Snapshot: Prepaid in Australia

According to a Research and Markets report, the total revenue from electronic payments in Australia was estimated at about $3.8 billion in 2010. Among one of the largest revenue generators – telecommunication – prepaid telecom products comprised a "significant proportion" of revenue, the report said.

Prepaid mobile voice services are reportedly the largest revenue segment, followed by calling cards, prepaid mobile Internet access, digital music purchases and gift cards. "The market is rapidly developing and the arrival of rechargeable magnetic cards is a major new development," the report noted.

Australia - Mobile Communications - Prepaid Payment Market said emerging sectors in Australia include prepaid mobile Internet access and electronic transport ticketing services. The report cited epay, a division of Euronet Worldwide Inc., as the dominant prepaid card company in Australia.

According to its website, epay offers prepaid mobile top-ups, prepaid debit cards, e-wallets, gift cards, digital music and other content, lottery, bill payment and money transfers (through its affiliate Continental Exchange Solutions Inc., doing business as RIA Financial Services), and transport payment solutions including road tolls and public transport.

Epay's website said its retailer network of over 24,000 locations in Australia includes petroleum distributors (Caltex and BP), convenience stores (Coles Express), supermarkets (Woolworths) and news agencies. Epay said it launched a joint agreement with the Queensland Government to offer prepaid tolling on Queensland Motorways. Its RIA affiliate is reportedly the third largest money transfer company in the world.

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