Los
Angeles, CA, January 10, 2005 / - MyMoneyPlus Card
Corporation, an ATM/debit card technology company, today
announced a strategic alliance with Center Bank, a community
bank focused on the Korean-American consumer and commercial
market and a wholly owned subsidiary of Center Financial
Corporation (NASDAQ:CLFC). The alliance is designed to
provide banking and ATM / debit card services to the large
population of unbanked consumers.
According
to Jon Park, MyMoneyPlus’s chief executive officer, over
twenty-five million wage earners in the U.S. do not have
bank accounts. “A variety of reasons contribute to people
shying away from banks. Among them are past experiences in
their own countries, mistrust, lack of credit worthiness, or
little knowledge of how banking systems work,” added Park.
Under the
alliance, it will be easier for consumers with no prior
banking experience to have an account – either a traditional
account with Center Bank, a “virtual” bank account with
MyMoneyPlus or both. The MyMoneyPlus cards also function as
normal ATM/Debit cards with the capacity to withdraw cash
worldwide and also make retail point-of-sale (POS) purchases
in the U.S. Through its free linked Secondary Card
initiative, MyMoneyPlus also allows users to send money
internationally without having to go through traditional
money transfer services.
Additionally, the MyMoneyPlus system can make automatic
payroll deposits to debit cards saving employers substantial
amounts compared to traditional check issuing methods.
Salaries are deposited directly to the employee’s card
providing the ability to withdraw needed cash immediately at
any ATM or POS device.
“As a
lifestyle and money saving tool for the wage earners in the
U.S who do not have bank accounts, MyMoneyPlus helps save
them considerable amounts on check cashing fees,” Park said.
“We are
pleased to offer these financial services to the unbanked
consumers in our core markets,” said (Paul) Seon-Hong Kim,
president and chief executive officer of Center Financial.
“Center Bank prides itself on providing value-added banking
products and services, and we look forward to working
closely with MyMoneyPlus to more broadly serve the financial
needs to our communities.”
About
MyMoneyPlus Card Corporation
MyMoneyPlus Card Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of
CDSNet, Inc. The CDSNet’s family of companies delivers
transaction processing, customer service, project management
and IT consulting. The company was established in 1979 and
has been deeply involved in providing services to the
disabled, welfare dependant, immigrant and transit dependant
communities. The Company’s focus on banking services and
service to community gave rise to the effort to design and
implement a pre-paid payment platform that responds to the
needs of a diverse community and can become a flexible and
valuable tool for the public. The MyMoneyPlus program is the
result of over ten years of research and development effort,
an effort that has resulted in the creation of the most
flexible, lowest cost and easy to use product of its type.
For information go to
www.mymoneyplus.com or call (800) 964-1114.
About
Center Financial Corporation
Center
Financial Corporation is the financial holding company of
Center Bank, a community bank offering a full range of
financial services for multi-ethnic and small business
customers. Founded in 1986 and specializing in commercial
and SBA loans and trade finance products, Center Bank has
grown to be one of the nation's largest financial
institutions focusing on the Korean-American community, with
total assets of $1.3 billion at September 30, 2004.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Center Bank operates 24 branch
and loan production offices across the nation, of which 15
full-service branches are located throughout Southern
California and in Chicago, plus nine loan production offices
in Phoenix, Seattle, Denver, Washington D.C., Las Vegas,
Atlanta, Honolulu, Houston and Dallas. Center Bank is a
California state-chartered and FDIC-insured financial
institution. For additional information on Center Bank,
visit the company's Web site at www.centerbank.com.
MEDIA
CONTACT: MyMoneyPlus Card Corporation
Juan-Carlos Duran, Pepe & Elmer Media, (323) 960-5520
jcduran@pepeandelmer.com
MEDIA
CONTACT: Center Financial Corporation
James Ryu (213)-251-2206