About Us
Press Release
June 4, 2008 San Francisco, California
Plastyc Inc. has entered into a partnership with ECCOgen and GradCity.com to offer UPside Visa® Prepaid Cards to parents of high-school students. While ECCOgen's Campus Cards create a cashless campus and are used for managing on-campus spending in the cafeteria and bookstore, the GradCity.com UPside cards are ideal for everyday use on trips, managing pocket money from parents, and income from part-time jobs. "We are excited to bring a great reloadable prepaid product to our Campus Cardholders for their use on GradCity trips," said Mike Ferguson, managing partner of ECCOgen.
Greater teen autonomy is granted only in combination with greater responsibility, as teens and parents each have their own independent 24/7 online access to the card web portal. Parents can load money from their existing checking or savings account for free. The UPside Visa Prepaid Cards offer the same high level of protection as other Visa prepaid cards and are accepted everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. "We saw this as an excellent service and option for our student travelers," adds Adriane Carozza, Director of GradCity.com. "We have thousands of students who travel every year to both foreign and domestic locations. This is an efficient way for parents to feel assured that their children's spending money is manageable, replaceable, and increasable when needed."
"The UPside program was developed as the ultra affordable, always accessible, no- excuse, simple money management tool that allows teens to become responsible spenders," said Patrice Peyret, president of Plastyc, Inc. "GradCity's ability to serve high schools, students and their parents, is a tremendous channel into a market that is otherwise ignored by traditional financial institutions."
About ECCOgen
ECCOgen is a privately held teen-centric financial services company, based in San
Francisco. Its mission is to provide responsible financial and related products for teens,
parents, and schools. ECCOgen's Campus Card Program provides a cashless campus
platform for K-12 schools. By partnering with industry leading companies, ECCOgen
provides solutions that deliver convenience to teens and control for parents.
About GradCity.com
As the leader in ultimate student travel, GradCity.com works with top airlines, hotels,
clubs, and entertainers to professionally plan and manage unforgettable travel
experiences. Since 1987, GradCity.com professionals have arranged and hosted
thousands of students on tours to the Caribbean, Mexico and various travel destinations
throughout the United States for Spring Break, Winter Break, Graduation, and other
school-sponsored trips. GradCity.com is owned by First Choice Student Travel under
the corporate umbrella of TUI Travel, PLC. TUI is one of the world's leading leisure
travel companies operating in 180 countries, with over 30 million customers from more
than 20 countries and 48,000 colleagues across all businesses and is listed on the
London Stock Exchange.
About Plastyc, Inc
Plastyc Inc. is a privately held US corporation with offices in New York and Silicon
Valley. Its mission is to collaborate with parents and merchants in offering teen-agers
state-of-the-art payment and commerce-assistance services that are adapted to their
needs, responsibilities, and lifestyle.
Plastyc has partnered with reputable established financial institutions such as
MetaBank's Meta Payment Systems®, payment systems networks like Visa, and
transactions processors like Fidelity National Information Services to deliver and operate
our services. The UPside Visa prepaid card is issued by MetaBank pursuant to a
license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.
About MetaBank™
MetaBank is a federally chartered savings bank headquartered in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Meta Financial Group, Inc.® is the holding company for MetaBank, Meta Payment
Systems®, and Meta Trust Company®. The Meta Payment Systems (MPS) division of
MetaBank based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a recognized leader in the prepaid card
industry and provides innovative payment solutions delivered nationally in collaboration
with market-leading partners. MPS focuses on offering specific product solutions in the
following areas: (i) prepaid cards, (ii) credit cards and lending solutions, and (iii) ATM
sponsorship. Meta Financial Group is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market®: CASH.
For more information visit http://www.metacash.com.
