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By Graham Mackenzie, Agency Enterprise Solutions Division

What began in 1998 as a small test of emerging technology between Treasury and the U.S. Army has evolved into a main-stream cash management application that supports all branches of the military and has a global footprint. The Stored Value Card (SVC) Program, originally intended to help the military optimize financial operations at Basic Training sites in the U.S., was enhanced over the years and now supports operations at U.S. military bases overseas which support peace-keeping and combat missions, and on Navy ships which are capable of being deployed around the globe. In July 2009, the SVC program surpassed the $3 billion mark (in physical currency converted to electronic value). This is notable given that only two years ago the program celebrated reaching the $1 billion mark, a milestone that took ten years to achieve.

A stored value card is a card-based financial instrument which functions like a pre-paid debit card and which can be customized by the issuer to meet specific business requirements. Treasury SVCs contain computer chips which store and process financial information (i.e. “debits” and “credits”) when inserted into special peripheral devices designed to read and process the cards. Transaction security can range from low to high depending on the pre-determined application of the card.

The SVC Program relies on close collaboration between FMS, each of the U.S. military service branches, numerous other agencies that support the military, technology providers, and the two Treasury Agent banks that provide back-office services (the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and JPMorgan Chase). FMS manages the SVC Program through a small U.S.-based support team, and five employees co-located with the U.S. military in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar. The SVC team is focused on ensuring operational excellence, financial and systems integrity, and positioning the program for future success.

To learn more about the FMS SVC Program, contact Graham Mackenzie at 202-874-1845 or visit http://www.fms.treas.gov/storedvalue

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