2013 Paybefore Awards Category 15: Best Non-U.S.-Based Program
Best prepaid or emerging payments program launched and operated by a non-U.S. company outside the United States. Programs using a U.S.-based company for processing or similar support are eligible.
Program Name: NuCard Prepaid Card
Company Name: Tutuka
South Africa has a large microlending market that provides short-term, unsecured loans to millions of South Africans. NuCard was created by Tutuka and Altech NuPay specifically for microlending. The card is a prepaid MasterCard card co-branded and issued by microlenders throughout South Africa. Loans are paid onto the card for use at POS or ATM, instead of being paid out in cash. NuCard had to succeed in a market that caters to the unbanked where customers are not familiar with cards and where the microlending industry is under threat from criminals.
Metrics: Launched March 2011: 281,000 cards issued; 170,000 active cards as of Dec. 31, 2012
Growth projections: 40% in 2012, 20% YOY for the next three years
Since launch, more than 558 million Rands have been loaded onto NuCards.
Differentiators:
- Eight microlenders representing 380 branches are live with NuCard. Four additional microlenders have cards in production and will go live in 2013.
- Load options for microlenders: online POS or API integration to use lenders’ existing CRM
- Quick integration–most take less than two weeks
- Risks of cash disbursement totally mitigated (Armed robberies, 1/month, reduced to 0)
- Regulators support electronic disbursement of microloan funds
- Provides financial inclusion to those without bank accounts
- SMS notifications of card transactions
- Mobile app provided balance and transaction info
Fees: $1 activation fee, 40¢ monthly fee, $1 ATM withdrawal, 30¢ ATM balance inquiry, 25¢ SMS balance inquiry, 50¢ per transaction for cash back at merchants
Pitch: This program is innovative and changed the South African microlending industry. Microlenders now can issue a loan directly onto a card in minutes and realize an immediate savings of 1% cash delivery fee. NuCard alone generates more load volume than the entire open-loop consumer gift card in South Africa. With 281,000 cards in South Africa since inception, NuCard is considered one of the larger card programs in the market.
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Program Name: Power to Pay Program
Company Names: ItzCash Card Limited, Canara Bank, National Payments Corporation of India, Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay
The Power to Pay NFC tags for mobile phones were developed exclusively for the student body and faculty of IIT Bombay, and can be used at select outlets in the IIT Bombay campus to make day-to-day purchases in book shops, stationery stores, groceries, restaurants and the IIT Bombay canteen.
Metrics: Launched July 29, 2012
Growth projections: 5 million tags in three years
Differentiators:
- Killer app in education sector to introduce young generation to new way to pay
- Integrated with student ID system
- IIT Bombay first campus with NFC cashless system for payment collection
- Currently 40 outlets for a base of 8,000 students at IIT Bombay, around the campus.At scale, ItzCash will enable base of 200,000 ItzCash outlets
- Brand new card network–RuPay–similar to Visa or MasterCard
- Reload via online bank transfer or cash through reload network
- In line with central bank’s vision to create a “Less Cash User Society”.
Fees: $3.65 issuance fee, 45¢/$50 load
Pitch: The program is positioned as the national payments network RuPay’s premier program by creating mass scale technology for ushering in a prepaid culture. Power to Pay has the scale to evolve to fulfill other uses, such a benefits transfer, remittance, payroll and GPR. Has potential to enable any device and form factor for payment purposes thus achieving both payment and acceptance capabilities. The program delivers convenience and control with speed and ease to manage daily micropayments. This is the very first program deploying NFC technology for payments in India.
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Program Name: City of Toronto City Services Benefits Card
Company Name: SelectCore Ltd.
The City Services Benefits Card is the first of its kind in North America. It addresses a growing need by the city of Toronto and Province of Ontario to streamline the disbursements of social assistance benefits. The underlying challenge was to implement a program that provides instant issuance (including personalization and encoding of an EMV Chip and PIN prepaid MasterCard) to recipients throughout 15 employment and social services offices.
Launched: July 18, 2012
Differentiators:
- Conceived, developed and launched in just seven months
- First-of-kind in Canada
- Moves users away from costly check cashing services and allows recipients to participate in e-commerce
- Enrolled by caseworker, who can explain card benefits/answer questions
- Printed, personalized and encoded on-site
- Card-to-card money share via online or mobile app
Fees: $1.50 ATM cash withdrawal fee (4 free/month), $1.99 online bill payment. Card can still be used after benefits file is closed, but additional fees apply: $2.99 monthly service fee, $1.50 ATM withdrawal, $1.99 CSR call, 49¢ PIN change fee, 49¢ IVR/SMS balance or transaction inquiry, $1.99 card-to-card money share, $4.22 card replacement fee, $1.99 online bill payment
Pitch: First of its kind in North America, the City of Toronto City Services Benefit Card embraces the safest card technology (EMV/chip and PIN card), while providing industry leading on-site (remote) embossed instant issuance solutions for cardholders to begin their experience at City of Toronto locations. This template already has resonated with other municipalities, gained momentum in Canada and elsewhere globally, and will serve as a springboard for other participants in the emerging benefits distribution space.
*For Paybefore’s purposes, card may mean a physical card or alternate form factor, including a virtual card.
The information provided above was excerpted from Paybefore Award nominations provided by the Nominator. Paybefore has not conducted any independent investigation as to the accuracy or completeness of the submitted information and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of such information. All content is provided on an “as-is” basis.
Nominators have agreed to the rules of Paybefore Awards Submission & Eligibility Requirements, which are part of the Paybefore Awards Call for Nominations.
Programs with an in-market start date after Sept. 30, 2012, requested and received a participation waiver from Paybefore.
