Prepaid Marketing for Online Success

BaBeeCard, the prepaid card designed especially for mums, mums to be and families was celebrating a hattrick of wins at the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards, after winning the “Best Online Shopping Prepaid Card” and “Best Prepaid Card Design” categories as well as scooping up the runners up gong for the “Best Gifting Prepaid Card”.

The annual Prepaid365 awards recognise best in class prepaid card propositions and providers voted for by consumers and Prepaid365’s subject matter experts with the awards being based on various factors including application process, card design, fee structure, features, functionality, added value and feedback from customer, customer services and the prepaid industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Wins for Prepaid Financial Services and programmes managed by Prepaid Financial Services including the PCS MasterCard and Camden C-OOL Youth Prepaid Card

• Winners of the Best B2B Provider – Small Programmes
• Recognition in the Best Prepaid Card Innovation for South African Rand Travel Card

Widely recognised as one of the most innovative prepaid service providers PFS provide a wide range of solutions including B2B products, travel products, corporate expenses, payroll, commission payouts and social and benefit payments.

Noel Moran, CEO of Prepaid Financial Services Ltd expressed his delight with the results commenting, “We are delighted to have been recognised with these two awards. We are particularly proud that we have been recognised in two fields which have been our key focus from day one. Since its inception PFS has strived to offer corporate clients flexible low cost entry into the prepaid market. Our purpose built prepaid software platform is constantly tailored to improve our offering and meet the requirements of our clients. Read the rest of this entry »

Winner of the Best International Prepaid Card

The team at PCS rounded off an impressive few months with recognition at the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards by winning the Best International Prepaid Card category. The first of its kind in France the product has received widespread media coverage and consumer interest since its inception.

The PCS prepaid MasterCard launched in December 2010 has been developed specifically for the unbanked and underbanked demographic however the demand for the product would indicate that online shoppers, young people and frequent travellers have quickly come to recognise the benefits of this card. The card is currently available for purchase in 20,000 merchants throughout France. Read the rest of this entry »

Leading prepaid Mastercard, the Escape Travel Money Card, has been billed as offering the ‘Best Prepaid Card Website’ according to Prepaid365, the UK’s leading independent prepaid card comparison website. www.escapetravelmoneycard.com scooped the top spot in the prestigious awards, the first major award for the eight-month old website of the Escape Travel Money Card business, part of the EZPay Ltd company.

The third annual Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards 2011 assess the cards, websites and supporting services of over 200 different prepaid cards across 22 award categories. The Prepaid365 Awards are voted for directly by consumers and the results are based on consumer votes, reviews and industry feedback, with the top performers winning the highest accolades.

Featuring clear tools to aid consumers in choosing the best value holiday spending money option, www.escapetravelmoneycard.com was praised for its total transparency in listing costs of acquiring a card. The website for the Escape Travel Money Card also carries an informative blog, daily-updated foreign exchange rates, and a clear log-in area for cardholders where they can monitor their account. Read the rest of this entry »

Wins Runner Up Gong in Best Youth Prepaid Card Category

The Camden COO-L Prepaid Card, a unique product launched by Camden Council to promote young people’s activities, was celebrating recognition at the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards by scooping the Runners Up award in the Best Youth Prepaid Card category.

The Camden COO-L Prepaid card offers young people an opportunity to spend their money on positive activities in and around Camden. Aimed at young people who are eligible for free school meals in school years 9-11, young people looked after and who have learning disabilities and difficulties.

The card is loaded with 25 pounds Sterling per month which can then be used by the cardholders to participate in fun and positive activities in their local area. Cardholders do not have access to withdraw these funds at ATMs. Instead they are restricted for use at specific merchants and service providers in the Camden area, including music lessons, theatre productions, museums and cinemas. Read the rest of this entry »

• Wins ‘Best travel prepaid card’ at 2011 Prepaid365 Card Awards

The Caxton FX Prepaid Currency Card, one of the UK’s most popular prepaid travel cards, has been announced as the winner in the Best Travel Prepaid Card category at the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards. This is the third year in a row (2009, 2010, 2011) that consumers have voted for the Caxton FX Prepaid Currency Card as their first choice of prepaid travel card.

Launched in 2007, the Caxton FX prepaid currency card was the first to make launch a free prepaid currency card, and the first to abolish ATM fees abroad.

Andrew Swailes, Head of Communications, Caxton FX: “The Caxton FX card was the first of its kind, and ever since then we have strived to continue to offer a unique product in what is now an immensely competitive field. I am delighted that Caxton FX has been recognised as the market leader. We have always tried to put the customer first and make their life as easy as possible – since the day we started the greatest percentage of card sign-ups has come through clients recommending our card.” Read the rest of this entry »

PCT are delighted to have won the award for Best B2B provider of large programmes 2011, from the respected Prepaid365 Prepaid card awards.

Ian Clowes, Managing Director of PCT commented that “the award recognises the amazing efforts of our highly knowledgeable and dedicated team who help to turn clients’ often complex visions into successful prepaid solutions.  Award wins such as this reinforce the premise that we are providing our clients with expert programme management from concept to delivery.”

Since its inception, PCT have built a reputation for the launch and management of robust prepaid card programmes.   For example, FairFX , one of PCT’s first clients, today offer one of the most successful travel cards available.  Other partners have quickly followed suit, with the first quarter of 2011 already seeing the launch of five new card schemes. Read the rest of this entry »

Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY), the leading alternative payments business, announces that its Net+ Prepaid MasterCard® has won three categories at the Prepaid365 awards, including Best Prepaid Card Overall.

Amit Sharma, CEO of prepaid marketing consultancy Emotion Associates and founder of Prepaid365 said: “The prepaid industry continues to grow at a rapid pace with close to 100 new programmes launching over the last 12 months. Each year, there tend to be one or two prepaid cards which simply stand out above the rest, and the NETELLER Net+ Prepaid Mastercard is undoubtedly one of the stand out performers of 2010-11 with a ringing endorsement in six categories from those who matter most – consumers. The title best in class is definitely apt in this case and is just reward for an exceptional year for the team at Optimal Payments.” Read the rest of this entry »

Wins Best Unbanked Prepaid Card and Runner Up Best Basic Bank Account with Prepaid

The Secure Trust Bank Prepaid MasterCard has been rewarded for its added value prepaid proposition with wins at the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards with consumers votes securing a win in the Best Unbanked Prepaid Card category to go with the runners up award in the Best Basic Bank account category.

The Secure Trust Bank prepaid MasterCard was only launched in late 2010 and has already established a large customer base. The product provides an excellent alternative to those who are unbanked, have a poor credit history, are seeking a credit card alternative or have simply lost their faith in traditional banking.

The Secure Trust Bank Prepaid MasterCard offers consumers the ability to set up direct debits and standing order instructions and customers are automatically enrolled into the Secure Trust Bank Rewards Scheme which enables them to earn cash rewards of up to 4% at over 30 major high street retailers when they shop with their prepaid card. Furthermore, the pre paid card is MasterCard branded and can be used anywhere the MasterCard acceptance logo is displayed – online, in-store and at over 30 million retail locations worldwide in addition to 1.5 global ATM’s for cash withdrawals

Amit Sharma, CEO and founder of leading prepaid comparison site Prepaid365 stated that “this is an excellent win for the team at Secure Trust Bank. Providers like Secure Trust are putting the faith back in banking and providing consumers with a viable alternative to traditional banking structures. Prepaid card adoption as a mainstream payments solution has suffered due to the inability to set up direct debits and standing order instructions but the Secure Trust Bank prepaid card allows consumers to do this and is a real basic bank account – so much more than just a prepaid card.”

The Secure Trust Bank Prepaid MasterCard represents a real credit card alternative and there are no credit checks necessary which means guaranteed acceptance subject to identity & residency checks

Source: http://www.prepaid365.com

Prepaid365, the UK’s leading prepaid card comparison site, announced the winners of the 2011 Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards recognising best in class prepaid credit cards and providers across different categories such as Travel, Everyday Money, Money Transfer, Payroll, Gaming, Online Shopping and Youth including prepaid MasterCard, Visa Prepaid Cards and Maestro Prepaid Cards.

Launched in 2009, this is the third edition of the fast growing annual Prepaid365 Consumer Awards with over 128 prepaid cards entries across 22 categories being voted for by over 37,000 consumer respondents and Prepaid365 subject matter experts in the business categories.

Divya Sharma, Marketing and PR director at Prepaid365 commented “The prepaid industry continues to grow and so do the Prepaid365 Awards. We had 22 award categories as opposed to 14 from last year and the consumer response has been absolutely astounding. We have always maintained that raising consumer awareness is key to increasing the adoption of prepaid credit cards as a payment mechanism in the UK and the Prepaid365 Awards are all about providing prepaid industry stakeholders a platform for that consumer recognition. Whether it is prepaid MasterCard, Visa or Maestro prepaid cards, Prepaid365 remains the consumers first resource to review and compare prepaid cards. ” Read the rest of this entry »

Orange Cash Contactless Prepaid Card Launched by Orange

Orange has announced the launch of Orange Cash, the UK’s first major contactless prepaid MasterCard card.  Allowing customers to take total control of their spending, the prepaid card is a secure alternative to carrying around cash and can be used in over 30 million locations that accept MasterCard within the UK and abroad, as well as online. The announcement follows the launch of the Orange contactless credit card in 2009 and this year’s roll out of a commercial contactless mobile payments service on Orange.

Highlights

• New, easy-to-use contactless Orange Cash prepaid MasterCard^® allows customers to make faster payments on the high street
• Orange Cash customers earn reward points as they spend, redeemable against a great range of rewards including Pay As You Go Orange texts, airtime, credit or Orange shop vouchers
• MasterCard PayPass™ Contactless card technology enables customers to quickly make purchases of £15 or under wherever the contactless symbol is displayed Read the rest of this entry »

Reading the Terms and conditions of your prepaid card can be rather boring and tedious irrespective of the product or service that they have been written for but it goes without saying, it is quite important to read the fine print before you sign on the dotted line.

As with other products, you do need to sign an agreement electronically and accept terms and conditions as set out by the prepaid card provider when applying for a prepaid card. If you are applying for a prepaid credit  card using a form, then there may be terms and conditions mentioned on that form itself.

Typically, if all else fails, you should be able to find these terms and conditions on the prepaid card provider website. Areas within the terms and conditions, that you should pay special attention to include the following.

• Card Cost: Is the card free? If not, what is the potential cost?
• Validity Period: what is the Validity period of of the card? How long before it is no longer valid?
• Monthly Charges: Is there a monthly service charge, and, if so, what exactly do you get for it? Would it be better to get a pure pay as you go prepaid card instead?
• Usage Fees: what are the fees for using your card? There are cards which charge nothing for local transactions. They might be a better choice.
• Top Up Fees: What are the fees for loading your card? Some top up and loading options are free. Use them.
• Customer Service Setup: what are the fees for contacting customer services? Some providers can charge up to £1.00 per call that you make to them. Avoid these, if possible.
• Usage Restrictions: Any clauses regarding restrictions on the usage of your card. The majority of prepaid cards cannot be used to hire a car or at certain prepaid parking lots, etc. Know the restrictions before the card fails to your embarrassment.
• Account Closure Fees: Is there a charge for closing your account?Some providers charge £10-£20 for closing an account
• Card Replacement Fee: Will you be charged for replacing the card, in the event that it is lost or stolen?
• Card Renewal Fee: Do you have to pay a fee each time the card is renewed (i.e. upon each expiry date)?

It is quite easy to assume that Terms and conditions would tend to be standard across the prepaid card industry but that is definitely no longer the case as the industry grows and there are over a 100 products to choose from in the UK market alone. That basically means that terms and conditions are still worth reading especially to ensure you are aware of the items above and are able to find the best prepaid card to suit your needs.

For free prepaid credit cards and to review and compare Prepaid Credit Cards at Prepaid365 to find the card that is right for you.

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 »

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 »