Altair to Deliver Europe`s First Prepaid Programs with MasterCard(r) rePower(tm)
Released on: July 11, 2008, 2:53 am
Press Release Author: Altair Financial Services International Plc
Industry: Financial
Press Release Summary: Altair Financial Services International Plc (Altair), a leading global prepaid card and transaction processing solutions provider, announced that it will work with MasterCard to deliver the first prepaid card programs in Europe using MasterCard® rePower™, the MasterCard point-of-sale reload service. The first prepaid programs to benefit from MasterCard rePower loading facility in the UK will be issued by Newcastle Building Society in Spring 2009.
Press Release Body: The recent MasterCard announcement of an alliance with Payzone plc is the starting point of what will become a network of participating European merchants that can provide convenient cash to prepaid card loading. MasterCard rePower creates a compelling business case for all parties, facilitating more reload points, while providing convenient and cost-effective MasterCard rePower facilitated transactions.
“We are delighted to participate in the MasterCard rePower launch,” said Lee Britton, Altair CEO. “MasterCard rePower will bring a valuable service to millions of unbanked and financially underserved individuals throughout Europe. MasterCard rePower will enable issuers and acquirers to reach emerging markets, broaden acceptance opportunities, convert cash purchases to card transactions and to take advantage of the rapidly growing market for prepaid products.”
Altair systems are flexible enough to respond to the requirements set out by MasterCard, and was selected as having already successfully delivered multiple card programs to MasterCard, such as the limited edition MasterCard Prepaid PayPass™ contactless cards at The BRIT Awards 2008 and Swarovski Fashion Rocks for the Prince\'s Trust 2007.
The Altair processing platform provides a turn-key innovative payment solution for a number of clients in various sectors. These include consumer focused retail and travel prepaid cards, corporate targeted focused prepaid cards for payroll or insurance claim payouts, and even prepaid government cards used to distribute payments to beneficiaries.
The MasterCard rePower service benefits all partners involved in a prepaid payment transaction including issuing and acquiring financial institutions, cash acceptance networks and cardholders. The service will enable cardholders to add money to eligible cards in real-time at any participating merchant with a MasterCard POS terminal, at the same time providing cardholders with a standardised experience at every rePower merchant. Through a single agreement that provides multiple reload locations covering Europe, the prepaid card issuer earns revenue based on shifting transactions from cash to card. Issuers benefit further from a net settlement guarantee and next day fund flow (MDS settlement times).
Kriya Patel, Head of Card Solutions at Newcastle Building Society says, “MasterCard rePower represents a significant new venture for us. The partnership with MasterCard, Altair and Payzone plc brings together experience and utilises the latest technology available. As a Society we strive to keep up to date with developments in the industry and are proud to be at the forefront of card issuing and acquiring in the UK.”
The cardholder experience is designed to be simple, quick and convenient. Prepaid cardholders present their MasterCard or Maestro-branded reloadable prepaid card to a participating merchant along with the money they wish to add. The merchant uses standard transaction codes and transmits the load amount. The transaction is processed in real-time over the MasterCard network, giving the cardholder immediate access to his or her money.
Commenting on the announcement, Paul Bartholomew-Keen, Business Leader, Prepaid Europe at MasterCard, said, “MasterCard rePower is a great leap forward for our prepaid cardholders and we’re delighted to be delivering this with industry-leading partners. Although people can reload their prepaid cards at the point-of-sale today, the separate arrangements with the ‘top-up’ networks often means that cardholders receive a multitude of service experiences, and a wide range of timescales for when their money is available. With MasterCard rePower, cardholders will benefit from a streamlined service experience and be able to spend the money on their prepaid card as soon as it’s been loaded.”
ENDS
About Altair Financial Services International Plc:
Altair Financial Services International Plc (Altair) is a global transaction processing company, issuing and acquiring processor, internet payment gateway, mobile payments and stored value processor. Altair was incorporated in 2005 as a global provider of bespoke white labelled Prepaid Card programs with enhanced functionality. Altair acquired established transaction processing company, Symmetrex, Inc. in November 2006. Altair is headquartered in London with banking and processing relationships in UK, USA, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and throughout the Latin America and Caribbean regions and issues on behalf of MasterCard® and Visa.
Altair solutions are designed to be flexible enough to provide companies with almost any type of prepaid card functionality, including open and closed loop programs, and created for corporate, retail/consumer and government use. Through its relationship with MasterCard®, all Altair cards issued in Europe are based on Chip & PIN technology and are EMV standards compliant. Altair is a certified issuer and transaction processor of contactless (MasterCard® PayPass™) prepaid cards in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.altair-financial.com or call +44(0) 20 7659 1140.
About MasterCard Europe:
MasterCard Europe is the entity responsible for managing MasterCard Worldwide’s business in Europe, for Europe. With headquarters in Waterloo, Belgium, MasterCard Europe works with 51 European countries organized administratively into three customer areas, incorporating the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), mature markets and the developing markets of Europe, stretching as far afield as the eastern border of Russia. Through its network of local offices, MasterCard Europe can understand and meet the diverse needs of customers in the very different types of markets throughout Europe, enabling people to do business in their own way in their own language.
Through MasterCard Worldwide, MasterCard Europe offers its European customers and consumers access to leading payment services throughout the world. MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 18 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, go to http://www.mastercard.com.
About Payzone:
Payzone is the new company formed from the merger of alphyra Holdings Limited with Cardpoint plc. Payzone is one of the leading consumer payments and cash distribution networks in Europe. Listed on the AIM market of London Stock Exchange and headquartered in Dublin, it has operations in 21 countries across Europe, processing over 630 million transactions per year on behalf of its clients. These transactions have a yearly value of over €13 billion Euro and are handled electronically through the Payzone network of over 240,000 points of service (terminals, vending units and EPOS tills) at more than 170,000 retail locations across Europe. Payzone also operates approximately 6,000 ATM cash dispensers in the UK and Germany.
The Company offers a wide range of services including pre-paid mobile phone top-ups, energy pre-payments, bill payments, pre-paid vouchers, local and housing authority payments, pre-paid MasterCard and Visa payment cards, payment vouchers for on-line shopping, gift card and loyalty programmes, transport ticketing, lottery games, parking and electronic road tolling, debit and credit card acceptance, contactless payment solutions and world-wide money transfer services. For further information visit www.payzoneplc.com.
About Newcastle Building Society:
Newcastle Building Society is the biggest building society based in the North East and one of the strongest mutual building societies in the country. With assets under management of over £4.8bn we are certainly large enough to cope but small enough to care deeply about the needs of our members. We are committed to providing a range of innovative and attractive investment products and that is why we are offering this Fixed Rate Bond.
The Newcastle Building Society is committed to remaining mutual and by doing so we feel we are better placed to continue to provide our investors with the quality of service expected from one of the country’s strongest building societies. The Society is a MasterCard® Principal Member, with the most MasterCard approved prepaid programmes in the UK. Newcastle Building Society have a SEPA licence and have live programmes in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Italy.
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