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NEW ORLEANS-The controversial Kardashian Kard may have only been on the market for a few short weeks, but its 15 minutes of fame are far from over.
The prepaid debit card, which failed within weeks of its launch because many considered its pricing predatory, has become as famous in its own right as its sponsors, reality television stars the Kardashian sisters, reports American Banker, an affiliate of Credit Union Journal.
"Oddly enough, we've had more demand from people who want the card as a souvenir now" than when the card was available for sale, said David Reiling, chief executive of Sunrise Community Banks, the holding company for the card's issuer, University National Bank of St. Paul, Minn.
But the card's novelty shouldn't undercut the real lessons that can be learned from a failed prepaid program. "I'd love to go back in time," Reiling said recently, invoking a sense of "If I knew then what I know now" regret.
"The largest risk to banks is managing those third parties," he said during a panel discussion at the Underbanked Financial Services Forum, a conference jointly sponsored by American Banker and the Center for Financial Services Innovation. "The bank is in charge of every distribution outlet where those cards...