If credit union members want to use a prepaid debit card and cannot get one from their CU, they may head down the street to get one from a community bank.

According to the American Bankers Association, 40 community banks have signed on with its Community Bank Prepaid Program, an effort which seeks to provide bank-branded prepaid card programs to community banks.

“Regardless of size, banks want to provide the latest products in payment cards,” said Bill Kroll, president of Business Solutions, the ABA subsidiary that developed the program. “Many people see prepaid cards as a safe, convenient alternative to cash, and the banks offering these cards are seeing explosive growth.”

The Community Bank Prepaid Program was created with and is serviced by TransCard, a leader in prepaid card processing.

“Our business has doubled since June and active card counts are up 61% since the first of the year,” said TransCard CEO Craig Fuller. “This is clearly a direct result of our innovative new business model, which focuses on empowering financial institutions and enabling them to offer prepaid products to their retail and commercial customers and prospects. Commercial clients and consumers have a trusted relationship with their local bank and this leads to greater acceptance and usage.”