Altair Financial Services International Plc (Altair), an innovative leader in prepaid card business solutions, will deliver low-volume ready-made prepaid card programs for Prepaid Financial Services Ltd. (PFS).
This service will enable clients to enter the prepaid space within 14 working days, with no commitment to card volumes.
Chris Martin, Director of PFS commented, "Currently the requirements for most prepaid card programs include an order of at least 10,000 cards and spend in excess of £50,000 in program set up fees. With PFS, we can create low-volume prepaid card programs on generic branded plastic within 14 working days.
"This short time to market enables companies to take advantage of opportunities in record time. By using PFS, clients are not tied into minimum card orders, which is common amongst prepaid providers. The more cards a client sell, the more revenue they will earn.
"In conclusion, PFS assists those business clients that wish to set up a card program similar to their larger enterprise competitors' without being faced with equally large up-front enterprise start-up costs, whilst enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction in the process."
The PFS prepaid cards are issued by Newcastle Building Society and have the same functionality as any MasterCard prepaid card. Cardholders can easily access their funds at any cash machine and make purchases globally at more than 28 million locations worldwide, wherever the MasterCard acceptance mark is displayed, including online.
PFS can handle low volume card orders for business clients while also serving customers directly.
According to Lee Britton, Altair CEO, "The PFS program adds an extra dimension to the existing prepaid card market. We expect PFS will facilitate a new alternative for companies wishing to enter the prepaid card arena, giving them a feasible low-cost, no risk method to deliver prepaid cards for their audience."
PFS prepaid cards can be loaded using a debit or credit card, online or at 30,000 Payzone locations, which also accept cash loads. The cards can also be loaded via bank transfer or standing order and wage transfers from employers.
Cardholders who register their mobile phone can conveniently manage their prepaid card via Text messages. The M-Payments functionality, known as AMPS (Altair Mobile Payment System), is supplied by Altair, and provides a number of self service card management functions via SMS. AMPS enables prepaid card cardholders to initially load their card, top-up their account, lock and unlock a card, obtain their balance and even share funds with secondary cardholders (MoneyShare).
Primary uses of a Prepaid Financial Services prepaid card include:
• Transferring wages to a card
• Paying employees their wages onto a card
• Managing payments for travel expenses, fuel expenses, subsistence, amongst others
• Carrying travel money on a card for safe and secure use abroad
• Sharing money with friends and family through additional cards
• Making or receiving Insurance Claim payouts
• Using safely and securely to make purchases on the internet
• Online Shopping 24/7, 365 days of the year