When MasterCard International Inc. rolls out a prepaid travel card program next month, the cards will be issued by Storm Lake-based MetaBank through its Meta Payment Systems division in Sioux Falls, S.D.

MetaBank, which entered the prepaid-card market less than two years ago, last month reached an agreement with MasterCard and The Travelex Group, the world’s largest non-bank foreign exchange services provider, to market the prepaid cards to banks and credit unions to offer to their customers. The cards will be accepted at any of the 23.3 million merchant locations worldwide that accept MasterCard branded cards, as well as at more than 1.1 million automated teller machines in MasterCard’s ATM network.

“It’s a huge new program for us,” said Brad Hanson, president of Meta Payment Systems, who said it’s possible the company’s travel card business could reach $200 million in dollar value issued by the end of 2006. MetaBank will also begin servicing accounts for Travelex’s Visa Travel Money Card program within the next several months, Hanson said. That program, which began four years ago, is currently offered by about 750 banks.

MetaBank has had a relationship with Travelex for the past year and has already launched several other products with that company, Hanson said.

“It’s a large marketplace, and there are many applications for those (travel cards),” he said. “They’re just targeted from a marketing perspective for a particular purpose, but they work from the same technical perspective as a gift card would.”

An alternative to cash or travelers checks, prepaid cards are not linked to the holder’s bank account, so they provide a safer payment means while traveling, and eliminate the possibility of identity theft from a lost or stolen credit or debit card. The cards can be “reloaded” with up to $10,000 in funds at a time, which at the end of a trip can be left on the card for future use or refunded.

Meta Payment Systems, which has grown to 40 employees in Sioux Falls, has developed prepaid-card programs with numerous partners, including Simon Property Group Inc., owner of the Mall of America; Marriott International Inc.; and NetSpend Corp., one of the largest issuers of prepaid debit cards. Meta’s products include reward and incentive card programs, payroll cards and debit cards for use with employee programs such as flexible spending plans. It currently services more than 2.5 million prepaid accounts.