The Prepaid Press - February 2009 - (Page 21)

PAYMENTS & PROCESSING February 15 · 2009 - 21 Payments & Processing in Brief InComm, a provider of prepaid transaction processing and electronic point-of-sale (POS) distribution solutions, has announced that Mark Leonard will join InComm’s executive team as Executive Vice President of Business Development, reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer Brooks Smith. As InComm’s Executive VP of Business Development, Leonard will be responsible for developing new revenue opportunities, spearheading mergers and acquisitions, and will also oversee strategic projects. Leonard’s experience spans more than 23 years in a variety of industries, including computer software, retail and prepaid. He most recently served as Group Vice President of Alliances at Blackhawk Network. Prior to Blackhawk, Leonard was Executive Vice President and CEO of Astoria Software. Leonard also played baseball professionally for over 10 years, during which time he played for the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles. InComm – www.incomm.com New Javelin Report on Evolving Prepaid Card Market Consumer Usage and How Financial Institutions Benefit SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 13, 2009) Javelin Strategy & Research has announced availability of a new report about the prepaid card market, which highlights consumer usage and what financial institutions can gain through a prepaid program—more specifically, how a prepaid card issuer should assess and choose a processing partner in order to obtain the greatest success and return on investment from their prepaid card programs. According to Javelin, the processor choice is often overlooked and undervalued by prepaid program managers. But growth in the complexity of prepaid products, as well as year-over-year transaction volume growth underscores the criticality of selecting the right processor to keep pace and optimize investments long-term. Javelin delves into four key components of an effective prepaid processing program, including managing the card, serving the cardholder, executing the transaction and, getting the most from the platform. A detailed discussion of each component provides decisionmaking guidance to prepaid issuers chartered with managing a program. The study also takes on several of the common misconceptions about the processor selection criteria, dispelling myths and setting the record straight based on perspectives from practitioners and current market trends. “Consumers are becoming more reliant on prepaid cards as a primary payment method as the variety of prepaid products expands,” said Javelin President and Founder, James Van Dyke. “This behavioral shift offers financial institutions and other prepaid issuers an opportunity to not only establish longer-term relationships with account holders, but create additional revenue.” Cundiff, the report author and Javelin’s Director of Payments Research and Consulting, said, “Consumer usage has spread relatively evenly among most income groups, with middle income Americans demonstrating the highest usage of prepaid products both online and offline. What is interesting to note, the multi-channel nature of the prepaid relationship with middle-to-higher income consumers demonstrates and validates the revenue stream capabilities that prepaid issuance provides.” A Wide Array of Prepaid Card Products Make This Payment Method Attractive Prepaid card applications span a wide range of consumer needs, including teen financial management, gifts, travel, online and in-store shopping, payroll and healthcare benefits. According to the report, with multiple loading and reloading mechanisms available today, prepaid cards have longer-term usage and are less disposable in nature—making prepaid programs attractive to financial institutions as a versatile method to increase revenue. Prepaid is Not Just for Lower Income and Younger Consumers According to the study, consumer usage of prepaid card products is growing and extends well beyond the commonly assumed demographics of lower income and younger consumers. Bruce Security, Risk Mitigation and Regulatory Compliance Javelin finds that security is paramount in prepaid card issuance, not only in terms of fraud mitigation but also in the scrutiny that issuers face to comply with regulatory Homeland Security standards—anti-money-laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) initiatives. Because security matters, prepaid card issuers may be increasingly held accountable for the actions of not only their immediate constituents and customers, but also the indirect usage of their products. Learn More About Javelin’s New Report Javelin provides an overview about the study at www.javelinstrategy.com/prepaidproductevolution.html. Source: Javelin Strategy & Research (www.javelinstrategy.com) Liberty Tax Service is now offering customers the option of loading their tax refunds onto a NetSpend All-Access Liberty Prepaid Card that can be used for financial transactions at establishments where Visa cards are accepted. The companies say that the All-Access Liberty Prepaid Card program is a convenient way for customers to do business with Liberty Tax Service, and is a streamlined way for Liberty franchisee owners, employees and customers to manage their finances beyond tax season. NetSpend, a provider of prepaid reloadable debit cards in the United States, and Liberty Tax Service have entered into a multi-year agreement to implement an exclusive All-Access Liberty Prepaid Card that can be used for everyday purchases. The All-Access Liberty Prepaid Card is a Libertybranded general purpose reloadable debit card issued by Inter National Bank and marketed by NetSpend. NetSpend Corporation - www.netspend.com Liberty Tax Service - www.libertytax.com nFinanSe (OTCBB:NFSE), a provider of stored value and prepaid card programs, has announced that the nFinanSe Discover Network Reloadable Prepaid Card is now available at Dollar General, a leading discount retailer. Consumers can purchase the nFinanSe Discover Network Reloadable Prepaid Card for $5.95 and load funds at Dollar General locations. No credit check or bank account is required. The nFinanSe cards are “instant issue” meaning that each customer gets a real card which he or she can use immediately as opposed to having to wait 7-10 days to get a card in the mail. In addition, cardholders have the ability to receive emails or text messages on their cell phones with transaction and balance information after each use. nFinanSe – www.nfinanse.com Prepaid Card Holdings, Inc. (Pink Sheets:PPDC) will not pursue the 1 for 10 share stock reversal it proposed on December 5, 2008. The company currently has 403,903,870 shares outstanding of which 4,128,209 are free trading and 399,775,661 are currently restricted. Prepaid Card Holdings www.prepaidcardholdings.com Paul Smith has joined the executive team at eCommLink, a value added prepaid debit processor. Smith will serve as Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, overseeing eCommLink’s direct sales channel and key partner development efforts in order to maximize the company’s growth. Smith brings to eCommLink over ten years of experience in the prepaid market. Directly prior to joining eCommLink, Smith was the president of mCash, a mobile mcommerce start up. He has also served in an executive capacity at the Green Dot Corporation where he helped build a $1.2 billion national reload network and at Wildcard Systems, a prepaid processor, which is now part of Fidelity National. eCommLink - www.ecommlink.com http://www.javelinstrategy.com/prepaidproductevolution.html http://www.incomm.com http://www.javelinstrategy.com http://www.bricmobilemarkets.com http://www.netspend.com http://www.libertytax.com http://www.bricmobilemarkets.com http://www.nfinanse.com http://www.prepaidcardholdings.com http://www.ecommlink.com http://www.bricmobilemarkets.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - February 2009

Payments & Processing: Prepaid Debit Card Trends Contents The Retske Report: A Courthouse Divided Regulatory Rundown Prepaid Business: 5 Minutes With Darren Dat Lu, CEO of Lunex Group Prepaid Telecom: International Mobile Top-Up Virgin Mobile USA Compliance Plan Accepted by NYSE Tata Communications Launches One IP World KIT Communications Selects PhoenixSoft Sprint Nextel Increases Payments to Virgin Mobile Motorola, Sprint and Boost Mobile Welcome iDEN Flip PhoenixSoft Announces New Program Virgin Mobile Partners with Susan G. Komen The State of Prepaid Technology: Prepaid Virtual Operators Emerge Prepaid Wireless Roundup Boost Launches ‘Monthly Unlimited’ in More Cities Cricket Selects Callidus On-Demand Solution ICC Worldwide Expands Prepaid Products IPsmarx Launches SIP Based Card Platform The Legal Line Prepaid Telecom in Brief Pinnacle Rolls Out Ingenico’s Payment Terminals TransCard Makes Staff Announcements H&R Block Bank Selects MasterCard Avangate Pays Vendors and Affiliates with Prepaid MC TIO Networks Announces Grant of Stock Options TSYS Offers Enhanced Loyalty Solution First American Payment Systems Inks Deal with RDM Hypercom Introduces HyperSafe Remote Key System i2c Expands Team iPayStation Integrates with Movistar Payments & Processing in Brief New Javelin Report on Evolving Prepaid Card Market TransCard, Socialwise Plan to Revolutionize Prepaid Congresswoman Introduces Financial Literacy Act Industry Analysis on Mobile Banking Available Gift Cards & Promotions: Seven Cost-Conscious Marketing Strategies for 2009 Ntreev USA Announces PvP Tournament hhgregg to Help Circuit City Customers NRF Releases December Industry Sales Cellfire Expands Kroger Mobile Coupon Program Petrofix.com Offers a New Fuel Solution Gift Cards & Promotions in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - February 2009

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