Prepaid Marketing for Online Success

Scanning through some of the negative press and the forum comments, it would be difficult not to think so but the answer is NO. In fact, Prepaid Credit Cards represent a new and exciting payment solution which can be used in pretty much any sector to the benefit of the business or the consumer.

However, being a new market, there is so little coverage and advertising by the industry or banks on prepaid debit cards or “prepaid credit cards” as they are popularly known and with so few banks actually supporting Prepaid Credit Cards at this point, it is quite easy to jump to the conclusion that Prepaid Credit Cards are a scam.

Well, you really could not be further from the truth on this one. Prepaid card issuers, in fact have much stricter regulations than other electronic card products such as debit cards and credit cards as there are no credit checks or bank accounts required to get one. Since getting a Prepaid Credit Card is pretty easy and almost everyone who applies, gets one, the regulations around the usage or Prepaid Credit Cards, the issuers and the communication is much stricter especially for those cards available to under 18 years of age. Read the rest of this entry »

Scenario: So an unsuspecting mother uses her Barclays debit card to buy her 11 year old son an Xbox Live membership and then receives a “nasty shock” upon discovering that aforementioned 11 year old spent over £1000 buying virtual goods over a 6 month period.

Cue: Mother decides the fault probably lies with Barclays and Microsoft Xbox as opposed to self and boy and they should be liable in some way and hence, will be contacting a solicitor.

Source: My son racked up £1k bill on Xbox

Analysis: After the cursory chuckle (which could last a few hours), it would be interesting to see if they actually get some financial relief as I would definitely be willing to go down the same route. There have been recent instances about consumers complaining about in game purchases with iTunes Apps where someone has purchased a kiddie game and not realised that in game purchases would not require a password if they had entered their password in the last 15 minutes for any reason whatsoever. Perfect scenario for the control features of youth prepaid credit cards perhaps? Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since prepaid cards first appeared on the scene in the UK in 2000/2001, the prepaid card industry has been growing steadily. There has been exponential growth in some sectors which others have lagged behind but the growth has been nowhere close to the kind of growth that the scheme managers like MasterCard, Amex or Visa predicted and the prepaid card proposition still remains a work in progress.

The Online vs. Offline Distribution Dilemma

For prepaid card issuers, one of the biggest dilemmas is establishing and picking the right distribution channels to reach consumers and currently, there is an unhealthy obsession with expensive offline distribution channels so much so that some issuers tend to focus too much time on putting their product in front of the consumer and too little time in actually building a proposition that will be attractive to those consumers. Read the rest of this entry »

Prepaid Cards for Teenagers Driving Youth Payments : You can teach your children responsible financial management without actually having the need to let them handle cash.  Just as it could be risky for you to be carrying large amounts of money while you shop, it would probably be doubly risky for your kids.

By giving your kids their own prepaid cards, you can actually teach your kids how to monitor and spend their money wisely without these risks.  You can also put restrictions on your child’s prepaid card so that he cannot use it on unnecessary spending like online gaming.

Prepaid cards for kids emphasize the importance of budgeting and of spending only money that you have instead of borrowing to purchase the things you want but not necessarily need.  Unlike credit cards, you do not face the risk of your children spending more money than you are ready to spend.  They are limited by the amount of money that you load their prepaid cards with.  These prepaid cards for teenagers could also be used as gifts so your children or whoever else you gift with it the chance to purchase what they really want.  Unlike gift cards, you can load cash into these prepaid cards anytime. There are in fact a number of free prepaid cards for kids as the market for prepaid credit cards continues to grow. Read the rest of this entry »

This is my 2 and 1/2 year old nephews’ favourite line at the moment – “It’s a Good Idea, Amit Uncle!” – This normally applies to a few things which include

• Visits to Toys R Us
• Purchases made at Toys R Us
• More Need for Speed downloads on my iPhone
• The latest issue of What Car magazine and
• Eating only when absolutely necessary!

I, on the other hand, being a grown up use this statement only when dealing with rather more important things like buying a new PS3 game perhaps or accessories for the aforementioned iPhone.

A couple of months back, we launched the call for entries into the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards and whilst I was marvelling at some of the contenders for this years awards like the Neteller Net+ Virtual Prepaid Card (8 currencies and generates a 1 time use only card number) or the brilliant travel prepaid card – the CaxtonFX card (with Free ATM) or the Cashplus prepaid MasterCard with creditbuilder, I also started thinking what it would take within the prepaid industry for me to proclaim and exclaim that “it’s a good idea!” and I came up with the following three thoughts Read the rest of this entry »

05.10.10 - Prepaid365, the UK’s leading independent prepaid card comparison website, announced the last call for entries for the third edition of the Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards 2011 with a fast approaching entry submission deadline of 31st December, 2010.

The awards continue to generate significant interest in the UK and abroad as they gain recognition as the leading consumer awards within the prepaid industry.

With most of the award categories being voted for solely by consumers, the awards provide an excellent endorsement for the efforts of prepaid credit card providers providing recognition for the best in category service provider in different categories as well as highlighting a few worthy runners ups. Read the rest of this entry »

The market for prepaid credit cards has been growing in leaps and bounds and there are close to 200 prepaid card programmes running in the UK with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately, outside the travel sector and currency cards, it is possible to count the number of successes on one hand and even then, success may have to be defined rather optimistically.

One of the the few programmes to buck the trend of optimistic failures is the NETELLER Net+ Prepaid Credit Card programme. The Net+ Prepaid Card programme is managed by the guys at Neteller and is available as either a physical Prepaid MasterCard or as a Virtual Prepaid MasterCard and here’s why these cards work.

• Read the rest of this entry »

The collapse of Crown Currency Exchange, a travel cash supplier based in Cornwall, is getting increasing coverage in the media. So who are Crown Currency and should this collapse worry customers of other online travel money providers?

Stephen Heath, Chief Executive of prepaid currency card specialist FairFX.com explained: “In the travel money marketplace there are 4 main ways that people spend overseas. These are:-

1. Travel Cash – either bought at a Bureau de Change or sent in the post
2. Travellers Cheques – decreasing in volumes and very “old economy”
3. Prepaid Cards – rapidly increasing market sector (including the FairFX $, Euro and £ Anywhere Cards)
4. £ Debit and Credit Cards – simply spending using a £ Sterling card and incur the fees from currency conversion

Read the rest of this entry »

Prepaid Credit Cards look like credit cards, but work differently. You can use them everywhere Maestro, MasterCard or Visa is accepted (depending on the type of prepaid credit cards that they are) but you can only spend up to the available balance on your card.

With prepaid cards, you load funds onto your card and use that money to make purchases and get cash – you are not borrowing money from a bank or other financial institution. Read on if you are interested in finding out what prepaid credit cards are all about.

Credit on Prepaid Credit Cards

Also known as a Prepaid Debit Card or just as a Prepaid Card, a prepaid credit card is similar to a regular credit card, except that there is really no credit limit as such and that funds available on the card are actually the funds that you have loaded on to the card. So essentially a prepaid credit card is not really a credit card at all.

Prepaid credit cards typically come with a whole set of fees attached typically relating to issuance, loading, usage and cash withdrawals. Depending on the plan you choose, you can get a pay monthly or pay as you go prepaid credit card. These cards are especially useful for those with bad credit or a non existent credit history and in such cases, the benefits of prepaid credit cards far outweigh any of these potential extra charges.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Australian Dollar MasterCard Prepaid Credit Cards launched.
• Targeted at 664,000 British nationals visiting Australia* annually
• Prepaid Credit Cards available in EURO, USD, GBP, AUD and ZAR
  

In anticipation of the estimated 664,000 British nationals visiting Australia* annually, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) have launched Europe’s first MasterCard Prepaid Travel Card in Australian Dollars (AUD). The Australian Dollar Travel Card offers secure, cost effective and convenient foreign currency and is available directly to consumers (www.prepaidfinancialservices.com) or through businesses to their staff or consumer base. The Prepaid Card is issued by Transact Network Ltd.

Noel Moran, CEO of PFS explains, “Due to the increasing consumer demand for prepaid cards for buying Travel currency, we are delighted to launch the PFS MasterCard Prepaid Australian Dollar Travel Card. The Card will be available throughout Europe and combines the safety of a payment card with the flexibility and convenience of a mobile phone. Cardholders travelling to Australia can effortlessly manage their money 24/7 using their mobile phone, while making significant savings when buying their holiday currency.”

Read the rest of this entry »

-          Prepaid Credit Cards Issued to British Judo Team to help manage expenses

-          Travelex Corporate Cash Passports to be preloaded with specific amounts

-          The prepaid credit cards are available in three different currencies (GBP, USD and EUR)

Travelex has stepped in to help the 21-strong British judo team manage their travel expenses during the imminent World Championships taking place from 9^th – 13^th September and beyond.  The foreign currency provider has issued members of the Olympic hopeful team with a Travelex Corporate Cash Passport to trial the system for future travel expense needs.  The collaboration further strengthens Travelex’s involvement in the sports arena, following on from a successful partnership with the British Gymnastics team.

The British judo team travels extensively each year; up to 3 times a month across the world, often crossing borders which confiscate large sums of money and have restrictions on taking money in and out.  Bearing this in mind, along with the fact that the team spend around 25,000 Euros during each Major Championship and tot up expense bills of around £200,000 annually, the Corporate Cash Passport is the ideal solution for managing their expenses abroad.

Read the rest of this entry »

The new season of Dexter kicks off soon and serial killers beware as undoubtedly Dexter’s “gonna get you” but Dexter is nowhere as potent or lethal in his actions as are some prepaid stakeholders who are killing prepaid credit cards.

Now, it would be wrong to pin the blame for the failure of prepaid credit cards on poor marketing given the burgeoning number of prepaid credit card programmes which have flawed value propositions, antiquated operations and legacy back end systems but the failure to launch a slick front end operation accounts for a number of programmes biting the proverbial dust.

It is interesting to note that stakeholders and decision makers that invest somewhere in the region of £60k+ in the setup of these prepaid credit card programmes shy away from making the requisite investment of even 10% in marketing and supporting the launch of these prepaid credit cards.

A few interesting conversations with regards to the launch of these prepaid credit cards include

• We have a huge third party database as well as existing customers who will surely be interested in this programme so we do not really need to do anything else
• Our programme has the same pricing structure and setup as that successful big brand prepaid credit card proposition. We cannot go wrong.
• We really do not see the card programme as a profit centre – so do not really wish to invest in the programme.
• And my personal favourite, I think we will invest in the marketing if the programme does well in the first six months.

Read the rest of this entry »

Watching the final episode of the hit TV serial LOST (live from the US as we were constantly reminded) – at 5.00am on a Monday morning was a bit like a prepaid card stakeholder having launched a prepaid card programme – I was left with the burning question whether it had in fact been worth it all?

Now, this may have more to do with what I perceived to be a rather weak ending but the answer to the LOST conundrum was a resounding NO and a number of prepaid card stakeholders may feel the same about their investment in a prepaid credit cards programme.

The Prepaid Industry is Booming – or Is it?

Prepaid Card issuers, providers, manufacturers, programme managers, consultants and every Tom, Dick and Harry associated with the Prepaid Card Industry will admit that the margins within the prepaid industry are not the same as the margins within other alternative payment services sectors and by the same token, they will have to admit that the prepaid, as yet, is not the mass market phenomenon some of the industry experts would have as believe.

Read the rest of this entry »

So all set for that Trip to Euro Disney with the kids over Easter or already started planning that Trip to Vegas in the Summer?

It never hurts to be well prepared and of course, as every seasoned traveller knows, the longer you give yourself, the less expensive and chaotic it is likely to be to have that perfect vacation unless of course, you are booked with British Airways and they decide to go on strike!

So where do you start when planning your trip. Most people follow the well treaded path being

• Choose Destination
• Book Hotels
• Book Tickets & Travel Insurance
• Ensure Passport’s and Visa’s are upt to date
• Book Transport to and from the Airport
• Leave your worries behind ……followed by
• Mad dash for expensive travel money at the Airport kiosk
  

Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a prepaid card provider and are looking to provide your customers with a little bit extra, then it is worth looking at some of the “priceless” offers from MasterCard – available to All MasterCard holders.  Offers include

• 2 for 1 vouchers at the UK’s top Attractions
• Opportunity to win 1 of 5 family holidays to Gardaland
• Opportunity to win 1 of 200 Family Day Passes to Top attractions
• 50% off at Alton Towers Resort Hotels as well as
• Some gourmet Getaways to Paris.

All worth blabbing about for sure!!

Check them out at http://bit.ly/cVdIap