Johannesburg, South Africa: In anticipation of the world's largest sporting event occurring
in South Africa this year, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) have launched a Prepaid Travel
Card in South African Rand (ZAR). The PFS MasterCard Prepaid Rand Travel Card offers secure,
cost effective and convenient foreign currency and is available directly to consumers or
through businesses to their staff or consumer base. The Prepaid Card is issued by Transact
Network Ltd.

Noel Moran, CEO of PFS explains, "We are delighted to launch the first ever MasterCard Rand
Travel Card in Europe. The PFS MasterCard Prepaid Rand Travel Card will be available
throughout the UK and combines the safety of a payment card with the flexibility and
convenience of a mobile phone. Cardholders travelling to South Africa can effortlessly
manage their money 24/7 using their mobile phone."


"The demand for prepaid travel cards is growing rapidly. The 2010football World Cup is
expected to be South Africa's largest sporting event to date. The media contingent alone is
estimated to number 30,000. All indications are that approximately 220,000 long haul
visitors will travel to South Africa, 60,000 of which will be from the United Kingdom."
The PFS MasterCard Prepaid Rand Travel Card can be loaded using a debit or credit card
online or by SMS. Furthermore, cardholders can load their cards via a bank transfer or
standing orders and wage transfers from employers.


When the card is purchased, it is immediately loaded with Rand at the current rate of
exchange. This means that there are no foreign exchanges charges when in South Africa as all
spend will be in local currency. Once topped up, the card can be used at point of sale
(shops, restaurants, hotels, etc.) or ATM's throughout South Africa.


The cards provide a very competitive exchange rate compared with airports and the high
street. In addition, cardholders can save for their trip to South Africa by making multiple
loads to their card over several months. Carrying large amounts of cash while abroad is not
recommended or indeed very safe; this is particularly true in South Africa.

One of the biggest advantages of the PFFS MasterCard Prepaid Rand Travel Card is the safety
it provides to cardholders. The card provides the security of a Chip and PIN MasterCard
Card, making it a safer alternative to using foreign currency abroad. The cards are
considerably more convenient than traditional Traveller's Cheques, where travellers have the
hassle of carrying around their passport and have to record their spent Traveller's Cheque
numbers.
A cutting edge feature of the card is that it can be managed by simply
sending SMS instructions from a registered mobile phone or online via
the website.

The range of self-service account management functions available using a mobile phone
includes the ability to initially load and top-up your card with funds, lock and unlock your
card instantly and to obtain your card balance. These self-service functions are available
at any time, globally, instantly, which gives customers enhanced control over their funds.
In addition, cardholders can conveniently top up their world cup card by sending a SMS
message from their mobile phone from anywhere in the world.

PFS are offering travel agents or anyone in the tourism sector the opportunity to re sell or
distribute the PFS MasterCard Prepaid Rand Travel Card. Benefits to companies that wish to
distribute/sell the card:

• PFS are the only dedicated prepaid provider providing a Card in South Africa Rand (ZAR)
where business clients can benefit by earning commissions on card activity for the life of
the card.
• An additional revenue stream for the reselling company
• No additional resources are required to offer the cards
• Ideal value added service for companies with existing travel offerings
• No license requirements to offer the product
• It is an "off the shelf offering" and you can be up and running in
less than 10 days.
• Every card sale generates revenue for the life of the card (2 years+)
• No investment or cost incurred to start selling the product
EMVCo Broadens Membership with Bus Ass, Tech Ass. EMVCo has introduces two new
participation types, allowing organisations to become either an EMVCo Business Associate or
an EMVCo Technical Associate. Organisations that meet qualifying criteria for
both types may participate at both levels.

The aim of EMVCo Business Associate participation is to give all payment card issuers and
acquirers, networks and their representative associations, the opportunity to provide EMVCo
with input on strategic business and implementation issues related to the use of the EMV
Specifications. Organisations participating at this level will have a seat on the EMVCo
Board of Advisors, giving them the opportunity to communicate with senior EMVCo
representatives on EMV's future direction.

EMVCo Technical Associates will have the opportunity to provide input and receive feedback
on detailed technical and operational issues connected to the EMV Specifications and related
processes. Intended to appeal to any industry stakeholder with an interest in EMV, this
participation type also provides organisations with the opportunity to interact with EMVCo's
technical working groups via quarterly workshops, offer input to meeting agendas, submit
technical contributions to EMVCo, and gain early access to draft specifications and other
technical documents. Six seats on the EMVCo Board of Advisors will be reserved for Technical
Associates representing distinct market sectors and identified through an annual election
process.

The annual fee for Business Associate participation is $12,500. The higher Technical
Associate annual fee of $25,000 reflects the increased cost and value of access to the EMVCo
Working Groups. Business Associates wishing to participate at a Technical Associate level
may do so for an annual fee of $12,500, in addition to the base Business Associate fee.

Art Kranzley, Chair of the EMVCo Executive Committee, comments: "EMV has become the global
payment industry standard with an increasing number of stakeholders worldwide. Therefore, it
makes sense to broaden the industry's involvement in EMVCo's standardisation efforts. By
introducing the two new participation types, EMVCo hopes to encourage industry players to
engage in EMVCo as a standards organntandards organisation. This development is a very
positive advancement for the industry and will help to further facilitate the global
adoption of EMV through increased accessibility and understanding of the technology."

As a further step towards facilitating industry involvement in EMVCo, the organisation's
website subscriber programme, which was previously only available on an individual
subscriber basis, has now been extended to offer a company subscription option. While
individual subscriptions are still available for an annual fee of $750, multiple individuals
within the same organisation can now benefit from subscriber privileges under the
cost-effective company subscription option, which carries an annual fee of $2,500*.

While the new fee model will partially offset the administrative costs associated with the
organisational restructure, the four equity owners of EMVCo - American Express, JCB,
MasterCard and Visa - will continue to provide the majority of organisational funding and
resources.

Brian Byrne, Chairman of the EMVCo Board of Managers, adds: "The changes to EMVCo's
participation framework will not affect the royalty-free availability of final and published
versions of the EMVCo Specifications, bulletins, and application notes, type approval
process documents and approval lists. EMVCo will continue to provide free industry access to
these documents through the EMVCo website.

 

 

 

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