Visa (NYSE:V) and Obopay, a leading provider of mobile and instant payment solutions for market-leading brands, today announced a collaboration to enable near real-time payment solutions for disbursing electronic funds to a prepaid card.
As a result of the agreement, Obopay will offer its partners the ability to disburse funds from their corporate account directly onto a Visa prepaid card which they can provide to a payee. The capability can benefit a range of industries including insurance, payroll, rebates, incentives, business expenses, government disbursements or any other bulk payment need, and can be particularly valuable in situations in which recipients have an immediate need for funds.
"By introducing a Visa prepaid card solution, Obopay offers near real-time disbursement capabilities that allow our customers to avoid the time delay of issuing cash or check," said David Schwartz, vice president of product and corporate marketing for Obopay. "Adding Visa prepaid cards to Obopay Disbursements enables our partners to send funds to any consumer in the U.S. at dramatically lower costs compared to issuing checks while they can also greatly increase the satisfaction of customers."
Obopay Disbursements provides the broadest range of disbursement and bulk payment solutions in the industry; enabling corporations that need to issue large numbers of payments to reduce their costs by disbursing funds electronically. Offering a Visa prepaid card as part of Obopay Disbursements allows consumers timely access to funds that can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Using Visa prepaid cards also allows businesses to send funds to any consumer, including those that don't have access to a traditional bank account. Disbursing funds to a Visa prepaid card can help an unbanked or under-banked payee avoid expenses that often come from receiving funds to a check such as a check-cashing fee and eliminates the need for consumers to wait to receive and cash a check in order to access their funds.
"The agreement with Obopay aligns with Visa's vision to accelerate the shift to electronic payments, extending the benefits of digital currency to more people and making disbursements more convenient, secure and reliable," said Brian Triplett, head of North America prepaid products, Visa Inc. "Today, many businesses are using Visa prepaid cards to reduce costs and exposure to check fraud, while creating a better experience for disbursement recipients, including those who do not have access to checking accounts."
The new offering is available immediately as part of Obopay Disbursements. With Obopay Disbursements companies can disburse funds using digital payments in place of issuing physical checks or cash, allowing for more timely disbursement of funds, dramatically reducing the employer's costs and increasing security, convenience, and recipient satisfaction. With the addition of Visa prepaid cards, recipients don't have to wait for and then cash a check or handle large amounts of cash. The solution also enables funds to be disbursed via the PIN debit and ATM networks to which Obopay is connected, as well as via ACH.
For more than a decade, Visa has invested in growing the prepaid category in the U.S. and around the world. Visa's flexible platform enables a diverse set of prepaid products meeting highly specific needs. With a focus on migrating paper-based programs and processes to electronic payments, Visa has established more than 11,000 Visa prepaid programs in 110 countries, delivering greater convenience, choice, and security to consumers, businesses, and governments.