’s on books, food, or a number
of other expenses,” said Mattos. “After issuing
thousands of cards loaded with millions of dollars,
the feedback from universities has been extremely
positive.
“EduCard has worked very hard to
grow and win the respect of their university clients,”
said Daniel Osterkorn, client relationship manager at
Metavante. “We knew that this offering had to be world
class to meet their client expectations. And together
we made that happen.”
“We are very happy with the
relationship we have with Metavante,” added Mattos.
“That’s because we continue to see consistent growth
after overseeing, managing, and reconciling every
transaction to the penny. This system is perfect, and
we had to deliver ‘perfect’ the first time – otherwise
we failed. Because once you sign up one university,
the only way you’re going to get a second is if you
deliver ‘perfect.’”
EduCard is helping to make student
life better, one university at a time. All through the
debit card processing solutions from Metavante.
Contact us
To discover how you can benefit
from Metavante’s prepaid debit card processing,
contact your Metavante relationship manager, call
1-800-822-6758, or visit metavante.com. For more
information about the EduCard experience, contact
Michael Mattos at 949-885-1890, Extension 400.
© 2007 Metavante Corporation. All
rights reserved.
