The Green Sheet Online Edition
May 5, 2011 • 11:05:01
Prepaid in brief
NEWS
Prepaid highlighted in ISIS pilot
ISIS, the joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless, Discover Financial Services and Barclays Bank, said it will pilot its mobile commerce platform in Salt Lake City in early to mid 2012, with the system evolving to include couponing and merchant-issued loyalty cards.
Travel card commemorates royal wedding
Ttglive, the website for the U.K.'s Travel Trade Gazette, reported travel agency Thomas Cook Group launched a limited edition Travelex Cash Passport travel card in commemoration of the royal wedding between Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton held April 29, 2011, in London.
Phone card leftovers targeted in Thailand
The Federation of Consumer Organisations gave mobile telecommunication operators in Thailand notice that they may face legal action if they can't clarify business practices concerning leftover minutes on prepaid calling cards, according to the Bangkok Post. The nonprofit FCO is threatening to file suit against both private and state-run enterprises for unfair treatment of prepaid calling card users, the media outlet reported.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MoneyGram completes refinancing
Money transfer specialist MoneyGram International Inc. reported it completed a $540 million senior secured credit facility consisting of a $150 million, five-year revolving credit facility and a $390 million, six-year term loan.
Prepaid Card Holdings becomes PrepaYd
Prepaid Card Holdings Inc. reported its board of directors and its majority shareholder approved the company's name change to PrepaYd Inc. to reflect the expansion of the company's business plan to provide additional prepaid products besides prepaid debit cards.
Qubee leverages WiMAX in Pakistan
Qubee, a broadband Internet service provider in Pakistan, launched new prepaid card services affiliated with wireless technology called WiMax, which allows computer users to access the Internet without phone-line connectivity. Qubee is providing scratch-card top-ups redeemable for Internet access.
TSYS client wins award
Prepaid card processor Total Systems Services Inc. recognized its client the Bank of Ireland, as well as the country's postal service, for winning the 2011 Card & Payments Best New Prepaid Card Product of the Year award for the Post Office Budget Card.
PARTNERSHIPS
AccountNow expands choice with Visa prepaid card
AccountNow Inc. collaborated with The Bancorp Bank to develop a Visa Inc. prepaid card program that provides an estimated 80 million financially underserved consumers with an alternative to traditional bank accounts in the form of the AccountNow Prepaid Visa Card.
Coinstar automates workforce management with Kronos
Coinstar Inc. selected Kronos Inc. to automate and standardize the workforce business processes of the Bellevue, Wash.-based coin exchange kiosk operator.
NetSpend taps Actiance for compliance, security
NetSpend Corp. chose social media security company Actiance for its Socialite platform, which provides "granular" control for social networking sites, including access management and content sharing, Actiance said.
SparkBase, Naratte to provide m-payments at POS
White-label loyalty and stored-value program provider SparkBase inked a deal with device-to-device communication technology company Naratte Inc. to integrate mobile connectivity into POS terminals and bypass the need for near field communication technology to be built into mobile phones, SparkBase said.
New teammates for disaster relief card
The Bancorp Bank Payment Solutions Group, a division of The Bancorp Bank, joined forces with ACE Commercial Risk Services, part of the ACE Group, to launch the Declared Disaster Plan Claim Prepaid MasterCard for ACE insurance customers impacted by natural disasters.
Vesta tasked for recharge functionality
Prepaid card processor Vesta Corp. integrated recharge services into the prepaid mobile products of Mexico-based telecommunication provider Telcel. The goal is to give Telcel customers the ability to recharge mobile phone accounts via interactive voice response systems and text messages, among other channels.
ACQUISITIONS
EB, Lighthouse1 unite for Evolution1
Evolution Benefits Inc. and Lighthouse1 LLC said they are merging to create Evolution1 for the cloud-based administration of flexible spending, health savings and health reimbursement accounts, as well as wellness and transit plans.
APPOINTMENTS
Chevallier becomes COO
VendTek Systems Inc. appointed Francois Chevallier as its Chief Operating Officer to leverage his experience in telecommunications and business development.
Shifke hired to run Green Dot's new division
As it officially launched its new government division, Green Dot Corp. named Mark Shifke to the position of General Manager, Government Programs and Vice President, Special Projects.
MoneyGram names Zelinski VP of Sales
MoneyGram hired George Zelinski as Vice President of Sales in Central America, South America and the Caribbean regions, and tasked him to develop and direct sales strategies to grow MoneyGram's market position.
Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.
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