Altair Financial Services International
Plc has accumulated orders for more than a quarter of a million Prepaid
Cards since it was certified as a MasterCard(R) Service provider in
October 2006 and is on track to reach a million Prepaid Cards by May 2007.
Altair, having completed its acquisition of Symmetrex Inc, provides
unparalleled flexibility for designing, developing, delivering and
processing bespoke white label card solutions with enhanced
functionality globally using MasterCard(R) and Visa networks.
“The market for Prepaid Card programs is exceptionally buoyant at the
moment,” says Lee Britton, Altair CEO. “Our clients identify that Altair
provide them with the most comprehensive Prepaid Card program
development and management service as well as providing an industry
leading end-to-end clearing and settlement processing solution. We have
received a steady recognition for our superior technology, outstanding
service and continuous innovation.”
Altair provides branded Prepaid Card solutions that are applicable to an
ever increasing array of products and services within the retail and
corporate environment including: Money Share, Payroll, Generic Prepaid,
Teen, Travel, Lifestyle, Insurance, Virtual and Gift Cards. Altair’s
card applications provide a host of options to meet clients’
requirements. Cards can be re-loadable or non-re-loadable, available by
mail-order cards or instant issue, issued for ATM, POS (Point of Sale)
and/or Internet transactions, personalised or non-personalised, etc.
“We have expanded in a controlled fashion in the USA and UK and we now
see explosive growth both in the number of cards issued as well as the
number countries we operate in,” explained Lee Britton.
“Our product was not legacy based which gives Altair a huge advantage.
We grasped early on that we needed to understand the needs of our
customers and of our customers’ customers. Only by understanding this
can a technology company such as ours design products to fit a variety
of vertical markets.”
Commenting on the advantages of prepaid cards, John Bushby, General
Manager, Northern Europe, MasterCard Europe, added: “Prepaid cards are
simple to purchase and easy to use and they offer a broad range of
consumers, including those currently unable to get debit or credit
cards, the financial freedom of using a payment card.
“Consumer demand is playing an important role in fueling the expansion
in the market and we are delighted to be working in partnership with
specialist prepaid card providers and issuers as they develop their
products.”
According to research commissioned by MasterCard(R) and conducted by PSE
Consulting, prepaid cards are expected to represent 5% of total card
transaction volumes and 3% of total card spending in Europe by 2010.
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. The
company is headquartered in London with banking and processing
affiliates in UK, USA, Asia Pacific and throughout the Latin America and
Caribbean regions and issues on behalf of MasterCard(R) and Visa.
Altair’s 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(R) all Altair cards issued in Europe are based on Chip & PIN
technology and are EMV standards compliant.
