Central National Bank issues the “Tal Card”- a prepaid debit card aimed at Brazilian immigrants
8/19/2008
Enid, Oklahoma —-Sending money back home to their families is common practice for many Brazilian immigrants living in the United States today. Often, that practice means paying exorbitant fees to check cashiers and money transfer companies before their family ever sees any of the money. Tal Card, a prepaid debit and remittance card issued by Central National Bank of Enid, allows those individuals to keep more of their hard-earned pay, while simultaneously introducing them to the country’s financial system.
Brud Baker, president and CEO of Central said that Tal Cash, a Brazilian-owned company that markets the Tal Card, found its niche with the product. Tal Card’s purpose is to provide Brazilian U.S. residents and other Latin American immigrants living in the United States, a prepaid debit card that they can use to make purchases and send remittances to Brazil and elsewhere.
“Tal has a tremendous understanding of their market,” Baker said. “That knowledge is what makes these programs successful. Combine that with the fact that cardholders can send money to Brazil and 11 other Latin American countries for $6, and you begin to see the positive impact it has on the Brazilian community.”
The Tal Card program involves two reloadable cards, an instant issue, PIN-only card, and an upgraded personalized MasterCard. The cards are sold through agents of Tal Cash, such as BR Courier, which is predominately located in the Northeastern United States. Working like a checkless checking account, the cards are loadable through ACH Direct Deposit, GreenDot and participating banks. Additional load options are currently being explored.
Manoel Silveira of Tal said, “We see two key factors for Tal Card’s success: being where the Brazilians are, both for issuing and reloading the cards on Brazilians agents that speak Portuguese, and offering additional services that would benefit the immigrant’s life, such as insurance and emergency medical plans.”
The Tal Card is one of over 30 card programs that CNB and Interactive Transaction Services currently issue and process. ITS is a subsidiary of the bank. Other card programs include The Rock Dollar Card, and 10 other university ID cards that also function like debit cards. Most of them with Tap and Go technology.
About Central National Bank
Central National Bank of Enid is headquartered in Oklahoma and is held by Central Services Corporation. The bank reported assets of over $525 million in the first quarter of 2008. CNB provides standard and custom prepaid card programs for financial institutions and other organizations and has been issuing and processing prepaid cards since 2000. For more information, contact Tania Warnock at twarnock@cnb-enid.com or 580.213.1762.