Source: Raphaels Bank
In a move reflecting its role in the evolution of the payments sector over the past 10 years, Raphaels Bank, a leading innovator in the market has rebranded its Card Services division to become Raphaels Bank Payment Services.
The rebrand marks a decade delivering payment solutions to some of the largest brands in the UK and Europe.
Raphaels has most recently launched Near Field Communication (NFC) contactless programmes, socially responsible models which challenge the traditional banking formats and the inclusion of additional payment schemes to further develop the prepaid market in Europe. Its current portfolio has surpassed 6 million cards with cardholder balances exceeding £250m and yearly settlement of over £5bn. These funds result from the 180 programmes currently in operation across 12 different countries, through 24 partners.
Leveraging its status as a bank and membership of the VISA and MasterCard schemes, Raphaels became the first UK issuer of a prepaid VISA or MasterCard product in 2005 and has advanced to being the second largest prepaid MasterCard issuer in Europe.
Andrew Downes, General Manager, Payment Services for Raphaels Bank said: “As one of the early adopters in prepaid, we have earned a reputation for being at the cutting edge of the development of the industry in Europe. However, as the market has evolved into contactless and mobile payments, our services have expanded beyond prepaid cards into the emerging payments space. It therefore makes perfect sense, at this point in our growth and the development of the sector to rebrand the business Raphaels Bank Payment Services, reflecting the scope of skills, expertise and services we offer.”