EnCards

Name

EnCards

Legal name

enCards, Inc.

Website

https://encards.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Open-Loop Prepaid Cards (Network-Branded) (FSAMANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payroll Cards & Salary Prepaid (FSAMANAE), Embedded Card Issuing & Card-as-a-Service (FSAGALAC), Card Issuing Platforms (Issuer Processing) (FSAGABAD)

Keywords

• Prepaid debit cards
• Merchant card processing
• Gift card programs
• Financial aid disbursement
• Check conversion services

Headquarters

HQ city

Aliso Viejo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Card Issuing Services: enCards issues branded and co-branded prepaid Visa debit cards to institutions, students, and merchants. Revenue generated through card issuance fees, loading fees, and per-transaction charges.
2. Merchant Processing: Credit card merchant account services for retail, internet, mail order, and telephone businesses. Revenue from transaction processing fees and monthly service charges.
3. Gift and Loyalty Card Programs: Gift card issuance and merchant reward program services for businesses of all sizes.
4. Check Services: Check conversion and guarantee products enabling electronic payment processing from traditional check transactions.
5. Agent and Referral Programs: Revenue sharing with agents and referral partners who bring new merchant accounts, including residual income streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

enCards issues branded and co-branded prepaid Visa debit cards and delivers credit card merchant processing services to retail, internet, mail order, telephone order, and mobile businesses. The company runs proprietary IntelleCard software that converts paper checks into electronic transfers and loads funds directly onto prepaid Visa debit cards, primarily for higher education financial aid disbursements, payroll, and refunds. Its suite also includes gift/loyalty card programs, check conversion/guarantee products, and vertical-specific card programs (dealership, youth, fundraiser, custom).

Product overview

enCards is a Preferred Provider of VISA USA offering a comprehensive suite of card issuing and merchant processing services. The company's core offering centers on proprietary IntelleCard software that converts paper checks to electronic transfers and loads funds onto prepaid Visa debit cards. Product portfolio includes: (1) Card Issuing Services with branded/co-branded prepaid Visa debit cards, (2) IntelleCard paperless disbursement platform, (3) Higher Education Card Program for financial aid, payroll, and tuition refunds, (4) specialized vertical card programs (Dealership, Youth, Fundraiser, Custom), (5) Gift Card Program, (6) Merchant Processing Services covering retail, internet, MOTO, and mobile channels, (7) Check Services for check conversion, and (8) Merchant Rewards System. The company also offers referral and agent programs for distribution. Services are distributed through partnerships with educational institutions, retail merchants, and sales agents across the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IntelleCard: Proprietary software solution that converts paper checks to electronic transfer and loads funds onto Prepaid Visa debit cards for financial aid disbursements.
• EduCard

Products and services

• Card Issuing Services Proprietary card issuing platform enabling institutions and merchants to issue branded and co-branded prepaid Visa debit cards for financial disbursements, payroll, refunds, and general spending.
• IntelleCard Proprietary software solution that converts paper checks to electronic transfers and loads funds directly onto prepaid Visa debit cards, designed for higher education financial aid disbursements, payroll, and refunds.
• Higher Education Card Program Specialized card program for colleges and universities to issue co-branded Visa debit cards to students, faculty, and employees for financial aid disbursements, payroll, and tuition refunds.
• Merchant Processing Services Credit card merchant account services for retail, internet, mail order, telephone order, and mobile businesses, including POS equipment, online reporting, and 24/7 support.
• Gift Card Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Saves approximately $3.00 per check eliminated
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Higher OneminorOthers · 15 April 2008Higher One acquired EduCard, LLC (enCards' subsidiary) on April 15, 2008. Acquisition expanded Higher One's client base and product offering. Integration with IntelleCheck enables streamlined refund distribution for Evisions clients.
• MetaBank / Meta Payment SystemscoreTechnology or Integration · 16 May 2006Contract signed May 16, 2006 for card issuance sponsorship for universities. MetaBank serves as issuing bank while EduCard manages card programs. Meta Payment Systems provides card issuing and program support, financial viability, and premier standing with card associations.
• Metavante CorporationmajorTechnology or Integration · 15 February 2006Partnership announced February 15, 2006 for prepaid debit card processing and related services. Metavante provides card personalization and fulfillment, 24/7 cardholder phone support, and Internet account access. Works exclusively with IntelleCheck software at 800+ institutions. Metavante is financial technology subsidiary of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation.
• Oddity, Inc.majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 October 2005Oddity, Inc., a Wholesale Only Gift and Floral Supplier servicing 20,000+ retailers, selected enCards as preferred credit card provider on October 11, 2005. enCards provides credit card processing services and helps educate retailers on gift card and loyalty programs.
• EduCard, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2005enCards' sister corporation (consortium of leading bank, processing and stored value card providers) focusing on issuing and distributing VISA stored value cards to students. Geo-targets college communities for affinity card distribution with local merchants. Later acquired by Higher One in 2008.
• Evisions, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2005Strategic partnering agreement signed January 29, 2005 for launching card processing programs for colleges. enCards co-located its US Headquarters with Evisions in Irvine, California. Evisions provides software services to 700+ higher education institutions and enCards provides card processing services. Combined offering provides fully integrated service plan and proprietary cardholder benefits.
• LinkShareminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorenCards partnered with LinkShare for affiliate program operations. LinkShare provides industry-leading tools, technical support, training, and best practice information. No fee to join the LinkShare Affiliate Marketing network.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Marqeta: Marqeta is a modern card-issuing platform-as-a-service that enables fintechs and brands to launch and manage prepaid and debit card programs via APIs; it competes with EnCards' core card-issuing platform for institutions and merchants seeking embedded prepaid card capabilities.
• Galileo Financial Technologies (Fiserv): Galileo, owned by Fiserv, is a leading API-based card issuing and processing platform serving fintechs and program managers — an emerging competitor in the card-issuing infrastructure layer that EnCards' proprietary IntelleCard platform sits within.

Direct peers

• PaySign: PaySign is a publicly traded prepaid card program manager serving verticals such as pharma patient assistance, insurance, and healthcare reimbursements — a direct functional peer to EnCards' vertical-specific prepaid Visa programs (dealerships, youth, fundraisers).
• Green Dot Corporation: Green Dot is one of the largest open-loop prepaid Visa/Mastercard issuers in the U.S. (and owns NetSpend), competing head-on with EnCards' branded/co-branded prepaid card issuance for consumers, students, and underbanked segments.
• Priority Technology Holdings: Priority is a large independent sales organization (ISO) and merchant acquirer offering payment processing and integrated commerce tools — closely comparable to EnCards' merchant processing business targeting retail, internet, MOTO, and mobile merchants.
• Nelnet Business Solutions: Nelnet Business Solutions provides tuition payment, refund management, and disbursement services to U.S. higher-education institutions, directly competing with EnCards' IntelleCard-based financial-aid disbursement offering for colleges and universities.
• BankMobile (Stride Bank): Stride Bank's BankMobile Disbursements division is the direct successor to Higher One's higher-education refund disbursement business (which acquired EduCard from EnCards in 2008), making it the closest comparable for EnCards' higher-ed cash disbursement and student card programs.
• ECSI (Heartland Payment Systems): ECSI provides tuition payment plans, refund management, and student account services to higher-education institutions — overlapping directly with EnCards' campus-focused disbursement, payroll, and refund processing value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Blackhawk Network: Blackhawk Network is a leading global branded payments and gift card network (owned by Silver Lake); it overlaps with EnCards' gift card program and broader prepaid issuance capabilities, but at much larger scale and across retail brands.
• InComm Payments: InComm is a major prepaid and gift card product and technology provider working with retailers and financial institutions — a broader incumbent serving many of the same merchant reward, gift, and stored-value use cases EnCards targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/encards
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/encards-inc.

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EnCards