Altair Launches Fashion Rocks Prepaid Contactless Card
Altair Financial Services , 06 December 2007
Leading prepaid card service provider and transaction processing company, Altair Financial Services International Plc (Altair) teamed up with MasterCard® to create a limited edition Swarovski Fashion Rocks prepaid ’Tap & Go™’ card, featuring MasterCard PayPass™ contactless payments technology. Altair also worked with MasterCard® to launch the UK’s first MasterCard PayPass™ contactless payments program in September this year.
The exclusive cards were distributed to MasterCard’s guests from customer financial institutions attending Swarovski Fashion Rocks for the Prince’s Trust 2007, the music and fashion event. The cards were preloaded with £10 and, for one night only, guests were able to ‘Tap & Go’ when buying drinks at the North Circle Bar in the Royal Albert Hall, which was fully PayPass-enabled.
Altair sees a growing interest among retail, entertainment and event companies planning to implement branded prepaid contactless card programs in 2008.
Altair Chief Executive Officer, Lee Britton comments, “There is a growing interest among retail, entertainment and event companies, that are planning to implement branded prepaid contactless card programs in early 2008. Currently Altair is working toward rolling out several contactless prepaid card programs throughout the UK in early 2008. A prepaid card with contactless technology is ideal for high-volume systems such as transportation, ticketing, FMCG, petrol self-service and purchasing of small value items, and other situations where long queues are inevitable.
“Implementing a prepaid card program with contactless technology is an exceptional opportunity for companies looking to cut queuing times, increase footfall and reduce the risks of cash handling. Unlike credit, application for a prepaid product is not reliant on a credit rating, so application acceptance is nearly 100%. These cards have full MasterCard functionality, and are not restricted to low value purchases. If a customer makes a purchase over £10 for example, they simply enter their PIN in the usual way to complete the transaction.
“For events, attendees usually only have a few minutes during intermissions to make their way to the refreshments counter, only to meet a long queues and a bottleneck at the counter. The cards are designed to provide greater expediency, convenience and satisfaction at the point-of-sale – which is of growing value to the competitive retail sector. Apart from the practical benefits, the cards display innovation and a way to put the client’s brand in the wallet of their customer.”
Contactless card programs are already very popular in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and PayPass is now found on 19 million cards in 20 countries. According to payments industry association APACS, 5m cards will be available to use at 100,000 retailers in the UK by the end of next year.
About Altair Financial Services International Plc
Altair Financial Services International Plc was incorporated in 2005 as a global provider of Prepaid Card solutions with enhanced functionality. Altair acquired established transaction processing company, Symmetrex, Inc. in March 2007. Altair is headquartered in London with banking and processing relationships in UK, USA, Asia Pacific and throughout the Latin America and Caribbean regions and issues on behalf of MasterCard® and Visa. Altair solutions are designed to be flexible enough to provide companies with almost any type of prepaid card functionality, including open and closed loop programs. Through its relationship with MasterCard® all Altair cards issued in Europe are based on Chip & PIN technology and are EMV standards compliant. Altair is a certified issuer and transaction processor of contactless (MasterCard®PayPass™) prepaid cards in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.altair-financial.com.
About MasterCard PayPass and Maestro PayPass
PayPass is MasterCard’s ‘contactless’ payment feature, which provides consumers with a fast and convenient alternative to cash for their everyday small purchases, such as public transport tickets, coffee, sandwiches or fast food, petrol and others. It can be added to any MasterCard credit, debit or prepaid card, or to a Maestro debit card. PayPass allows merchants to function more efficiently and serve their customers better. PayPass speeds consumers through the check-out process, reduces cash handling, improves efficiency and provides competitive differentiation.
About MasterCard Europe
MasterCard Europe is the entity responsible for managing MasterCard Worldwide’s business in Europe, for Europe. With headquarters in Waterloo, Belgium, MasterCard Europe works with 51 European countries organized administratively into three customer areas, incorporating the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), mature markets and the developing markets of Europe, stretching as far afield as the eastern border of Russia. Through its network of local offices, MasterCard Europe can understand and meet the diverse needs of customers in the very different types of markets throughout Europe, enabling people to do business in their own way in their own language. Through MasterCard Worldwide, MasterCard Europe offers its European customers and consumers access to leading payment services throughout the world. MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 16 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, go tohttp://www.mastercard.com.
