Plymouth and Lewisham Councils have decided to introduce an innovative new payment solution that will increase flexibility and simplify the management of benefits and other payments made by the Councils. Advanced Payment Solutions (APS), who is partnered with the Co-operative Bank, announced that it has won contracts to provide its award winning Cashplus® Prepaid MasterCard®…
Advanced Payment Solutions (APS) has won contracts to provide prepaid card programs to Merton, Nottinghamshire and Bury councils. The three councils will enhance their benefit disbursement service to customers with prepaid “Cashplus” MasterCards from APS, which offers free multiple fund loads across the faster payments network via existing bank accounts. Removing cash and replacing it with prepaid cards has a number of benefits for councils including better security, more control and more transparent auditing of what is actually being spent by customers. Prepaid also eliminates cumbersome manual processes in getting funds to customers.
Prepaid MasterCard cards can help save money, improve accountability and transparency, yet actually make life easier for both council employees and customers who receive benefits. There are many reasons why councils over here in the UK may find prepaid cards attractive – as well as being a cost-efficient way of disbursing Direct Payments and Personal Benefits, prepaid cards are more secure and convenient than cash or cheques. Prepaid cards are an excellent replacement for cheque payments and cash disbursements for council expenses, as they make reconciling everything from travel to office supplies so much more efficient. Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard cards can also help councils to meet their commitment to the ‘Putting People First’ vision of finding new ways to improve social care in England.
American Express has lined up the sixth largest thrift in the nation to distribute its prepaid card products. Astoria Federal will begin offering the “TravelFunds Card” and the “Gift Card” beginning today to its 700,000 customers via 86 branches in the northeast. The thrift will also offer AmEx “Travelers Cheques,” “Cheques For Two,” and “Gift Cheques.” Last month, AmEx signed a deal with the AARP to offer its prepaid “TravelFunds Card” to the AARP’s 35 million members. AmEx launched the TravelFunds Card” in October, 2003. The card is available in U.S. Dollar, Euro and British Pound Sterling, enabling cardholders to lock in exchange rates. The AmEx “Gift Card” was launched in October, 2002. The card is embossed with the recipient’s name and is available in amounts from $25 to $500. (CF Library 9/25/02;10/11/02;10/2/03;6/9/04)