LONDON - MasterCard is planning to launch a pre-paid card in the UK on the lines of its Cashplus card in the United States. The company has teamed up with Advanced Payment Solutions to launch this card next month.
"There are nearly 8 million people in the UK without a bank account or a credit card and this is the market we are aiming at. These people can't buy goods over the Internet, can't reserve hotels or hire cars and if they lose their money it is gone. With the card it is secure. It will be of particular benefit to people previously financially excluded and those with poor credit ratings," said Rich Wagner, chief executive of APS. The Cashplus card will target that segment of the population, which does not have a savings account or a current account. Around two million households in Britain are said to be in this position.
The cards will work in much the same way as the pre-paid mobile cards. Users will initially have to pay and get their cards and keep on recharging them when the amount has been used up. "The potential for these cards is endless, they can be used as a straight cash card or can be adapted for specific purposes, such as for the gift card market or replacing traveller's cheques," said Phil Davies, director of business development at MasterCard Europe. "The key is the flexibility and fuelling the growth of prepay cards is essential to realizing our vision of a truly cashless society,"
With these cards, users can shop on the Internet or on High Street or withdraw cash when needed for an ATM. The Cashplus cards have been a huge hit on the other side of the Atlantic. However, there is some doubt if that success story would be repeated in the UK, "I can't see Brits being willing to pay for the cards when the majority of people can already qualify for basic banking facilities at least. If they don't qualify for that, then I think they'd prefer cash," said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs. But the National Consumer Council was optimistic about the move, "Because people can only spend the money they've put on their card, there is no risk of racking up debt," it said in a statement.
Posted
on : Fri, 16 Sep 2005 20:30 GMT | Credit Cards News
By : Chris Rowe
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