A Cincinnati-based financial-services company plans to issue prepaid MasterCards to 10,000 college students, thanks largely to an angel investment from William G. Mays (Mays Chemical in Indianapolis) and $250,000 from CincyTech.
Brothers Wyatt and Wade Goins formed Innovative Card Solutions 2008. They now have seven full-time employees. The business offers reloadable debit cards, online financial-literacy courses and money-management tools for businesses and college students.
"Other companies provide prepaid solutions but we integrate financial literacy with our program . . . everything from online money-management tools to financial literacy modules," explains Wade Goins, the company's chief marketing officer.
Twenty-three online training modules cover monthly budgeting, credit scores, identity theft and managing college loans. Other money-management tools include mobile messaging alerts.
ICS also helps corporations with direct payroll deposit for employees who don't have bank accounts. For college students, it's a convenient way to manage their money and access tuition refunds.
The company was founded "to teach financial literacy and provide under-served consumers a safe, convenient way of making purchases, paying bills and getting cash," says Goins.
"We use the prepaid card as a tool for behavior modification. We give them the tools they need to manage their money better," he says. "For the last two years we've been developing our technology platform. Now, we're in the launch phase, starting with five universities this fall."
The five universities are Urbana University, University of Evansville, Florida Memorial University, Trine University and Wilmington College.
Source: Wade Goins; Chief Marketing Officer, Innovative Card Solutions
Writer: Patrick G. Mahoney