The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008 - (Page 19)

PAYMENTS February 15 · 2008 - 19 Low-Income Market Initiatives to Drive M-Banking Yankee Group says mobile banking (m-banking) must become available to a majority of mobile users including prepaid and low-income consumers if it is to succeed in North America. Mbanking solution providers in North America can learn an important lesson on service adoption from international low-income initiatives as the global rise of the Anywhere Consumer takes hold. According to the recently published Yankee Group Report, Mobile Banking Lessons from International Low-Income Initiatives, there is a difference between the way m-banking solutions work overseas and in North America. In countries such as South Africa and the Philippines, m-banking keeps low-income consumers’ money safe; at the same time it reduces fees, which makes these services affordable. On the other hand, North American providers typically market m-banking to a more affluent and technologically advanced user as a convenience service. However, m-banking can also benefit lowincome consumers in North America much as it has overseas. “M-banking in North America is gaining traction, but it’s still far from becoming a reality,” said Patrick Monaghan, senior analyst, Yankee Group Consumer Research group. “Success in North America will be determined by overcoming the biggest issues in adopting m-banking; the cost of data plans by wireless carriers, security and consumer knowledge about it.” Payments in Brief i2c inc. has announced that Wendy Mejia has joined the company as an Account Advocate. Prior to joining i2c Inc., Mejia worked in client relations within the retail industry and managed high profile clients such as Anheuser Busch and 20th Century Fox. Mejia’s primary role as Account Advocate will be to develop the relationship with senior decision-makers and maintain an understanding of their business in terms of current performance and future strategies. She will also ensure that clients get maximum value from i2c products. i2c – www.i2cinc.com Mobile Providers Can Learn from Overseas In today’s Anywhere mobile environment, communications players are feeling pressure to identify new revenue streams as consumers gain greater control of their communication services and products. Monaghan’s report reveals how low-income initiatives overseas that tap the low-income consumer group (such as mbanking) aligns with the Anywhere Consumer’s expectations in the global economy, enabling communication players to get ahead of the global connectivity revolution. Low-income consumers in North America make up 21% of all mobile phone consumers. But technology and price barriers continue to keep this segment of the population in North America from adopting m-banking services. Several key factors will drive m-banking success in North America: • M-banking needs to be cheaper than traditional channels. • Providers must target low-income segment to find early adopters of the service. • Sales and marketing must address account eligibility, ease-of-use and cost. • M-banking needs to be easy to use. • Users will still need human interaction, so branch access or phone customer service should be part of any package. Source: Yankee Group (www.yankeegroup.com) Ingenico has appointed Lisa Shipley Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Ingenico North America. Shipley will focus on growing Ingenico North America’s banking channel and multi-lane retail in both the USA and Canada, according to the release. Previously, Shipley was Senior Vice President, National Sales for Hypercom, North America. Ingenico North America - www.ingenico-us.com International financial services entrepreneur and investor Daniel R. Henry has been named Chief Executive Officer of NetSpend Corporation, a prepaid debit card provider. Henry already is a member of the company’s board of directors. In assuming the top executive position, Henry succeeds Richard J. Savard, who had served in that post since June of 2004. Henry began to make his mark in the financial industry in 1994 when he and Michael Brown co-founded Euronet Worldwide, a global processor of secure electronic financial transactions. He established the company’s first European office in Budapest, Hungary, leading the development of the company’s European business. He served as the firm’s President and Chief Operating Officer until the end of 2006. He still holds a position on its Board. NetSpend – www.netspend.com PreCash has placed on the Houston Business Journal’s Fast Tech 50 for the third consecutive year. The Fast Tech 50 award recognizes the top 50 fastest growing technology companies in Houston. The company said this recognition comes at the end of a year full of other industry awards including a ranking of 36 on the Inc. 5000 list of the 100 fastest growing private companies in the Houston metro region, a ranking of 97 on the Inc. 5000 list of the 100 fastest growing private companies in the financial services industry and 42 on the Deloitte Texas Technology Fast 50. PreCash – www.precash.com Behlen Mfg. Co, a $200 million global steel manufacturer located in Columbus, Nebraska that exports to more than 70 countries, has signed an agreement with nFinanSe whereby nFinanSe will provide pay cards to Behlen Mfg. Co. employees nationwide. Behlen Mfg. Co. plans to offer the nFinanSe Pay Card as an alternative to traditional paper checks, thereby providing their employees with the cost savings, convenience, flexibility and security of a card-based program. The new program, which is scheduled to commence in the Spring of 2008, will offer Behlen Mfg. Co. employees the option of having their payroll electronically deposited onto an nFinanSe Pay Card. Participating Behlen Mfg. Co. employees will receive an nFinanSe Discover Network Pay Card which can be used to make purchases at millions of merchant locations nationwide and to access cash at ATMs nationwide displaying the Discover Network, PULSE or STAR Network logo. nFinanSe – www.nfinanse.com http://www.i2cinc.com http://www.netspend.com http://www.ingenico-us.com http://www.yankeegroup.com http://www.precash.com http://www.nfinanse.com http://www.dvrg.com http://www.dvrg.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - February 2008 Beachfront Property for Sale Cardholder Facing Systems Contents The Retske Report: Getting the Word Out 5 Minutes With Mark Flanagan, CEO of PrepaidWireless.com Regulatory Rundown: Mid-Winter Update 2008 Prepaid Wireless Handsets Consumer’s Union Raps Wireless Industry Prepaid Reviews Launches Canadian Website Maginpins and TúYo Mobile Form Alliance Prepaid Wireless in Brief Boost Mobile Introduces New $1/Day Chat Plan Mobile Voice to Overtake Fixed in Europe Prepaid Wireless Roundup Another Kind of Prepaid Calling Spot Rates VSNL Wins ATLANTIC-ACM Award The Legal Line Calling Cards in Brief Sapotek Partners with DigiLinea Pactolus Goes Live at Cable MSO Low-Income Market Initiatives to Drive Mobile Banking Payments in Brief Monitise Americas Expands Payments Network Charge Anywhere Mobile POS Wins Award Hypercom Introduces System for Small Merchants TIO Networks Announces TIO Prepaid MasterCard NPBCA Makes Leadership Change A Walk Down the Aisle Branding Your Retail Store Retailers Welcome Senate Approval of Stimulus Bill NRF Forecasts 3.5 Percent Growth in Retail Sales Cyphermint Teams With DHL Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - February 15, 2008

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